Full Breakdown
Reform UK proposes £30 tax credit for taxpayers stuck on HMRC phone lines
8/26/2026, 8:44:56 PM
The Proposal: £30 credit for long phone waits
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick announced that, if the party forms government, any taxpayer who spends more than 30 minutes on hold with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will receive a £30 non-refundable tax credit at the end of the tax year. The credit will be limited to two instances per taxpayer in a given tax year. To enforce the target, senior HMRC officials’ pay would be linked to customer-service performance, with the possibility of dismissal for failing to meet the standards.
Background & Context
The announcement follows criticism from the Public Accounts Committee in January 2025, which accused HMRC of degrading its telephone service to push users toward digital channels. Reform UK frames the policy as a response to what it describes as “offensive” treatment of working people.
Data & Statistics
- Credit amount: £30 per qualifying call, capped at two per tax year.
- HMRC’s own figures: average call-wait time now around 11 minutes; overall customer satisfaction about 80 percent; 80 percent of interactions now digital.
- GB News data: average wait time of 23 minutes in 2023/24, a five-minute increase since 2018/19; roughly 50,000 calls ended after the maximum 70-minute wait time.
- Reform UK claim: 14 million hours of taxpayers’ time wasted on the phone in 2023/24, equating to £275 million in lost productivity.
- Federation of Small Business estimate: the average small-business owner spends 44 hours and £4,500 a year on tax compliance, a 10 percent rise from 2021.
Official Statements & Responses
HMRC emphasised recent improvements, noting that “our customer service performance has improved significantly with average call wait times now around 11 minutes.” The department also highlighted the shift to digital services, with millions using the HMRC app.
Criticism & Opposition
The spokesperson also questioned the party’s plan to replace UK privacy rules with a “light-touch” framework modelled on New Zealand legislation, warning that it could put personal data at risk.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on average telephone wait times: HMRC reports an average of 11 minutes, while GB News cites a 23-minute average for 2023/24. Additionally, the Public Accounts Committee’s figure of 44,000 customers cut off after an hour contrasts with GB News’s count of 50,000 calls terminated at the 70-minute threshold. No source provides a definitive breakdown of how the £30 credit would be administered or verified.
Verbatim Quotes
- “And to make sure that the staff actually hit their targets, we'll tie the pay of senior HMRC officials to their customer service performance.” — The HMRC
- “Our customer service performance has improved significantly with average call wait times now around 11 minutes.” — Labour Party spokesperson
- “The British people have lost countless hours of their lives stuck on the phone to HMRC.” — Mr Jenrick, UK treasury spokesman
