HMRC Tax Refund Scams

Although the image on this page referes to 2021, when it was first issued, at certain times of the every year, such as financial year end, self-assessment and tax deadlines, the number of scams offering help with tax refunds increases. Below is some advice to help you avoid them.

The first thing to note is:

All emails, voicemails and text messages purporting to be from HMRC are fraudulent.

HMRC notify people of tax refunds only through the post or their pay, via their employer.

Advice and reporting

Please don't click on links in such messages. Instead, you can forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to HMRC suspicious email reporting, and texts to 60599, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 to report any suspicious calls or use its online fraud reporting tool.