It is a sad fact that some fraudsters have obtained SEISS grants by using innocent taxpayers' Government Gateway IDs and passwords. Once the ID has been proven to work, the fraudsters attempt to double their money by submitting false tax returns to claim tax refunds.

HMRC is aware of this scam and is writing to taxpayers who have claimed a tax refund that looks out of place based on their tax history. There are two versions of this letter which are used in different circumstances.

Where a taxpayer's unique tax refence number (UTR) has been used the taxpayer is asked to call HMRC and confirm certain details.

In more serious cases the taxpayer is asked to complete an R38 tax refund form and return it with evidence of their ID and other personal information that the fraudster may not know, such as current employment or pension details. If a tax agent completed the tax refund claim the taxpayer is asked to tell HMRC what the fee for this work was.

If you receive one of these letters from HMRC please discuss it with us with some urgency. We need to respond to HMRC quickly to ensure that your tax records are not compromised and that you are not blocked from receiving a genuine tax repayment.

Last updated: April 29th 2021.