Taxpayers may find themselves in a position where they need to make a complaint about HMRC’s service. Complaints can relate to many different issues such as unreasonable delays, mistakes and poor treatment by HMRC’s staff. Note, there is a separate procedure to be followed by taxpayers that disagree with a decision of HMRC or that wish to complain about serious misconduct by HMRC staff.

Taxpayers that wish to make a complaint should in the first instance write or speak to the person or office they have been dealing with. If the complaint is not resolved or the taxpayer would prefer not to discuss the issue with the person or office they have been dealing with, then a complaint can be made using an online complaint form. A complaint can also be made by phone or post.

If the response is unsatisfactory a further request can be made for the complaint to be looked at again by a different complaints handler who will take a second look at the complaint and then provide a final response. Taxpayers that are still unhappy with the response can ask the Adjudicator to look into the complaint. If they are unhappy with the Adjudicator’s decision it is possible to contact their local MP to ask for the matter to be referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.