HMRC to end letters in the post from March 2026

HMRC to end letters in the post from March 2026

HMRC have announced that to save in print and postage costs by £50m, letters will no longer be sent out automatically to taxpayers from next spring, with email alerts notifying them of new documents in their personal tax accounts or the HMRC app instead.

This change is part of HMRC’s ambitious digital program, which envisages 90% of HMRC interactions with taxpayers being online or digital by the 2029-30 tax year.

This means that the days of posted brown letters from HMRC are very much numbered with only the ‘digitally excluded’ or those who actively opt out of digital still able to receive old school posted letters, starting in spring 2026.

HMRC have confirmed that the post overhaul ‘will be a gradual transition from April 2026 onwards, as more of our letters and services are included’.

The rollout of digital by default will be controlled and there will be an opt-out available, to continue to receive letters if preferred. Legislation will also be amended to allow HMRC to contact taxpayers by email.

Under the plan, digital letters will be sent to taxpayers’ HMRC accounts, not to their email addresses.

Taxpayers will be required to provide an email (or other digital contact detail) for the HMRC app and online account.

This means that anyone who currently uses the HMRC app or a personal tax account (PTA) will be in the first tranche of taxpayers affected. They will no longer be sent letters in the post but instead will receive an email notification advising them that a new HMRC letter, document or communication has been uploaded to their account for viewing.

Following requests for clarification on exactly who will be affected, HMRC have advised: ‘Only those who log into their online tax account or HMRC app will be asked to provide their contact details. Anyone else will continue to receive paper letters – including those choosing to opt out if they need to continue receiving paper communications. It’s for people who already interact with us digitally or do so in the future.’

Clearly HMRC is hoping that the majority of taxpayers will go digital by the end of the decade, with the policy paper on the plan stating that people who still want to receive letters can make the choice ‘not to engage with us digitally’.

There is an acknowledgement that not all of HMRC’s services are currently available online or digitally so the transition to digital by default will take time.

HMRC confirmed: ‘As each service becomes live and the customer logs into their HMRC app or online account, they will be prompted to enter or confirm their contact details and email address. They’ll be informed that the supplied email will be used to notify them of communications in the HMRC app and online account. Customers will be able to opt out of receiving digital communications if they have a need for paper communications.’

In terms of the digitally excluded, the HMRC policy paper states: ‘Paper communications will continue to be available for customers who choose not to engage with us digitally and who are digitally excluded.’

How quickly HMRC will be to collect every taxpayer’s email and mobile number is another matter, not to mention how realistic it will be down the road to gather the emails of millions of pensioners who face the potential of a new tax bill as the state pension hurtles towards the basic rate threshold limit.

Older customers and those with certain disabilities are more likely to be digitally excluded or digitally assisted and may be disproportionately reliant on paper correspondence.

Safeguards will also be included to ensure these groups can continue accessing paper communications if specifically needed, with a clear and simple opt-out process and ongoing support through non-digital channels.

Exact details of how quickly the system will be rolled out in terms of actual services is vague, with the only confirmation that the move to digital will start in ‘spring 2026’.

Whether this overhaul of the tax system can be achieved in four years is one for the tax experts, but there seems to be a huge reliance on everyone setting up a personal tax account or downloading the HMRC app to achieve the 90% target.

With an increasingly complex tax system, pressure will be on HMRC to launch more online services and reduce use of paper forms in certain areas.