An email detailing the proposed changes was sent out to agents today [30 January], confirming a significant overhaul of the agent dedicated line (ADL) which will come into effect in two days from 1 February reducing access to phone support by 40%.

This is meant to free up time for HMRC advisers to handle more complex queries and fits in with the drive to slash phone support by nearly a third by the end of this year.

This effectively continues the current situation after HMRC suspended use of its phone lines for basic enquiries over the busy self assessment period.

In future, agents will only be able to use webchat services for SA and PAYE queries, particularly related to progress chasing.