HMRC are moving communications to email and text to cut postage costs!

HMRC are moving communications to email and text to cut postage costs!

For a long time HMRC has said it is ‘committed to modernising HMRC to become a digital first organisation’ and therefore it is looking to move contacting taxpayers via email and SMS, advising that this move will save £50m a year by 2028-29.

However, email and text notifications will only be sent to HMRC app users who will receive alerts when new documentation or information has been uploaded to their individual app by HMRC and at this stage there is not a precise timetable for the rollout of the new service.

So far uptake of the HMRC app has been relatively strong with 1.7m people using the app each month and it is being promoted in TV ads to push more people to download it.

Previous criticism of the lack of clarity in HMRC’s letters and use of complex language which taxpayers often find confusing and do not understand is also being addressed. HMRC has also confirmed it will be simplifying the language in both bespoke, and generic letters.

Another announcement from HMRC is that from June 2025, HMRC is going to stop issuing six different corporation tax letters deemed as ‘non-essential’ to reduce the overall number of letters sent out and reduce costs. However, HMRC said there ‘will be no change to the overall corporation tax process’.

HMRC also recognises that a lack of awareness regarding tax changes is a major issue; this happened when the high income child benefit charge (HICBC) was introduced over a decade ago in 2013 and has since caught out countless parents, although that number has reduced in recent years.

The extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for landlords and higher earning self-employed individuals from April 2026 will need to be very well communicated to ensure taxpayers are up to speed with this major overhaul of the tax system.

The HMRC app is already available for Android and Apple users.