untied research on the best time to call HMRC
Anyone who has tried to call the self-assessment phone line will have found that there are long waits to get through to an adviser. HMRC have also closed phone lines at various points.
Go online - if you can
If you do want to contact them, then using their online channels are best. But they don't work for all purposes and there will still be times you need to speak to someone.
Call HMRC on a Thursday morning if you need to speak to them
untied has found that it was easier to get through to HMRC towards the end of the week, particularly on a Thursday, with an average wait time of 11 minutes, although this is likely to get longer as the tax deadline approaches. In general, the best time of day to call is in the morning between 8:00am, when phone lines open, and around 11:00am, when callers will be on hold for 6 minutes.
Lines are busiest on Mondays
untied found that Mondays are the busiest days to call, with the lines tending to be busy during both the morning and afternoon, with an average call wait time of 15 minutes. The average duration increases after 4:00pm and goes up to 22 minutes.
From 4:00pm-6:00pm early in the week the lines may become so busy callers are off. A longer wait time or cut off call is also common between 12:00pm-2:00pm.
Everyone rings in January
The beginning of the year will always be a busy time for the HMRC phone lines because of the tax deadline, so the earlier you can get your taxes in (and get any queries answered by HMRC), the better!
HMRC’s telephone numbers for self-assessment are:
- Telephone: 0300 200 3310
- From outside UK: +44 161 931 9070
There are also other ways to contact HMRC shown on the HMRC website.
Also, before contacting HMRC, do check the phone opening times as they seem to be shorter than previous years.
How can untied help?
untied does research like this so you don’t have to – letting you make the best use of your time! untied also gives you the tools and information to help you make the tax choices that are best for your circumstances. You can sign up for an untied account on this page.