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PARTLY

As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly contact HMRC about your tax return.

This still needs a person who signs their name to it.

Can you do it?

5 minutesto a draft.

30 minutesto something you’d act on.

Cost, all in£0

Skill neededchat-fluent

Who has to check ityou

What the alternative costsNo price for a human alternative is provided in the supplied data.

If this goes wrong: HMRC receives an incomplete or inaccurate explanation, your issue is delayed, and you still have to correct it yourself.

What to actually do

  1. Hand it to a person

    The route this page recommends

    A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

  2. Use a tool built for this

    Second choice

  3. Do it yourself

    The distant third

    A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

    How to actually do it

    1. Open GOV.UK and find the current HMRC contact page for Self Assessment or the tax-return issue you need to raise.
    2. Gather the relevant HMRC letter or online message, the tax year, your return status, any reference wording and the exact question you want answered, leaving out passwords and unnecessary personal identifiers.
    3. Paste the prompt into a chatbot and replace each bracketed slot with your facts, asking it to identify the official route and draft the message without estimating figures or advising on reliefs.
    4. Compare the proposed contact route with the HMRC page you opened, and compare every factual statement in the draft with your letter, return records and account.
    5. Open the HMRC service through GOV.UK, complete its identity checks yourself, and paste the checked message into the secure contact form or use the stated official route.
    6. Save HMRC's acknowledgement and response, then check that any requested correction or next step matches your return records before acting.

    Prompt

    Help me prepare to contact HMRC about my UK tax return. Do not contact HMRC, submit anything, guess any figures, or give tax advice. Use only the facts I provide. First, identify the most suitable official HMRC contact route to check on GOV.UK. Then draft a short, factual message using these details: tax year or return period: [YEAR OR PERIOD]; type of return or issue: [DESCRIPTION]; relevant HMRC letter, notice or reference wording, with personal identifiers removed: [TEXT]; what I have already done: [DETAILS]; the specific question I need HMRC to answer: [QUESTION]; deadline or urgency: [DETAILS]. List any missing facts that I should check before sending. Keep the draft neutral and do not include my National Insurance number, Government Gateway password, bank details, full address or other unnecessary personal information. State clearly which parts I must verify against my records and the current GOV.UK guidance before using the message.

    Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

What it gets wrong

  • AI cannot pass HMRC identity checks or take responsibility for the message sent from your account.
  • AI cannot see your HMRC account, tax return, notices or previous correspondence unless you show it the relevant text.
  • AI cannot determine whether an uncertain tax position is correct merely by making the explanation sound clear.
  • AI cannot guarantee that a contact route or deadline remains current, so you must check GOV.UK before sending.
  • AI cannot turn HMRC's reply into professional tax advice for a complicated dispute.

What caps this at PARTLY: legal accountability, private data access and judgement under ambiguity.

How we scored this

Five axes, each scored nought to two by hand: ten means AI carries the task cleanly, and the thresholds that turn a total into YES, PARTLY or NO are published in the methodology. Each axis name links to its definition.

AxisScore (0–2)
Output1
Inputs1
Verification1
Liability1
Effort delta1
Total5 / 10

The methodology and its thresholds are published in full.

FAQ

Can AI message HMRC for me?
Partly. AI can draft the message and help you find the right official HMRC route, but you normally need to complete the identity checks and send it yourself. You remain responsible for what you submit.
Can ChatGPT contact HMRC about my tax return?
No, not directly through your HMRC account. It can prepare a message from facts you provide, but you must check it against your records and send it through the official GOV.UK route.
Is it safe to use AI to ask HMRC about my tax return?
It is reasonable for drafting a short factual question if you remove passwords, National Insurance numbers, bank details and unnecessary personal information. It is not professional advice, and a complicated or disputed tax position needs a qualified tax adviser or accountant.
What can AI do before I contact HMRC?
It can organise the facts, turn your question into a concise message and list details you may need to check. It cannot see your HMRC records or confirm that your tax treatment is correct, so verify the route and wording on GOV.UK before sending.

Nearby answers

All Tax returns & HMRC rulings

Assessed by gpt-5.6-luna (gpt-5.6-luna) on 2026-08-13, second-checked by an independent model. Wrong somewhere? Email [email protected] and it gets re-checked.

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