Research and analysis

HMRC Annual Perceptions Tracking Research 2022

Published 17 July 2023

Research conducted by Yonder Consulting for HM Revenue and Customs in 2022.

Disclaimer: The views in this report are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of HM Revenue and Customs.

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned Yonder Consulting to conduct research in 2022 to ensure it had a good understanding of how the department was perceived by the general public and track trends over time. This included how HMRC scored against criteria linked to reputational factors such as trust and a good customer experience.

Research objectives and aims

The Annual Perceptions Research seeks to inform HMRC’s communications approach. By understanding where the department is performing well, and in what areas it still has work to do, HMRC can adjust its communication efforts.

The research aims are to measure how HMRC is perceived by the general public on an annual basis to establish trends, including to what extent they understand HMRC’s role and how they perceive HMRC in relation to a range of important values, such as fairness and competence.

The research followed on from Brand Perceptions Research conducted in 2020 that established a core set of measures that could be used in future research, and Annual Perceptions Research in 2021 that began to track trends over time.

Method

The Annual Perceptions Research was comprised of an online survey that took respondents approximately 15 minutes to complete. The survey consisted of core perceptions questions that were originally developed through the earlier Brand Perceptions Research that Yonder conducted on behalf of HMRC in 2020 as well as questions developed in collaboration with HMRC in 2021 and 2022.

Sample and fieldwork

For this Annual Perceptions Research, Yonder surveyed 3,049 UK adults (aged 16+) online between 8 and 25 September 2022. Please note, however, that fieldwork was paused between 9 and 20 September due to a period of national mourning following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Quotas were set and weights used to ensure the online sample in the survey research reflected the profile of the adult (16+) population of the UK in terms of gender, age, UK government office region and social grade.

At some points in this summary, the September 2022 survey is compared to HMRC’s Brand Perceptions Research conducted in July 2020 (3,012 UK Adults, aged 16+) and to HMRC’s Annual Perceptions Research conducted in September 2021 (3,426 UK Adults, aged 16+), both undertaken by Yonder.

The survey was conducted using an online research panel and therefore was not a fully randomised probability sample. Care should be taken when using this research to make inferences regarding the broader population. Care should also be taken when comparing the results of these pieces of research due to methodological differences.

2. Findings

2.1 Knowledge and awareness of HMRC

Around a third of respondents said they were extremely or very familiar with HMRC and its services, which is consistent with 2021 research. Two-thirds said they were moderately or slightly familiar. Just 2% claimed to be not at all familiar with HMRC and its services.

Respondents told us they tended to receive information about HMRC from the department itself. Those who had contact with HMRC in the last year had mainly had it via post or online – with more than a third reporting having some form of online contact with HMRC.

Respondents that were more familiar with HMRC and its services were slightly more likely than average to have a favourable view of the department. Similarly, those that reported having had contact with HMRC via online/digital channels were also more likely than average to have a favourable view. Perceptions of HMRC’s customer service, competence and reliability were, however, more negative among those who reported having had contact with HMRC via telephone compared with those that reported having had online contact.

Whilst most were correctly aware HMRC was responsible for collecting tax, only around a fifth were sure the department supported families and individuals through the administration of tax credits or that it was responsible for customs at the border. Nearly two-in-five incorrectly claimed to know or suspected that HMRC was responsible for tax rules, including setting tax rates.

When asked how HMRC should balance its approach over the next six months and presented with options to consider, respondents were divided over the approach they would prefer HMRC to take. One-in-six respondents thought HMRC should prioritise collecting tax and ensuring tax compliance over its responsibility to support businesses and individuals. Slightly more than a quarter believed HMRC should prioritise supporting individuals and businesses, over collecting tax and ensuring tax compliance. Nearly a third thought HMRC got the balance right, and another quarter did not know.

2.2 HMRC’s reputation

Overall, HMRC’s performance on core reputation metrics such as trust, favourability and confidence was stable. For example, slightly more than a quarter of respondents had favourable views of the department, consistent with previous waves of research in 2020 and 2021. Less than a fifth viewed HMRC unfavourably, and this is also consistent with 2020 and 2021 research.

HMRC was more likely to be viewed favourably than the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) but less likely to be viewed favourably than local councils, DVLA, water suppliers, Royal Mail, and the NHS.

A third of respondents rated the department highly for being an organisation they could trust and for being an organisation they had confidence in, consistent with previous research. Overall, the stability in these reputation metrics suggests that public views towards HMRC had not shifted considerably over the past year. There remained a sizeable minority, though, who either did not have strong feelings towards HMRC or did not know enough to judge HMRC’s performance.

2.3 HMRC’s performance

Some underlying performance metrics fell slightly between the 2021 and 2022 research, including metrics relating to HMRC’s customer service and competence. While these indicators decreased slightly, this was often due to an increase in ‘don’t know’ responses rather than an increase in negative perceptions.

Views of HMRC’s customer service were mixed, with many unable to provide a firm view. A quarter agreed that HMRC provided ‘good customer service’, a quarter disagreed and nearly half either expressed a neutral view or did not know enough to judge HMRC’s performance. When comparing 2022 data with 2021 data, a decrease in those agreeing was accompanied by an increase in ‘don’t know’ responses.

When prompted, most respondents said that the words ‘complicated’, ‘impersonal’ and ‘intimidating’ described HMRC to some extent. More positively, most also indicated that the words ‘trustworthy’, ‘fair’ and ‘consistent’ described the department. Fewer said it could be described as ‘approachable’ and ‘responsive’. Indeed, a fifth of respondents rated HMRC highly for ‘being easy to deal with’ and this was consistent with 2021 research.

Perceived relative strengths of HMRC related to collecting tax and helping people pay the right amount of tax. Nearly half agreed that HMRC collected ‘the right tax from people like me’ and less than a fifth disagreed with this. Similarly, more than two-fifths agreed that HMRC made it ‘easy for me to pay the right amount of tax’. Perceptions of HMRC’s performance on both measures, however, had decreased slightly since 2021.

Respondents were also generally more positive than negative when it came to HMRC's performance on compliance issues. Although many did not know or were neutral, nearly a third believed HMRC was effective in tackling fraudulent behaviour. A third also thought HMRC helped people identify scams so they could protect themselves.

2.4 HMRC’s competence

Two-fifths agreed that HMRC was competent, and this proportion was slightly lower than in 2021. Less than a fifth disagreed, but two-fifths either expressed a neutral view or did not know enough to comment.

A statistical technique called key driver analysis was used to understand which factors were most important in driving perceptions of HMRC’s competence, and it identified customer experience as the most important driver.

The research found that HMRC’s performance on customer experience was mixed; HMRC was perceived to perform relatively well on being trustworthy and helpful, but more work was needed regarding being easy to deal with and on providing good customer service. The research also suggested a difference in perceptions between those that claimed to have had online contact with HMRC and those that claimed to have had telephone contact with HMRC. Those that reported having had online contact were more likely than average to agree HMRC was competent, while those that reported telephone contact were more likely than average to disagree.

Other themes that drove competence, but to a lesser extent, were getting tax right (for example, HMRC being perceived to ‘collect the right tax from people like me’, to ‘make it easy for me to pay the right amount of tax’, to ‘treat me fairly’), protecting society and the tax system (for example, HMRC being perceived to be ‘effective in tackling fraudulent behaviour’, to ‘help people identify scams so they can protect themselves’) societal fairness (for example, HMRC being perceived to ‘treat all taxpayers equally’) and negative associations (for example, HMRC being described as ‘complicated’ or ‘intimidating’).