HMRC reports best ever year for customer service
19 July 2017
HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2016-17 have been published, showing the best results for customer service performance on record.
The Annual Report sets out HMRC's latest performance results, including exceeding their government target by collecting, protecting and recovering £28.9 billion from compliance activities that will now be spent on public services. This equates to approximately £1,000 for every household in the UK.
New online services are making it easier for customers to do their Self Assessment returns and get advice and support, which has led to record numbers going digital.
A total of 9.4 million customers accessed their Personal Tax Account last year. HMRC handled more than 1.6 million webchats and 92% of Self Assessment customers submitted and paid their return online – more than ever before.
Customers who still want to contact HMRC by phone or post can now do so seven days a week – getting through in four minutes, on average, across 50 million calls in the last year. Post-on-hand is also at its lowest level in recent years.
The Annual Report also shows a seventh consecutive year of raising record total tax revenues of £574.9 billion.
Almost 2.5 million people also renewed their tax credits by the deadline of 31 July 2016, with around a million doing it online, an increase of more than 30% on the previous year.
Also published is HMRC’s Charter Annual Report which explains how the Charter rights and obligations that set out what customers expect from HMRC and what we expect from them, helps strengthen their commitment to deliver excellent customer service.