The taxman is closing one of its crucial phone helplines every summer, amid sweeping changes that will leave ­millions with reduced phone support.

From next month, taxpayers will not be able to speak to HM Revenue & Customs officials about their tax queries on its self-assessment ­helpline until the end of September.

The mass summer closure will be repeated every year to allow ‘helpline advisers to focus support where it is most needed’, according to HMRC.

The taxman will also permanently reduce its service on the helpline between October and March, taking only ‘priority calls’ while everyone else will be directed to its website.

This will leave millions of taxpayers without vital support at one of the busiest periods for the tax office — in the run up to the January 31 deadline each year.

The House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee of MPs has condemned HMRC's customer service for hitting an 'all-time low' with waiting times for callers rising

The House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee of MPs has condemned HMRC's customer service for hitting an 'all-time low' with waiting times for callers rising

The House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee of MPs has condemned HMRC’s customer service for hitting an ‘all-time low’ with waiting times for callers rising

This comes after a damning report by senior MPs in the Public Accounts Committee warned last month that customer service at HM Revenue & Customs had hit an all-time low.

It claimed the tax office had seen a five-year decline and was ‘struggling to cope’.

Money Mail revealed in January the extent of the breakdown in customer service after scores of readers told us how they had gone to great lengths to pay their taxes but hit a brick wall, waiting a year for replies to letters and encountering a lack of knowledge among officials as well as long phone wait times.

But taxpayers will face even more challenges in speaking to anyone at HMRC this year. So when exactly are the phone lines closing and what can you do to get through to an official?

When are phone lines closing?

Taxpayers have just three weeks to make their calls to the self-assessment helpline, as it will be closed from April 8 until September 30, when it will reopen for priority calls only.

During that time anyone with a query will be directed online and asked to use its online chatbot.

The cuts represent a ‘vital modernisation of the tax system’, according to HMRC, which will ‘allow more ­customers to self-serve and access the information they need more quickly and easily by going online or through the HMRC app, which is available 24/7.’

This follows a series of seasonal trial runs last year, which HMRC says were successful in enabling HMRC to help more customers.

The helplines were closed between June 12 and September 4 last year and the service was reduced to priority calls only in the lead up to the Self-Assessment tax return deadline on ­January 31.

HMRC said around two-thirds of calls to its self assessment helpline can be resolved far quicker through its online services. It added that last year it received more than three million calls on queries that could easily and simply be done online — such as resetting an online password, getting your tax code and finding your National Insurance number.

It also said callers would be told about its extensive online ­services through recorded messages and text messages.

However, Money Mail revealed in January that some taxpayers found they couldn’t get crucial answers to their questions in time to meet the self-assessment ­deadline. Readers told how they had been locked out of their accounts, or had yet to receive the letters they required to file their returns and were unable to get answers online.

HM Revenue and Custom, which has its HQ (pictured) in Parliament Street in central London, shut down its tax helpline between April 8 and September 30

HM Revenue and Custom, which has its HQ (pictured) in Parliament Street in central London, shut down its tax helpline between April 8 and September 30

HM Revenue and Custom, which has its HQ (pictured) in Parliament Street in central London, shut down its tax helpline between April 8 and September 30

Victoria Todd, of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, a trade body, says taxpayers ­needing extra support will now be left jumping through hoops to get through to someone who can help them.

She adds: ‘We still haven’t seen any evidence to back up HMRC’s claim that around two-thirds of callers to the self-assessment ­helpline can deal with their inquiry online, and we are concerned about the robustness of the evaluations that have been used to justify this decision.’

How else can I contact HMRC?

Taxpayers are being told to seek answers on HMRC’s website or smartphone application where its online guidance includes ­written guidance, recorded ­webinars, YouTube videos and a ‘digital assistant’.

The tax office says that its HMRC online services are highly rates, with more than 80pc ­satisfaction ratings.

However, Robert Salter, of leading tax firm Blick Rothenberg, warns that the advice given on the website can often be unclear — and in some cases has been outright incorrect. He says: ‘There’s a lot of nonsense on HMRC’s portals, and I have seen people given advice that isn’t right, especially where the lines are somewhat blurry around self-employed taxes.

‘It’s disappointing they are doing this and refuse to listen to the feedback from the public and the experts.’

Taxpayers can put their queries to the ‘digital assistant’, which is an online chatbot. But even as an expert, Mr Salter says he found it tricky to use when he had to resort to it for personal taxes.

He says: ‘Even where you do get an answer, all the nuance of your personal case is lost, so it is just a partial answer.’

Use this trick to speak to official HMRC says all customers should be able to speak to HMRC ­advisers online where their query is not dealt with by its online guidance.

But Kelly Sizer, a senior manager at the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, says those asking questions of the chatbot will not automatically be put through to an adviser, even if they don’t get a satisfactory answer.

She says: ‘You first get through to a robot, and you won’t ­necessarily be put straight through to a real person at HMRC — that’s the first hurdle.’

You must type in a specific demand in order to get through, she says. On the chat, you are likely to be put through to an ­official if you write, ‘I would like to speak to an adviser’, according to Ms Sizer.

Parents could be stung

The cut in customer services will make it more difficult for taxpayers to understand what they owe and ensure they pay on time, warns Mr Salter.

Those caught in the net of ­complex tax rules could face the biggest struggle, he says.

For example, this applies to young parents stung by the high-income child benefit charge.

This benefit starts to decrease when one parent earns £50,000 and is entirely withdrawn for those with a salary of £60,000 a year. However, families are not always aware they need to repay the child benefit they received and can receive a large tax bill — and a fine — years down the line.

Mr Salter says: ‘Surely the ­liability sits with HMRC to do a proper job to inform people of tax they owe.’

What happens with refunds?

Taxpayers will no longer be able to make requests relating to outstanding refunds or overpaid taxes over the PAYE helpline, HMRC has said.

This will make it substantially harder for people to chase any money they are due, Mr Salter says.

He says: ‘It is ten times harder to get a refund paid compared to five years ago. But its about to become even more difficult as it’s not something you can easily push along online.

‘It will be harder to get any sort of clarification or for taxpayers to understand their obligations,’ he says.

Ms Sizer says that the online services let you review your ­personal details but do not give you the option of making a query about the whereabouts of any tax refund.

The only recourse for those ­concerned will be to make a ­formal complaint against HMRC, she says.

Will there be any leniency?

No, it is extremely unlikely that taxpayers will be shown any extra leniency if they are late in filing their tax returns as a result of unanswered queries, according to Mr Salter.

He says: ‘You are unlikely to get any more leeway. They are putting more pressure on individuals to resolve their questions themselves, but the core regulations around late filing have not changed and there’s no reason to assume they will.’

  • What do you think about the changes? Get in touch

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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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