Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to reduce the time HMRC takes to process tax repayment claims.

HMRC recognise that repayments are important for customers. They prioritise them to ensure they are processed as quickly and securely as possible.

HMRC balance the provision of prompt payments to eligible customers with effective revenue protection from fraudsters.

For Self Assessment repayments, once the repayment is created it goes through automated fraud and compliance checks. In 2024-25, after these checks, 93.1% of the repayments were paid automatically within a few days.

HMRC continues to invest in automation and to review their internal processes to ensure repayments are issued as quickly as possible.

HMRC recognise too the importance of keeping the customer, and where appropriate the customer’s representative informed of progress, and are exploring ways of doing that more effectively.

In the meantime, HMRC’s online ‘Where’s My Reply’ tool can help customers understand when they can expect to receive a response.