Complaint letter

Ultimately, the Adjudicator’s Office handles all complaints about HMRC. However, the adjudicator will only examine a complaint if it has been through the proper levels of authority within HMRC first.

Set out your grievance

If you feel you have been unfairly treated by HMRC, for example unreasonable delays, mistakes or poorly treated by staff, the avenues of complaint are to: (1) an HMRC complaints handler; (2) review by a different HMRC officer; (3) the Adjudicator; and (4) the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Your complaint should set out exactly what is being sought - an apology, an explanation with an assurance that it will not happen again and an itemised request for compensation. You can use our Complaint Letter to set out your grievance to the relevant person.

Note. If you don’t agree with an HMRC decision, such as the amount of tax you’ve been asked to pay, then you’ll need to follow the review and appeals process instead.