HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is writing to around 1.8 million taxpayers across the UK this year as part of its annual Simple Assessment process, and is urging anyone who receives a letter not to ignore it. The letters, officially known as PA302 Simple Assessment calculations, set out how much tax is owed for the 2025 to 2026 tax year on income that has not already been collected through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) or Self Assessment.
Working-age customers began receiving their letters from 30 June 2026, with pensioners following from 12 August 2026. A second batch will be issued between October and December 2026, relating to bank and building society interest data. Letters arrive either by post or, for those who use one, directly within a customer’s Personal Tax Account, and HMRC has stressed that recipients can check the authenticity of any letter on GOV.UK if they are unsure whether it is genuine.
Simple Assessment was introduced in 2017 to remove the burden of filing a full Self Assessment tax return from people whose tax affairs are relatively straightforward but who nonetheless owe money that cannot be collected automatically. Before its introduction, HMRC estimated that around 11 million people had to complete a tax return each year simply to report information the department could often obtain from other sources, such as employers, pension providers and financial institutions.
Rather than asking these customers to fill in a return, HMRC now uses the data it already holds to calculate the tax owed itself and sends out a Simple Assessment notice explaining the figure. Crucially, receiving a Simple Assessment letter does not usually mean a taxpayer needs to complete a Self Assessment return, unless they are separately required to file one for another reason.
The scale of this year’s mailing, at close to 1.8 million letters, reflects the routine, data-driven nature of the process rather than any change in the rules themselves. Simple Assessment notices are automatically generated whenever HMRC receives information from employers, the Department for Work and Pensions and financial institutions confirming that tax is due and cannot be collected through a person’s tax code.
There are several common reasons someone might receive a letter this year. These include owing tax on interest earned on savings or on dividend income, having untaxed income from a second job or side income, owing tax on the State Pension where it exceeds a person’s personal allowance, or owing £3,000 or more in total, which is generally too large a sum to recover through an adjustment to a tax code. Self-employed workers with additional untaxed income alongside PAYE earnings, including those in sectors such as taxi and private hire driving, may also find themselves among the recipients this year.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “If you receive a Simple Assessment letter and have tax to pay, please don’t ignore it. It is quick and easy to pay any tax owed via the HMRC app.” She added that anyone needing additional support, or wanting to find out more about the process, should search “Simple Assessment” on GOV.UK.
How should people respond if they receive a letter?
HMRC’s central message is straightforward: do not ignore the letter. The first step for anyone who receives a Simple Assessment notice should be to check the figures carefully against their own records. This means comparing the income and tax details shown in the letter with documents such as a P60, bank statements, or correspondence from the Department for Work and Pensions. Anyone receiving state benefits every four weeks rather than monthly should be particularly careful when checking the totals, since the annual figure is calculated by multiplying the regular payment by thirteen rather than twelve.
If the figures in the letter appear correct, the tax owed needs to be paid by 31 January 2027, unless an alternative date is specified on the notice itself. Payment can be made in full or spread across instalments ahead of the deadline, and unlike Self Assessment, no tax return is required to settle the bill. HMRC has highlighted several payment options, including the HMRC app, which it says is the quickest method, alongside payment online via GOV.UK, by bank transfer or by cheque.
If someone believes the information in their letter is wrong, whether because the figures used are incorrect or because HMRC did not act on information it had already been given, they have 60 days from the date of the letter to contact HMRC and query it. Anyone who subsequently disagrees with HMRC’s response to that query has a further 30 days in which to formally appeal the decision. Missing the payment deadline without having raised a dispute can result in financial penalties being applied in line with HMRC’s existing policy, so taxpayers who are struggling to pay, rather than disputing the figures, are encouraged to contact HMRC directly to discuss setting up a payment plan rather than simply letting the deadline pass.
To help people navigate the process, HMRC has published detailed guidance on Simple Assessment on GOV.UK, including a version tailored specifically for pensioners, many of whom will be receiving letters relating to tax due on their State Pension for the first time. The department has also pointed to its newer Tax Confident website, which it says offers clear, simple resources designed to help people understand their tax affairs with greater confidence.
With close to two million letters landing on doormats and in inboxes over the coming months, the volume alone is likely to prompt questions and, in some cases, concern. However, HMRC has been clear that the process itself is a routine, annual exercise rather than a sign of a wider problem, and that the vast majority of recipients simply need to check their figures, note the deadline and make sure payment, or a payment plan, is in place before the end of January 2027.