One to many campaigns

HMRC’s one to many approach

The phrase ‘one to many’ simply describes the process of HMRC sending out a standard message related to a specific topic to multiple taxpayers.

One to many campaigns are informal. This means that HMRC are not using formal, legal powers when they send one to many communications out. Instead, HMRC use one to many campaigns to influence and encourage taxpayers to comply with their tax obligations, get their tax affairs right or to correct previous errors in their tax affairs voluntarily, without the need for a formal enquiry or compliance check.

HMRC use one to many campaigns because it can be a more efficient way to contact many taxpayers with a standard communication, rather than trying to tailor communications to each individual taxpayer.

Different types of one to many campaign

HMRC use their one to many approach in several different circumstances. They tailor the one to many communication based on the outcome they hope to achieve. This can affect:

• The type of information HMRC include in the one to many communication;
• The format of the one to many communication;
• The channel HMRC use to deliver the one to many communication to you;
• What type of action you need to take in response to the one to many communication.

We take a look at some of the different types of one to many campaign you might come across.

Educational prompt

HMRC may send you a short reminder or a prompt. These are generally intended to encourage you to take a particular action or make you aware of a future tax obligation.

Example: educational prompt

HMRC have identified that a particular group of taxpayers are not likely to realise they need to register for self assessment and submit a self assessment tax return. HMRC send out a communication to that group of taxpayers, including some links to educational guidance on GOV.UK. The communication encourages the taxpayers to check if they need to submit a tax return. It also tells them where to find guidance on how to register for self assessment and various other information about self assessment tax returns.

The taxpayers that receive the communication have not yet failed to comply with a tax obligation.

The purpose of the one to many campaign from HMRC is to encourage the taxpayers to learn more about and understand their tax obligations, to register for self assessment and submit a self assessment tax return if appropriate.

Nudge to encourage taxpayer to check and correct their tax affairs

HMRC receive data from a variety of sources. This enables them to identify groups of taxpayers that may have made a particular type of error, or may have received a particular type of income that they have not told HMRC about. With this type of one to many campaign, HMRC identify a risk that may affect the taxpayers in the target group. However, they will not be certain that all the taxpayers in that target group have made an error or have failed to tell HMRC about some income.

This type of communication is often a letter of between one and two pages in length. It should explain why HMRC think you might have made a mistake in your tax return, or why they think you have income to tell them about. It should also direct you to guidance on GOV.UK to help you deal with the issue identified in the letter.

These one to many campaigns often give you a timeframe within which to check your tax affairs and take any corrective action that is needed. The timeframe is often 30 days from the date of the letter.

The letter will often say that you do not need to take any action, or contact HMRC, if you check your tax affairs and think that they are correct. However, this might not always be the case. Some letters ask you to contact HMRC even if you are satisfied that your tax affairs are correct.

Even if you are satisfied that your tax affairs are in order, HMRC are likely to check their records. If HMRC have any concerns, they may open a formal compliance check into your tax position.

Nudge to encourage taxpayer to make a voluntary disclosure

HMRC may use this type of one to many campaign when they identify a group of taxpayers that they think are making significant errors in their tax affairs. This type of campaign aims to encourage you to make a voluntary disclosure. A disclosure enables you to correct a number of previous tax years at one time. It also sets you on the correct path for current and future tax years.

This type of one to many campaign will normally ask you to take certain steps within a set timeframe. They will often ask you to let HMRC know within 30 days of the date of the letter if you need to make a voluntary disclosure. Once you have notified HMRC about the fact you need to make a voluntary disclosure, you will normally have a further 60 or 90 days to submit the disclosure.

If you think your tax affairs are correct, you should read the letter carefully to see if you need to take any action. Some letters say that you do not need to do anything or contact HMRC. However, some letters ask you to contact HMRC within 30 days of the date of the letter to let them know that you think your tax affairs are correct.

Even if you are satisfied that your tax affairs are in order, HMRC are likely to check their records. If HMRC have any concerns, they may open a formal compliance check into your tax position.

One to many agent letters

Sometimes, HMRC do not contact taxpayers directly. Instead, they contact tax advisers or agents, who may have several clients that are affected by the risk that HMRC have identified. This is more cost-effective for HMRC, as they only have to contact one tax adviser to reach several taxpayers.

HMRC use this type of one to many approach to ask the tax adviser to check the tax position of some of their clients, and to make amendments or corrections if necessary.

When HMRC use this type of one to many approach, they do not tell the individual taxpayer about the one to many message.

If such a one to many campaign affects you, your tax adviser should contact you. They should let you know that they have received a query about your tax position and discuss with you how to respond to HMRC.

Your tax adviser should not amend your tax affairs or disclose further information to HMRC without your consent.

If you do not have a tax adviser or agent, then this type of one to many campaign would not apply to you.

Communication methods

HMRC use a variety of channels to deliver their one to many communications to taxpayers.

The most common delivery channel that HMRC use currently is letter.

However, you may also receive a one to many communication from HMRC via email, SMS text message, telephone call and through your personal tax account.

If you have an agent or tax adviser, HMRC may send a copy of the one to many communication to them.

As mentioned, HMRC sometimes send one to many communications to tax advisers / agents only.

Why you might receive a one to many communication

One to many campaigns are targeted. This means that HMRC do not send the communications out on a random basis.

HMRC have strict internal processes they must follow before they can send out one to many communications. This includes checking that a one to many approach is appropriate for the risk they have identified.

Compliance risk

The first thing HMRC do, before developing a one to many campaign, is identify a tax risk that may affect a number of taxpayers. In general, HMRC identify an area of tax where they think a significant number of taxpayers are getting things wrong and where there is a risk that taxpayers are not paying the right amount of tax. 

Target groups

HMRC also need to decide which taxpayer groups they are going to target with their one to many campaign. HMRC may select a target group based on a number of different factors, including:

• Region – where a taxpayer lives or where a business is registered
• Trade sector
• Type of taxpayer – individuals, partnerships, trusts, companies, charities

If HMRC wish to trial a new type of approach or a new style of message, they may also select a control group. This means that some taxpayers in the target group may receive the message that is being trialled, while others in the target group may receive a different message or no message at all.

What to do if you receive a one to many communication

If you receive a one to many campaign communication from HMRC, try not to panic.

HMRC may have identified that you have made a mistake or failed to meet a tax obligation, or in the case of an educational prompt, that you might need to take a particular action in future. Equally, you may have a valid explanation for what you have done or not done in respect of your tax position. 

Even if your tax position is correct and you have dealt with all your tax affairs correctly, you might receive a one to many communication.

We set out below what you need to do if you receive a one to many communication from HMRC:

Read the one to many communication carefully

You should always read a one to many communication from HMRC carefully.

Whatever type of one to many approach it is, the communication should set out clearly:

• Why HMRC have contacted you
• What they want you to do
• Any deadlines that apply
• What will happen if you do respond
• What will happen if you do not respond

Check your tax affairs carefully

If you receive a one to many communication from HMRC you should check your tax affairs carefully – both the issue covered in the one to many communication and the rest of your tax position. You should do this even if you think the one to many communication is not relevant to you.

The one to many communication should direct you to guidance on GOV.UK that will help you to check your tax position. It should also direct you to guidance on your rights when dealing with tax.

If you need help to check your tax position, consider contacting HMRC or a professional tax adviser. The one to many communication should contain contact details for HMRC. There is guidance on how to find a professional tax adviser on our Getting help page.

If your tax affairs are in order

If you check your tax position and you are satisfied that you have done everything correctly, it is important that you follow the instructions in the one to many communication.

Some one to many communications say that, if everything is in order, you do not need to take any action. However, other one to many communications ask you to contact HMRC to let them know that you think your tax position is correct.

If the one to many communication asks you to contact HMRC, it is important that you do so. Contacting HMRC to let them know that you think your tax affairs are correct might prevent them sending you further one to many communications or even opening a compliance check or enquiry.

If the one to many communication does not say whether you need to take any action or not, you should consider contacting HMRC. If you do not contact them, they may check your records and open a compliance check or enquiry if they have any concerns.

If your tax affairs are not in order

If you check your tax position and you think you have made a mistake, you should usually follow the instructions set out in the one to many communication. The one to many communication should explain what you need to do to put your tax affairs in order.

If you correct your tax position voluntarily, any penalties you receive will be lower. If you do nothing, HMRC may open an enquiry or a compliance check. If they find errors in your tax position, they are likely to charge higher penalties.

The one to many communication may indicate whether HMRC will treat any voluntary disclosure or amendment you make as prompted or unprompted for the purpose of calculating penalties. You can read more about penalties for errors in our guidance.

  If you deliberately made errors in your tax affairs, you should seek advice from a professional tax adviser before responding to the one to many communication. Rather than responding to an informal one to many communication, you might be better to make a disclosure to HMRC using a formal route, which offers you legal protection. You can read more about how to find a professional tax adviser on our Getting help page.

Deadline to respond

Many one to many communications contain deadlines by which HMRC ask you to respond. Often, the deadline in the one to many communication does not match the relevant legal deadline for a particular action. This is because one to many campaigns are informal. When HMRC send you a one to many communication, they are trying to encourage you to comply voluntarily. If you do not respond to HMRC or take action within the timescale set out in the one to many communication, HMRC may open a formal enquiry or compliance check into your tax affairs.

If you do not think you can do what HMRC are asking you to do within the timescale set out in the one to many communication, you should contact HMRC as soon as possible. There should be contact details for HMRC in the one to many communication. You should ask HMRC for more time and see if they will extend the deadline for you.

Certificate of tax position

Some one to many communications include a certificate of tax position. The communication asks you to complete and return this certificate to HMRC.

The certificate asks you to confirm if your tax affairs are correct and complete or not. It also includes a declaration noting that it is a criminal offence to knowingly make a false statement in order to evade tax.

It is unlikely to be beneficial to sign a certificate of tax position. If you sign and return a certificate of tax position, be aware that, if the declaration is found to be incorrect, this could affect any penalties you have to pay. However, more importantly, it may also result in criminal prosecution.

If you check your tax affairs, and think everything is okay, you should consider contacting HMRC to explain why you think your tax affairs are correct. This might prevent them opening a compliance check or enquiry.

If you are unsure about your tax affairs and about what action to take, we suggest you seek advice from a professional tax adviser. You can read more about how to find a tax adviser on our Getting help page.

Tax returns and disclosures

Some one to many campaigns ask you to correct your tax affairs. Often, this will involve submitting or amending a tax return and/or making a disclosure. The one to many communication should explain whether to correct your tax position by using a tax return or by using the disclosure process. However, in general, the following should apply:

When to use a tax return

You should normally be able to use a self assessment tax return to correct your income tax position if you are still within the time limits for submitting or amending that tax year’s tax return. So, if you receive a one to many communication asking you to correct your tax position for the tax year 2024/25, then you should be able to do this using a tax return, because the normal submission deadline is 31 January 2026 and the normal deadline for amendments is 31 January 2027.

When to make a disclosure

If you are outside the normal time limits for submitting or amending a tax return for the year in question, then you will normally have to correct your income tax position by making a disclosure. So, if you receive a one to many communication asking you to correct your tax position for the tax years 2022/23 and 2023/24, then you will probably have to do this by making a disclosure. This is because the normal submission deadline and the normal deadline for amendments for these two tax years has already passed.