Check if a phone call you've received from HMRC is genuine

Debt management

HMRC is sending voice prompts to some customers, explaining what you need to do if you’re behind with your payments. Customers will receive these as an inbound phone call to landline and mobile phones. They will give details for paying HMRC, or a helpline number for you to contact.

HMRC is also sending messages that give advice about how important it is to make payments using the correct information.

The messages will not ask for any personal or financial information.

Digital Products and Services ― research with businesses and agents

From 13 December 2021 up to and including 28 February 2022 HMRC will be working with Kantar Public and Roots Research.

These independent research agencies are recruiting businesses and agents to take part in research HMRC are doing around our digital products and services. This will help HMRC to understand customers’ views on a range of products and improve these in the future.

You may receive a phone call from these agencies inviting you to take part in a research interview with a social researcher from HMRC.

We encourage you to take part in this research to help improve HMRC’s support products for customers like yourselves. If you do take part, your answers and any information you give will be confidential and only used for research purposes.

Haulier’s Survey

From 28 February up to and including 22 April 2022, independent research agency, IFF, will carry out research on behalf of HMRC.

You may receive a phone call from IFF, inviting you to take part in an interview as part of research.

These interviews aim to:

• further understand the experiences of road hauliers moving goods between the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the European Union (since the end of the transition period)
• improve the support that HMRC can offer to hauliers

Taking part is voluntary but we encourage you to do so. If you do take part, your answers and any information you give will be:

• confidential (HMRC will not be able to identify organisations, individuals or their answers)
• anonymous
• used for research purposes only

Research on tax code amendments or corrections

From 21 February 2022 up to and including 18 March 2022, you may receive a phone call asking you to take part in this research project.

HMRC social researchers are looking for individuals to take part in research that aims to understand customers’ experience of making a tax code amendment or corrections. This will help HMRC improve customer experience.

Taking part is voluntary but we encourage you to do so. If you do take part, your personal details will:

• be handled in line with data protection law
• be held securely at all times
• not be shared beyond the research team without your consent

Self Assessment tax return — research with first-time customers

From 11 April 2022 up to and including mid-May 2022, HMRC will be working with Kantar, an independent research organisation.

You may receive a phone call from Kantar inviting you to take part in an interview with a social researcher from HMRC.

Kantar will focus on customers who have:

• completed their Self Assessment tax return for the first time this year
• registered to complete their Self Assessment tax return for the first time in January 2023 or 2024

These interviews aim to understand customers’ approaches to managing their Self Assessment tax return.

If you do take part, any information you give will be:

• treated in strict confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• used for research purposes only

Other phone calls you should check

You can also check phone calls listed in HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method.