The guidance has been updated to explain three new ways in which HMRC may make contact with taxpayers. The first relates to telephone calls to new or existing self-employed tax credits taxpayers to ask about their self-employment.

Self-employed taxpayers who have been receiving working tax credit for a number of years will have received a letter last year to tell them about the new strengthened test for self-employed people. HMRC says individuals who have made a recent claim for tax credits and said in their claim that they, or their partner, are self-employed, will not have received an initial letter about this check but HMRC may contact them by telephone first.

In this call, HMRC will ask what trade, vocation or profession the person undertakes. There may be questions about the number of hours the taxpayer works as a self-employed person and what type of activity that includes. After the call, HMRC will send a letter tailored to the taxpayer’s circumstances asking them to provide further evidence of self-employment.

On these calls, HMRC says staff will not ask individuals to provide any personal details such as bank account numbers over the phone.

Secondly, starting from September, HMRC will be contacting businesses based outside the UK who sell goods to customers in the UK through online marketplaces.

The main method of contact will be by email. The emails will be about the business’s VAT obligations in the UK, and the initial email will explain why HMRC is contacting them. The emails will also contain a link to this web page so the recipients can see that HMRC is using email for this purpose.

Finally, from the 15 August 2016 HMRC, in partnership with independent research agency TNS BMRB, has been inviting people to register and take part in an early trial of tax-free childcare.

The emails and letters related to this will include the HM government logo and contain links to GOV.UK guidance and a site for people to register an interest in taking part in the trial.

In addition, from September, HMRC, in partnership with National Savings and Investments (Nsandi) will be sending letters to childcare providers inviting them to sign up to tax-free childcare. The letter provides the online address where childcare providers can sign up, their unique user ID and the details of what they will need to have available to complete this process.

The sender address may show as ‘Nsandi’ and contains a link to additional information available on GOV.UK, such as ‘top things childcare providers should know’. These communications will never ask directly for personal or financial information.

In an update to its advice on how to detect fraudulent emails purporting to be from HMRC, the tax authority points out that phishing emails are often sent out in bulk. It says individuals should be cautious of emails sent with a generic greeting such as ‘Dear customer’.

The guidance states that emails from HMRC will usually use the name provided by the taxpayer, other than where they sign-up to HMRC subscription services, and will always include information on how to report phishing emails to HMRC.

Guidance on Genuine HM Revenue and Customs contact and recognising phishing emails is here.