HMRC Helpline Outage Hits Taxpayers Before Deadline

His Majesty's Revenue and Customs experienced a temporary outage in its helpline services on Thursday, disrupting access for taxpayers seeking assistance just two weeks before the January 31 self-assessment deadline. The lines closed at 11:40 a.m. due to a technical issue and reopened by 2:15 p.m., leaving callers unable to connect during peak hours.

The disruption affected multiple helplines, including those dedicated to self-assessment queries. HMRC confirmed the issue in a statement on social media, noting that it was working urgently to resolve it and advising customers to try calling later or use digital services. A spokesperson for the agency said, "We've now reopened our helplines including for self-assessment. We thank people for their patience and are sorry for the inconvenience." The outage lasted approximately two and a half hours, though HMRC described it as short-lived.

This incident occurred amid heightened demand as the deadline approaches for submitting online tax returns for the 2023-24 tax year. Those who fail to file by midnight on January 31 face an automatic £100 penalty, even if no tax is owed, with additional daily fines of £10 after three months, up to a...