With the 2025-26 UK tax year now closed, fraudsters are sending a surge of fake “HMRC refund” texts, emails, and calls. HMRC publishes a growing list of situations where it legitimately texts taxpayers — including a confirmation text when a Self Assessment refund is being processed (added March 2025), a P800 refund text where HMRC has written and had no reply (added August 2026), plus penalty appeals, PAYE/Corporation Tax helpline call summaries, and complaint-review updates (from 27 April 2026). So “HMRC never texts” is no longer a safe blanket assumption — making it more important than ever to know what separates a genuine message from a fraudulent one. This article explains the current scam patterns, what HMRC will and won’t do, and how to verify your real refund without trusting an unsolicited message.
How to tell a genuine HMRC message from a scam
- HMRC will never ask for personal or financial information in an SMS reply or via a link in a text. This is the definitive test, regardless of whether the SMS itself is genuine.
- HMRC does send some genuine texts, but never to collect personal or financial information. Texts about a refund (Self Assessment refunds and P800) contain no links; other genuine texts may link only to GOV.UK information or HMRC webchat. Verify any text against HMRC’s list at gov.uk/guidance/check-if-a-text-message-youve-received-from-hmrc-is-genuine.
- Genuine HMRC texts link only to GOV.UK information or HMRC webchat. HMRC advises you not to open links in, or reply to, a text claiming to be from HMRC that offers a tax refund in exchange for personal or financial details.
- HMRC will never threaten arrest or leave a voicemail threatening legal action. Treat either as a scam.
- HMRC will never ask you to pay with gift or payment vouchers. GOV.UK also lists contact that tells you to transfer money as a sign of a scam.
- Your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account is the genuine self-service channel — check your refund status there directly.
Common 2026 scam patterns
SMS and text scams
Fake-refund texts are a common HMRC scam. Messages typically claim HMRC has calculated a refund and provide a shortened link to a convincing look-alike domain asking for your National Insurance number, bank details, or Government Gateway credentials. HMRC does send some genuine texts, but genuine messages never ask for your details, and the refund texts (Self Assessment refund and P800) contain no links at all. Any text asking you to click and enter information is a scam.
Email and phishing
Phishing emails claim you are owed a tax rebate or refund. Fraudsters may spoof a genuine email address or change the display name to make it look genuine, and HMRC’s published examples include a tax-rebate scam that uses PDF attachments. HMRC may text you about a refund (Self Assessment refund and P800 texts), but those texts contain no links and never ask for personal or financial information; GOV.UK lists an email, call or text that offers a refund, tax rebate or grant, or asks for personal information like bank details, as a sign of a scam.
Phone-call scams
HMRC is aware of an automated phone call scam that says HMRC is filing a lawsuit against you and tells you to press 1 to speak to a caseworker and make a payment. GOV.UK says this is a scam and you should end the call immediately. Other scam calls may refer to National Insurance number fraud or offer a tax refund and ask for your bank or credit card details. If you cannot verify the identity of a caller, HMRC recommends that you do not speak to them.
WhatsApp and social media scams
HMRC will not communicate with you on WhatsApp except for occasional one-way tax reminders if you have subscribed to the UK Government Channel, which you cannot reply to. HMRC will never use social media to offer a tax rebate or ask for personal or financial information; if you cannot verify an account claiming to be HMRC, do not reply, email its name and platform to branddefence@hmrc.gov.uk and ignore it. If you receive a suspicious WhatsApp message, take a screenshot and forward it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.
What HMRC will and won’t do
HMRC will:
- Contact you in the ways listed on GOV.UK’s list of genuine HMRC contacts
- Send texts in some listed situations — but never to collect personal or financial information via a link or reply
HMRC won’t:
- Ask for personal or financial details in a text reply or via a link in a message
- Ask you to pay with gift or payment vouchers
- Threaten arrest or leave a voicemail threatening legal action
- Put a link in a refund text (Self Assessment refund and P800 texts have none) or ask for personal or financial information in any message
See HMRC’s full guidance on phishing and scams: gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-phishing-and-scams-detailed-information.
If you have already clicked a link or shared details
- Do not reply or click any further links.
- Forward suspicious texts to 60599 (standard network charges apply).
- Forward phishing emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk then delete them. For suspicious WhatsApp messages, take a screenshot and email it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.
- If you lost money, report it to Report Fraud (the national reporting service formerly called Action Fraud), or to Police Scotland on 101 if you live in Scotland.
- Change your passwords for your Personal Tax Account, email, and any online banking you use. Enable two-factor authentication where you have not already done so.
- Contact your bank immediately if you shared any payment or banking details.
Verify your real refund before trusting any message
Genuine refunds and P800 assessments for 2025-26 appear in your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk on HMRC’s own timetable. HMRC may text a P800 reminder if it has written and had no reply, but that text has no links and asks for no details — so never act on a refund text by clicking or replying. If you want to know whether you are owed a refund, calculate it yourself with our refund estimator and verify directly at gov.uk. The Self Assessment filing deadline for 2025-26 is 31 January 2027, so there is plenty of time to check properly rather than risk clicking a fraudulent link.
Last verified 2026-10-18 against GOV.UK’s guidance on genuine HMRC text messages and on identifying HMRC-related scams.