Inland Revenue

Only just seen my headline. Apologies for incorrect spelling.

The department is HMRC - His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

You can write to them at:

Pay As You Earn
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS

assuming it is a PAYE matter that concerns you. The pseudo BX9 postcode is for a post handling centre so can be used for most queries. Just make sure you put the nature of your query in the top line e.g. Pay As You Earn or Self Assessment.

HMRC have an email address for complaints which is [email protected]

Make sure you give your NI number in all correspondence.

Eldest daughter is an accountant, they do have different contacts for professionals to use, or maybe a different level of access.

I tried calling HMRC recently but I eventually gave up.

Wrote to them using the address above given by Silverbrooks and received a quick reply by post.

Thanks all if you. Perhaps it's just me. I do get upset when I can't speak to soneone yo sort things out.

When you get through to HMRC and they ask you what you are calling about, remain silent and continue to remain silent. Then when they ask you to press 1 for this and 2 for that and 3 for the other, do not press anything. You will actually get through to a human being quicker - last time I rang them it took 29 minutes which was long enough. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose. (In the past when I have given all the info they ask for, eventually they say we are unable to help you today and the call is ended).

I phoned a few weeks ago in connection with a letter they sent. It had HM Revenue and Customs heading.
She said it wasn't from them (I later found out it was) and to ignore it. She finally gave me a number she said was DWP but when I rang it I got the same person I had just spoken to!
This does not inspire you with confidence does it?
It took me several hours to ascertain that the tax office have arms length companies that deal with tax rebates.
One of these companies has creamed off some of the rebates and there is an ongoing court case.
I am about to post a letter to that postcode mentioned above but doubt I will hear anything back.
It was referring to a claim I made 3 years ago!
It's all crazy...

It took me several hours to ascertain that the tax office have arms length companies that deal with tax rebates.

That's nonsense. They do not.

I suspect you are talking about a Which report from three years ago which said that people were using third parties to claim tax rebates rather than going directly to HMRC. Prima facie that's no different to using an accountant who will charge for their services. Some of this activity was to do with PPI refunds.

HMRC and DWP are completely different departments but which do work together, e.g.

HMRC collects NIC, the data for which fees into the DWP systems for contributory benefits. If you want to top up NIC with Class 3 voluntary contributions you pay HMRC.

DWP tell HMRC what someone receives in taxable benefits so their PAYE codes can be calculated.

If you want to know the detail of how NI contrubutions ad contracting out has affected your State Pension which is paid by the DWP you neeed to apply for a Working Life letter from HMRC.

It isn't a crazy system. It is an overloaded system which has been affected just like all our public services by successive governments failing to invest in staff and IT.

I know nothing about a Which report or PPI funds.
Are you saying it was me that appointed a third party to handle a tax rebate?
Maybe I did unwittingly but that company is now the subject of a court case which seems to be one in which the company took funds meant as tax rebates and kept the money?
This information came from the Inland Revenue in a letter which was sent to me but the Inland Revenue denied they had sent. It must, therefore, have come from a third party which was not the DWP.
The issue has nothing to do with my State pension on which I do not pay tax, but from my PP on which I do pay tax.
I agree the system is overstretched but sending me a letter which I did not understand because of the obfuscating use of language which I feel was deliberately written to confuse me- and then being told to ignore the letter does not seem to me a very efficient way of going about things.
Maybe in a few years time I will get another letter...?

I have no idea what you have done. I was merely refuting your allegation that HMRC use arms length companies who are creaming off money from tax rebates.

If you have a letter from HMRC on HMRC letterhead then you have the proof that it exists. Is this the same letter that you don’t understand concerning some issue with tax on your occupational pension?

You say you don’t pay tax on your State Pension. While it’s true that the DWP pays the State Pension gross it is still taxable income and will be taken into account in calculating the tax code that is used for your occupational pension and your overall tax liability for each year.

What exactly is the obfuscating language? What is it that you don’t understand?

I didn't understand any of it which is why I rang for someone to explain it to me. Because the Inland Revenue denied it was from them, and equally the DWP I thought it may be a scam.
I ended up eventually at Action Fraud where a very helpful man helped me through it line by line.
We arrived at the conclusion that:
It was indeed from the Inland Revenue
It would seem a tax claim I made in 2022 was given to a company acting in an illegal manner.
This company is now being investigated by a court in the Midlands.
I should return the form before a certain date to see if I am due compensation.
None of this information was clearly stated in the letter.
Without revealing personal info I really don't want to say anymore.
The OP posted because communicating with the tax office is a nightmare- it was them who told me to ignore the letter which they had sent even though they denied sending it.
If that isn't crazy I don't know what is...

Fair enough but you imply that HMRC is complicit in some kind of fraud. It does nor issue compensation.

I suggest you go to Citizen Advice.

I was just responding to OP- I am making no such claims against HMRC.

I was, again, just responding to a post about how difficult communicating with HMRC is.

I won't be bothering CA. I shall just wait to see if I receive a tax refund but I'm not holding my breath... I may be back in three years time, there's no rush!

The problem is the taxpayer not understanding the tax system, some of it I dont understand and have to ask. My eldest daughter is an accountant of 20 yrs experience who knows the system and will get a quick reply to any query because she is dealing with accounts every day.

DWP used to be outsourced to Capita, who seemed to be on a mission to refuse benefit claims. There are still some bits that could be improved.

NONE of the HMRC letters have a return address, but getting online to help someone else is virtually impossible, so the only choice is to call and wait and wait.

Thank you Silverbrooks for the info.

I have been trying for YEARS to check my pension and getting some useless generic stuff, so I will try again with your advice

You are right about there not being a return address- just a special postcode; no phone number, no named individual. Although they told me to return a form, there was no return envelope and no stamp!

I've got a PAYE query for one of our employees - I was going to ring last week as the website says calls are very slow due to industrial action until 23rd May - but now it says calls are very slow due to industrial action between dec 24 and jun 6th '25.

I think I will write to the address above & see what happens.

Thank you for such useful information Silverbrooks. 👍

My accountant has an office boy, one of his jobs is to hang on the phone waiting for HMRC to answer. Thankfully they always get good service when they speak to an inspector.

Just an up-date on my story.

I got a letter from HMRC today to say I am entitled to a small cash refund as a result of the court case.

It is 52% of what I am owed, the other 48% is the fee I seem to be paying to the company even though their account has been frozen?

Any money left in the company accounts will go to the state. Well, I could have a meal out somewhere cheap on the money I got back but I'm a bit miffed I don't get it all back.

They do say I can appeal further to the court, but I should seek legal advice... anyone know a cheap lawyer?

I have to return the form by August 13th- is there really any point?