Taxpayers spent over 700 years on hold with HMRC as wait times worsen

Taxpayers in the UK collectively spent more than 719 years on the phone waiting to speak with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the year ending June 30, 2024. This alarming statistic comes as average wait times continue to deteriorate, according to a report by national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.

Key Findings:

• Average call wait time has increased to 27 minutes and 2 seconds, up 19% from the previous year
• In the last quarter alone, wait times rose by 5%
• Only 42% of calls to HMRC were actually handled by an advisor

The situation could be even worse than these figures suggest, as they only account for the calls that were successfully connected to an advisor. The remaining calls were either deflected, met with a busy signal, or abandoned by frustrated customers stuck in long queues.

Neela Chauhan, Partner at UHY Hacker Young, warns that these extended wait times are making it increasingly difficult for individuals and businesses to resolve tax-related issues. “Taxpayers also run an increased risk of receiving late filing and payment penalties as they wait to speak to HMRC regarding tax problems,” Chauhan stated.

Call for Increased Funding

The accountancy group is urging the government to allocate additional funding to HMRC specifically for improving customer service. Chauhan emphasized, “Too frequently, when the Government talks about increasing HMRC funding, it ends up being for tax investigations. It’s vitally important that HMRC gets extra funding to improving its very poor customer service.”

She added that delays in processing customer queries not only frustrate taxpayers but also hinder HMRC’s ability to resolve tax issues and collect due taxes efficiently.

The deteriorating service has led to a surge in complaints, with HMRC receiving 35,000 customer complaints in the past year – a staggering 65% increase. As a result, HMRC paid out £718,000 in compensation to customers for delays over the last 12 months.

As the situation continues to worsen, pressure is mounting on the government to address this crisis in HMRC’s customer service capabilities. The impact on both individual taxpayers and businesses underscores the urgent need for reform and increased resources to tackle these unacceptable wait times.