Adjudicator’s Office 2023-24 annual report

This has been ‘another challenging year for HMRC’ said adjudicator Mike McMahon in his annual report for 2023-24 (tinyurl.com/adjreport202324). He said the tax authority has ‘struggled to deal with high volumes of complaints’ and problems with taxpayers accessing help – primarily through its phone lines – are ‘significant and have been reported in the media’.

In total the Adjudicator’s Office received 1 104 complaints about HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) in 2023-24. This compares with 1 007 in the previous year and mainly reflects an increase in the number of people complaining about HMRC – 96 more in fact. It accepts complaints about HMRC the VOA and the Home Office – specifically the Windrush compensation scheme. This article will cover HMRC and the VOA only.

First report

In his foreward Mr McMahon thanked the previous adjudicator Helen Megarry who stepped...