HMRC’s research on customer responses to its self-assessment letters took place between September and December 2015 but has only just been released. HMRC told CCH Daily that it is investigating why it has taken so long to publish the findings.

The research found that many taxpayers believed that the letters were generic communications, particularly at first glance, leading many to think that they did not have to respond. While the letters contained details that were specific to the customer, on first reading taxpayers felt that HMRC had sent the letters to a large number of individuals and that they were sent by a member of HMRC who was not familiar with their circumstances.

Those who received student loan repayment letters believed the letter was part of a general communication due to:

• The opening ‘thank you for your return’ which suggested a confirmation letter, and thus no urgency in reading it;
• The mention of ‘checking a number of returns each year’ which suggested that the letter did not relate to them specifically;
• The mention of the process potentially taking ‘many months’, which, again, did not suggest urgency; and
• The suggestion that people could get in touch with HMRC ‘if you would like’, which appeared casual.

The layout of the letters did not give a sense of urgency, taking too long to ‘get to the point’. The taxpayers surveyed as part of the research suggested that HMRC should state what action needs to be taken clearly at the top of the letter and warn of potential consequences if taxpayers do not respond.

Taxpayers claiming employment expenses wanted the letter to clearly state:

• If there was a potential problem with the expenses claimed on their tax return, and whether it needed to be clarified;
• If they would be charged interest and a penalty if they claimed the wrong amount; and
• Whether their tax adviser had been informed.

Many self assessment taxpayers who took part in the research had called HMRC’s contact centre in the past and had experienced long waiting times and felt like they were being ‘passed around’ by staff. This bad experience meant that taxpayers avoided calling the phone number given on the letters.

It was suggested that HMRC should state that the number provided on the letters differs to the general enquiries contact line and that the 03000 number format is a local rate number to encourage more individuals to pick up the phone.

Another criticism was that the letters were too long with dense paragraphs causing confusion. This was particularly off-putting to taxpayers with a learning difficulty such as dyslexia, those with English as a second language, or those with sight impairment. It was suggested that HMRC should use bulleted lists and white space to allow individuals to take in the information at a glance.

An HMRC spokesperson told CCH Daily: 'This research has been and continues to be used to simplify letters that we send to customers.'

Research report: Letter Testing with HMRC Self-Assessment Customers is here.

Report by Amy Austin