A trial text message scheme for taxpayer queries is being expanded, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.
Callers to HMRC helplines with certain queries have already been receiving SMS messages with links to digital services since January – to save them waiting on hold.
This provides them with a quicker service while freeing-up HMRC’s advisers to help people with more complex queries, the revenue body said.
From May 4, the service will be expanded to include other routine queries which could be answered online, and customers calling about these will be given the option to either receive a link to the online service or remain on the phone.
These queries include those relating to proof of entitlement documents for child benefit, voluntary national insurance contributions and checking national insurance records, applying, amending or cancelling marriage allowance, checking for receipt of a voluntary national insurance payment and when to expect a reply from HMRC.
The new SMS service has already helped point people to where they can get the quickest answer - and I'm delighted we can save more people from waiting on hold— Richard West, HMRC
In March, HMRC announced that a deadline for some people to voluntarily plug gaps in their national insurance record in order to boost their state pension entitlement had been extended to the end of July.
The extension was made after customer phonelines were busy with people trying to make top-ups.
Richard West, director of personal tax operations at HMRC, said: “We are continuing to transform and improve our digital services so customers can get answers to many of their queries quicker and easier than they would by calling or writing to us.
“The new SMS service has already helped point people to where they can get the quickest answer – and I’m delighted we can save more people from waiting on hold.”
Under the initiative, people who call HMRC from a mobile with certain routine questions receive an SMS message instead of being put through to an adviser.
The SMS will be triggered automatically, based on the customer’s reason for calling, and will include a direct link to relevant online information.
In most cases, customers will receive the text while they are still on the phone, HMRC said.
The service launched as a trial on January 19. In the first two months, text messages were sent to 180,000 customers.
