The government has issued a scam warning to those new to self-assessment, as the number of reports about tax scams soars into the thousands.
HM Revenue & Customs received more than 130,000 reports about tax scams in the 12 months to September 2023, of which 58,000 were offering fake tax rebates.
With around 12 million people expected to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the 2022 to 2023 tax year before the 31 January 2024 deadline, HMRC warned that fraudsters will continue to prey on customers by impersonating HMRC, with scams ranging from offering tax rebates to requests for updated tax details and threatening immediate arrest for tax evasion.
Laura Suter, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “The government’s crackdown on tax allowances means many more people will be filling a tax return in the next few years – this offers up ripe pickings for scammers wanting to defraud people navigating the system for the first time. On top of that, people’s budgets being crushed in the cost-of-living crisis means that a text promising a tax rebate will be more appealing than ever – but could end in financial disaster.”
The move to cut the tax-free limits on capital gains tax and dividend tax, as well as lower the threshold for the additional rate income tax band, means that more people will be filing a tax return next year. In addition, wage growth will push more people over the £100,000 earnings threshold, resulting in them needing to file a tax return.
Suter said that many of these people filing will be doing so for the first time ever, navigating a “complicated system often without help.”
Suter continued: “It means they are far more likely to fall prey to scammers who send a text asking for details or promising them a tax rebate. This is particularly the case for those filing close to the deadline and in a hurry – we’d expect to see a spike in scams around the 31 January deadline for filing online.
“Whether you’re due to file a tax return or not, you need to have your wits about you – scammers will target anyone, not just those who have to file for self-assessment.”
