Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on (a) the average call answer time and (b) time spent on hold for people calling the HMRC employers general enquiries line in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
The below table provides the average call answer time (minutes: seconds) for HMRC’s employers helpline in each of the last five years:
Year | Total average over the year |
2020-21 | 09:07 |
2021-22 | 12:03 |
2022-23 | 16:03 |
2023-24 | 22:20 |
2024-25 | 26:32 |
Overall, HMRC’s telephony performance was better in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24. However, HMRC’s employer helpline was affected by industrial action from December 2024, and this impacted wait times. The industrial action concluded in June 2025 and calls to the employer helpline are now being answered more quickly compared to 2024-25.
The average time spent on hold measures when a call has been answered by an adviser and the individual has subsequently been put on hold.
The below table provides the average time spent on hold (minutes: seconds) for HMRC’s employers helpline in each of the last five years:
Year | Average time spent on hold |
2020-21 | This data is not available |
2021-22 | 02:00 |
2022-23 | 01:24 |
2023-24 | 01:35 |
2024-25 | 01:19 |
The below table provides the average call answer time (minutes: seconds) for HMRC’s Self Assessment helpline in each of the last five years:
Year | Total average over the year |
2020-21 | 15:12 |
2021-22 | 17:07 |
2022-23 | 25:14 |
2023-24 | 37:15 |
2024-25 | 23:40 |
Call volumes to HMRC vary widely throughout the year and wait times can increase during busy periods. Calls to the Self Assessment helpline were generally answered more quickly in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.
The below table provides the average time spent on hold (minutes: seconds) for HMRC’s Self Assessment helpline in each of the last five years:
Year | Average time spent on hold (minutes: seconds) |
2020-21 | This data is not available |
2021-22 | 01:28 |
2022-23 | 01:39 |
2023-24 | 02:02 |
2024-25 | 02:04 |
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
In 2024-25, HMRC handled 71.5% of adviser attempts across their helplines and had an average call answer time of 18 minutes 38 seconds. So far this year (April – August 2025), they have handled 83.5% of adviser attempts and call wait times have decreased to 13 minutes 38 seconds.
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