UK HMRC Performance Highlights: collected £843.4 billion in total tax revenues

As per UK HMRC´s Annual Report for the years 2023 to 2024, HMRC made significant strides towards its vision of becoming a trusted, modern tax and customs department. 

HMRCs progress is measured through various strategic objectives and key performance metrics.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Collect the Right Tax and Provide the Right Financial Support

• Total Tax Revenues: HMRC collected £843.4 billion in total tax revenues, marking a 3.6% increase from the previous year.

• Child Benefit Support: 6.9 million families received support through Child Benefit.

• Self Assessment Assistance: Over 900,000 Self Assessment customers were supported to manage their debts with manageable instalments.

• Compliance Interventions: HMRC completed 320,000 compliance interventions to help taxpayers stay on track.

• Tax Protection: HMRC protected £41.8 billion in tax by tackling avoidance, evasion, and error, with £13.7 billion achieved through promoting compliance and preventing non-compliance.

Simplify Tax Compliance and Strengthen Rule Enforcement

• Online Services Satisfaction: 83.1% of customers reported being satisfied or very satisfied with HMRC's online services.

• 24/7 Online Self-Service: HMRC's 24/7 online self-service channels were used for 69% of customer interactions, an increase of almost 6 percentage points from the previous year.

• Child Benefit Claims: 570,000 claims for Child Benefit were supported using HMRC's new online service.

• PAYE System Improvements: 40,000 people starting new jobs were assisted in paying the right tax from the outset.

• Interactive Guidance: HMRC launched 35 new interactive guidance products.

Ensure Fair Treatment and Protect Society from Harm

• Tax Avoidance Schemes: HMRC publicly named 40 tax avoidance schemes, 39 promoters, and 24 connected persons.

• Stop Notices: 15 stop notices were issued to halt the promotion of tax avoidance schemes.

• Fraud Investigations: HMRC initiated 430 new criminal cases and over 10,200 civil investigations into suspected fraud.

• Anti-Money Laundering: Conducted 3,629 anti-money laundering interventions.

• National Minimum Wage Protection: Identified £7.6 million in pay arrears, protecting 52,000 workers from underpayment.

Create a Great Workplace

• Fair Treatment: 83% of HMRC colleagues feel they are treated fairly at work.

• Skill Development: Over 21,000 HMRC colleagues enhanced their skills through the Digital Academy.

• Modern Regional Centres: HMRC opened 12 modern regional centres to foster innovation and collaboration.

• Government Hub Space: More than 40 other departments, agencies, and public bodies are using government hub space delivered by HMRC's locations programme.

Support Government Economic Goals with a Resilient Tax System

• Customs Declarations: 100% of import declarations (n 2023 to 2024, over 70 million) were made through the Customs Declaration Service. 

• UK Internal Market Scheme: 8,200 traders utilized the UK Internal Market Scheme between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

• Cloud Migration: HMRC migrated 372 services to more resilient cloud hosting by the end of 2023 to 2024.

• Cyber Security: The cyber security team blocked 1.5 billion suspicious or malicious events every month.

• Revenue Protection: HMRC protected £1.9 billion in tax revenue through enhanced repayment and identity verification controls.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

Compliance Yield

• 2023 to 2024: £41.8 billion (Target: £40.5 billion)

• 2022 to 2023: £34.0 billion

Customer Satisfaction

• 2023 to 2024: 78.6% (Target: 80%)

• 2022 to 2023: 79.2%

• Customer Correspondence Cleared Within 15 Working Days

• 2023 to 2024: 76.3% (Target: 80%)

• 2022 to 2023: 72.7%

Net Easy

• 2023 to 2024: +59.2 (Target: +70)

• 2022 to 2023: +59.8

Telephony Adviser Attempts Handled

• 2023 to 2024: 66.4% (Target: 85%)

• 2022 to 2023: 71.1%

“ENSURING THE RIGHT TAX GETS PAID”- DIGITALIZATION EFFORTS

Changes like the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) continue to be considered as crucial for modernizing UK´s tax system. MTD-compatible software, used to maintain up-to-date business records that connect to HMRC’s system, is already assisting over 2.2 million VAT customers in managing their VAT affairs. 

This year, HMRC made significant progress in preparing for MTD for Income Tax, which is set to go live from April 2026. Initially, this will apply to self-employed individuals and landlords with annual business or property income exceeding £50,000. The scheme will be extended to include customers with income between £30,000 and £50,000 from April 2027. This phased rollout aims to streamline tax processes and enhance compliance across different income brackets.

SOURCE/ RECOMMENDED READ:

• HMRC's annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024: performance overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)