Is this MTD letter, email or call really from HMRC? How GOV.UK says to check

acrenvo.com/guides/mtd-is-this-really-from-hmrc, last reviewed 31 October 2026

Amara is fictional, but her week will sound familiar to plenty of landlords. She lets out two flats, sends a Self Assessment return every January, and has been reading about Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. In the same week, a letter about MTD arrived and someone rang to say they were calling about it on HMRC’s behalf. She wanted to reply to both, but first she wanted to know whether either really came from HMRC. This guide sets out how GOV.UK tells people to check, which MTD contacts HMRC lists, what HMRC’s own MTD letter is for, and where to report something that does not look right.

How GOV.UK says to check a contact

HMRC publishes lists of the letters, emails, phone calls and text messages it sends, grouped by subject, and GOV.UK describes what they are for. Use descriptions of emails, phone calls, letters and text messages recently issued by HMRC to help you decide if a contact is genuine or a scam from a fraudster trying to get your personal information. The lists are the place to start, because they describe each contact in HMRC’s own words: who sends it, how it arrives and, for some, the dates it runs between.

It also helps to know that one piece of contact can lead to another. Sometimes HMRC uses more than one way to get in touch. For example, HMRC may contact you by letter first before following up with an email, call or text message. This is because:

• it can provide an extra level of security
• it can help prepare you for the follow up contact
• these are the contact details HMRC has for you

Source: GOV.UK: check a list of genuine HMRC contacts, last updated 30 July 2021, read by us on 12 October 2026.

Source: GOV.UK: check genuine HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method, last updated 27 October 2026, read by us on 31 October 2026.

The warning signs HMRC lists

Alongside the lists, HMRC gives a short checklist of warning signs. Use the following checklist to decide if the contact you’ve received is a scam. You can use it for phone calls, emails, text messages or social media messages. It could be a scam if it:

• rushes you
• is threatening
• is unexpected
• asks for personal information like bank details
• tells you to transfer money
• offers a refund, tax rebate or grant

For phone calls in particular, GOV.UK is specific about what HMRC does not do. HMRC will never:

• leave a voicemail threatening legal action
• threaten arrest

HMRC will never ask you to pay with gift or payment vouchers. HMRC’s reporting page adds two rules about how it uses email and text messages, which are worth keeping in mind when a message asks you for details. HMRC will only ever email you about a tax rebate or ask for personal or payment information from an email address that ends in hmrc.gov.uk. HMRC will never send a notification of a tax rebate or ask you to disclose personal or payment information by text message.

Source: GOV.UK: identify tax scams by phone, text, email or social media, last updated 6 October 2026, read by us on 12 October 2026.

Source: GOV.UK: report suspicious HMRC emails, texts, social media accounts and phone calls, last updated 24 November 2025, read by us on 12 October 2026.

The MTD contacts on HMRC’s lists

When we read HMRC’s lists on 12 October 2026, four entries were about MTD for Income Tax. Of those, two run between dates GOV.UK states, and we show those dates as GOV.UK gives them. The lists change often, so it is worth opening the GOV.UK page itself before you reply to anything. GOV.UK’s own notes on those changes are collected in what GOV.UK changed on the pages we cite.

Amara can compare her call with these entries: who made it, how it arrived, what it asked her to do and whether it fell within any dates GOV.UK gives. GOV.UK keeps research of this kind on its page about contact that uses more than one communication method, because a letter and a call can belong to the same piece of research. If a call does not match anything HMRC lists, the warning signs above and the reporting routes below are the next step.

What HMRC’s own MTD letter is for

The letter Amara received may be the one HMRC sends to people who need to start using MTD, so it helps to know what GOV.UK says that letter does. HMRC will review your Self Assessment tax return and check your qualifying income each tax year. If your income is above the relevant threshold, HMRC will write to you confirming that you need to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by the start of the following tax year. If you do not receive a letter, it is still your responsibility to check if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and to make sure you are signed up and ready to use it when you need to.

Amara has her letter, but if you are still waiting for one, or you have one you think is wrong, the same GOV.UK guidance says what to do:

Source: GOV.UK: find out if and when you need to use MTD for Income Tax, last updated 26 March 2026, read by us on 20 October 2026. The tool it mentions is the checker on that GOV.UK page.

HMRC is also signing some people up itself. From September 2026, HMRC will start to sign up anyone who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and has not signed themselves up. Because you had not signed up yourself or through an agent, HMRC has signed you up on your behalf and contacted you to confirm it. You may receive the confirmation letter in your HMRC online services or by post, depending on your circumstances. You do not need to rely on the letter alone to find out whether that has happened to you. If you are not sure whether you have been signed up, you can check in HMRC online services. Once you are signed in, a message appears on screen confirming that you are signed up, and if you do not see a message, you are not signed up yet.

None of HMRC’s lists of genuine contacts, as we read them on 12 October 2026, describes the letter confirming that HMRC has signed you up. The QR code list has a customer awareness letter about MTD, but GOV.UK does not say whether that is the letter HMRC sends after reviewing your tax return. The guide to what to do if HMRC has signed you up walks through the steps that follow, and the guide to MTD from April 2027 explains who the next letters are for.

Sources: GOV.UK: find out if and when you need to use MTD for Income Tax, GOV.UK: sign up for MTD for Income Tax and GOV.UK: check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for MTD for Income Tax.

Where to report a suspicious contact

HMRC asks people to report anything suspicious, and it gives a different route for each kind of contact on its reporting page.

• Use the Report a suspicious HMRC phone call online service to tell HMRC you’ve received a phone call you do not think is genuine. You’ll need to give your email address or sign in to use the service.
• Forward suspicious emails to HMRC’s phishing team: phishing@hmrc.gov.uk then delete them.
• Forward suspicious text messages to 60599. Text messages will be charged at your network rate.
• Email details of suspicious social media accounts to: branddefence@hmrc.gov.uk.

HMRC may share your email address and phone number with other organisations to close down scams. HMRC’s reporting page gives a route for suspicious phone calls, emails, text messages and social media accounts. It does not give one for letters. If a letter worries you, GOV.UK points you to HMRC’s list of genuine letters and its list of QR codes on letters.

Source: GOV.UK: report suspicious HMRC emails, texts, social media accounts and phone calls, last updated 24 November 2025, read by us on 12 October 2026.

If you have already replied, GOV.UK has two further routes. You can report a disclosure of personal information to the HMRC security team. If you’ve been a victim of a scam and suffered financial loss, report it to Report Fraud through their website or to Police Scotland by calling 101 if you live in Scotland.

Source: GOV.UK: identify tax scams by phone, text, email or social media, last updated 6 October 2026, read by us on 12 October 2026.

Questions people ask about MTD letters, emails and calls