HMRC data shows mixed results
Share this article
HMRC’s performance data for 2025-26 shows a mixed picture: progress on compliance activity, digital adoption and telephony service, but continuing challenges around debt levels, correspondence handling and customer satisfaction, says CIOT.
CIOT welcomed the news that HMRC had, for the first time, met its target of 85% of calls getting through to a HMRC helpline adviser. However, it noted that HMRC had missed its other four customer experience targets, albeit only narrowly in two cases.
Charlotte Barbour, Chair of CIOT’s Technical Policy and Oversight Committee, commented: ‘HMRC has some notable achievements in 2025-26, including record compliance yield, improved telephone performance and increased usage of digital channels. However, service levels are still below where they should be, customer satisfaction remains below target and HMRC continues to struggle with a persistently high level of tax debt.’
Charlotte observed that while it was good news that HMRC is answering its phone lines more quickly than a year ago, it is still taking them twice as long on average as it did in the 2010s. She noted that while the use of HMRC’s digital channels is continuing to rise, it will need to be accelerated if HMRC is to hit its target of 90% of customer interactions online by 2030.