HMRC is closing the main self-assessment helpline over the summer - with customers directed online instead. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said the new "seasonal model" would free up 350 advisers to answer urgent calls on other lines and answer customer correspondence.
It will trial directing self-assessment queries from the helpline to the department's digital services, including its online guidance, digital assistant and webchat. The helpline will reopen on September 4 2023 so people can receive expert support in the five months leading up to the self-assessment deadline on January 31 2024.
However MPs have warned it could have a "significant impact" on taxpayers. Harriett Baldwin, chairwoman of the Treasury Committee, has written to HMRC to ask several questions, including whether the move has been prompted by staffing issues in the department, or backlogs or issues in other areas.
