How to Complain to HMRC

The HMRC complaints process covers failures in HMRC's service and administration. You can complain if HMRC has:

• Made an error in processing your tax return, refund, or account
• Given you wrong or misleading advice (whether verbally or in writing)
• Caused an unreasonable delay in processing your return or responding to correspondence
• Lost documents you sent them
• Treated you rudely or poorly
• Caused you to incur unnecessary costs (such as accountant's fees to correct an HMRC error)
• Incorrectly issued a penalty or charge

The complaints process is separate from the tax appeals process. If you disagree with an HMRC decision about how much tax you owe — a tax assessment, a penalty for late filing, or a PAYE coding decision — you need to use the statutory appeals process, not the complaints process. Most tax decisions include an appeal right in the decision letter. See the section on tax error disputes below.

HMRC's complaints process has two tiers:

Tier 1 — Initial complaint: Contact HMRC by phone, online, or in writing. When writing or using the online form, state clearly that you are making a formal complaint, describe the problem and its impact, and specify what you want — an apology, a correction, a refund of costs, or compensation. HMRC should acknowledge your complaint and send a substantive response within 15 working days for most cases.

Tier 2 — Review by a senior caseworker: If you are unhappy with the Tier 1 response, ask for your complaint to be reviewed at Tier 2. A more senior caseworker will review the case independently of the original handler. You should again receive a response within 15 working days. If the Tier 2 response is still unsatisfactory, or if HMRC has failed to respond in time at either tier, you can escalate externally.

You can complain to HMRC online at gov.uk/complain-about-hmrc, by post (HMRC Complaints, BX9 1AB), or by calling the relevant HMRC helpline. Keep records of all correspondence, including call reference numbers.

Two practical points. Ask expressly for Tier 2 in writing — a second complaint is not the same thing, and the Adjudicator will send you back if Tier 2 was never requested. And be specific about redress: itemise the accountant's fee, the postage, the phone calls, and the interest or penalty you say was caused by HMRC's error, with evidence attached. HMRC's own Complaints and Remedy Guidance allows reimbursement of reasonable costs, a separate payment for worry and distress, and a further payment where the complaint itself was handled badly — but only if you ask for them.

The Adjudicator's Office is an independent service that reviews complaints about HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency once their own processes are finished. It is free.

Eligibility. You must have completed HMRC's two-tier process and received the Tier 2 final response. Individuals, businesses, and agents acting with written authority can complain. The Adjudicator will not look at a matter that is properly a tax appeal, that is before the tribunal or a court, or that is about HMRC's policy rather than how it was applied to you.

The deadline is six months from HMRC's final Tier 2 response. Later complaints are accepted only where the Adjudicator considers there is a compelling and justifiable reason, so if you are close to the six months, refer now and send further evidence afterwards.

The process. Submit online at adjudicatorsoffice.gov.uk with the Tier 1 and Tier 2 responses, a dated chronology, and your schedule of costs. The Adjudicator obtains HMRC's file, tests the department's handling against its own published guidance, and issues a written decision. Investigations commonly take several months.

What it can recommend: an apology and explanation; correction of HMRC's records; reimbursement of reasonable costs caused by the error; a payment for worry and distress; a payment for poor complaint handling; and process changes. What it cannot do: change your tax liability, waive tax lawfully due, overturn a tribunal decision, or impose a legally binding order — although HMRC accepts the great majority of recommendations.

If you believe HMRC has made an error in calculating your tax — for example, an incorrect PAYE code, a disputed self-assessment liability, an incorrect penalty, or a wrong tax credit award — this is dealt with through the statutory appeals process, not the complaints route:

1. Internal review: You can request HMRC carry out an internal review of any appealable decision. This must usually be requested within 30 days of the decision letter. The review is carried out by an HMRC officer not involved in the original decision.
2. First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber): If you disagree with the internal review outcome, you can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber). This is a formal legal hearing but does not require a lawyer — many taxpayers represent themselves. The tribunal's decision is legally binding.
3. Upper Tribunal and Courts: Further appeal on points of law is possible to the Upper Tribunal and higher courts.

Two timing traps. The appeal or review request must normally be made within 30 days of the decision letter, and complaining instead does not extend that. And an appeal does not by itself stop collection — for most direct taxes you must also apply to postpone payment of the disputed amount, or HMRC can keep pursuing the debt while the appeal runs.

For tax disputes, consider seeking advice from a tax adviser, accountant, or the TaxAid charity (for individuals on low incomes). Citizens Advice can also help you navigate HMRC's appeals process for PAYE and tax credit issues.

The final step is the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Because HMRC is a government department, the statutory MP filter applies: you must put the complaint to your own constituency MP, who then refers it to the PHSO. Do this within 12 months of first knowing about the problem, and only after the Adjudicator has finished. The PHSO looks for maladministration causing an unremedied injustice and can recommend an apology, a corrected record, reimbursement, and a payment for distress. It cannot alter your tax liability either.

If HMRC rejects the complaint at Tier 1, request Tier 2 in writing and identify what the first response failed to address rather than restating the complaint.

If the Adjudicator does not uphold your complaint, ask for a review, pointing to a specific document or finding that was not dealt with. Then consider the MP and PHSO route — being unsuccessful with the Adjudicator does not block it.

If the real problem is the tax itself, the complaints ladder will never fix it. Go back to the appeal route, and if the 30 days have passed, apply for a late appeal explaining the delay — HMRC and the tribunal both have discretion to admit one. Where HMRC's own error or delay caused the liability, ask separately about Extra-Statutory Concession A19 for underpaid PAYE, and about special relief for out-of-time self-assessment determinations.

If you cannot pay while the dispute runs, ask for a Time to Pay arrangement rather than letting the debt escalate — see Time to Pay arrangements with HMRC. Enforcement can continue during a complaint, and interest keeps accruing.