Taxpayers calling HMRC about their personal tax affairs who are looking for a quick answer should phone on their way to work in order to avoid long delays, but avoid the end of the day, after analysis by PfP found early morning and lunchtime calls faced the shortest queues for a response
The tax investigation insurance specialist says its research revealed that the best times to phone HMRC was between 8:30am and 9:30am or 12pm and 12:30am where call waiting times averaged four and a half minutes, avoiding the peak times of before and after working hours.
PfP says the findings, based on analysis of data on call waiting times for the first four months of 2016 provided by HMRC showed that the worst time to call was between 4:30pm-5pm, when taxpayers were put on hold for an average of 12 minutes before speaking with an expert. It adds that some taxpayers calling during this time waited on hold for close to 25 minutes prior to being connected to a HMRC adviser.
HMRC recently vowed to shorten call waiting times and improve customer service, after it was found that the average call waiting time for one week in October last year was close to 35 minutes, as the deadline for the paper submissions of self-assessment tax returns approached.
Kevin Igoe, managing director at PfP, said: ‘There is a real concern that taxpayers will make mistakes on their tax return, if they can’t get hold of HMRC- which could lead to serious consequences.
‘Taxpayers understandably want to contact HMRC when it is most convenient for them but this is likely to be at those peak times when call waiting times can reach over 20 minutes.’
