HM Revenue & Customs has been slammed for allowing taxpayers to spend record amounts of time on hold.
The National Audit Office found taxpayers spent 7 million hours, the equivalent of 798 years, on hold in 2022-23, more than double the wait time three years earlier.
AJ Bell warned that the situation could worsen as frozen thresholds and cuts to dividend and capital gains tax allowances drag more people into the taxman’s clutches.
Charlene Young, pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, said: “HMRC’s burgeoning waiting room is down to both the growing number of taxpayers needing help navigating the UK’s labyrinthine tax system and longer hold times waiting to speak to someone.”
A freedom of information request by AJ Bell showed that the average wait time to talk to someone at the tax office has quadrupled in a decade from 4 minutes in 2012-13 to well over 16 minutes in 2022-23.
Young said: “Waiting times have absolutely soared in the last few years. In 2019-20 the typical wait time was 6-7 minutes, but the average hold time taxpayers have to endure has rocketed since then. Of course, many will have waited far longer if they had to contact the taxman at peak times.
“HMRC’s own performance statistics showed a record number of calls last tax year, despite phone lines having been shut over the summer months. There was also a significant uptick in use of its webchat and digital services.”
The Government has pledged £51 million to keep telephone lines open and reduce call waiting times but Young said with customer service spending at £881 million in 2022-23, it may not be enough to remedy the issue.
