HMRC introduce new rules on providing pay and tax information over the phone

27 July 2017 • HMRC

It may be summer and whilst you might not want to cloud your days with thoughts of the frantic rush in January to complete your tax return, as Ryan Lane, head of personal client services at tax specialists Warrener Stewart, cautions new rules mean it might be a good time for some tax housekeeping.

“HMRC has just tightened up on their regulations relating to request from agents like us, for information on taxpayers details of employment income and tax deductions over the phone,” notes Ryan. “This means that we can no longer phone up and request instant information on behalf of clients to assist in the preparation of last minute tax returns.”

Due to a growing number of security issues, HMRC has recently introduced a policy whereby taxpayers may continue to request the information over the phone, however, the data will now be sent directly to the taxpayer by post which could take several days or even weeks.

“January is normally a busy month as people rush to collate all the information needed to submit their personal tax return,” Ryan continues. “With the introduction of these new measures we need to build in additional time, up to at least three weeks, to factor in information requests to HMRC to be able to submit an individual’s tax return if their P60 or P45 documentation has gone astray. Whilst summer is not the most traditional time to think of tax returns, a few moments spent now submitting a request for your 2016/2017 information or sending on the P60 to us now could mean filing on time in January!”