Last updated: 06 Feb 2024 10:30 Posted in:
HMRC is to continue to offer webchat services for its Agent Dedicated Line (ADL) for both Self Assessment and Pay as You Earn (PAYE) following positive feedback from agents. The service was due to close on 31 January 2024.
The tax authority has also announced changes to how it supports agents who are chasing SA, PAYE and Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) tax relief repayments on the ADL – which will begin immediately.
In a letter to agents it said: “Offering a webchat service on the ADL not only aligns with our ambitions of serving more customers through digital channels to reduce the number of calls to our helplines, but it’s also been well used by our customers. Around 15,000 agents each month have been using our webchat services.”
HMRC said its SA ADL webchat will focus on all SA topics, with agents be able to access the service via its digital assistant, which is currently dealing with around 40% of all SA queries. It added that agents with have complex or urgent SA queries will still be able to speak to one of its advisers.
It added that the PAYE webchat service will focus on repayment queries and can be accessed through PAYE digital assistant.
The letter to agents stated: “The majority of repayments are being made well within our service level agreements, however, more than a third of calls to the ADL are from repayment agents progress chasing an SA, PAYE or PPI tax relief repayment, often within a few weeks of the claim being submitted and sometimes in large quantities. This prevents advisers from helping agents with more complex or urgent enquiries.
“We are therefore taking steps to limit progress chasing contact where we can, whilst still offering an effective service to those agents who need it. From 1 February 2024, we ask that all agents who wish to progress chase repayment queries consult the ‘Where’s my reply’ tool first before contacting us. We define progress chasing as contacting us specifically to find out when the repayment claim is likely to be processed or paid.”
HMRC said the ‘Where’s my reply’ function gives an estimated date as to when you can expect it to process your repayment claim. If the expected date of processing shown on ‘Where’s my reply’ has not passed, advisers will be unable to help with the query. If the date has passed, agents can contact HMRC to check the status of their repayment claim.
It added: “In addition, from 1 February 2024 if an agent wishes to progress chase a PAYE repayment once the date on ‘Where’s my reply’ has passed, this must be done using the PAYE webchat service only, where we will be able to provide dedicated and expert support.
“Please also note that for SA repayments, if a repayment has been selected for security checks, we may ask you to wait a further 12 weeks before contacting us again to allow time for those checks to take place.”
