Corporate report

Annex: Summary of HMRC’s planned activities listed in this Transformation Roadmap Progress update

Published 2 July 2026

This annex sets out HMRC’s planned activity for 2026 to 2027 at the time of publication. This activity reflects HMRC’s focus on improving customer experience, strengthening compliance and modernising the tax and customs system, and will continue to evolve as HMRC progresses through design and delivery.

For HMRC’s digital improvements, HMRC uses agile delivery methods. This means HMRC focusses on delivering early live products and improving them over time. While the plans below represent HMRC’s best current view they will iterate as they progress into design and testing, in response to customer feedback and new emerging priorities. This approach allows HMRC to adapt and refine solutions to better meet evolving taxpayer needs. HMRC expects further planned digital investments to be confirmed over the remainder of this spending review period.

Improving day to day performance and the overall customer experience

Deliverable: Digital modernisation

Description

HMRC will deliver modern, secure digital service across PAYE, Self Assessment, Child Benefit and more. This will improve customer and adviser experiences through automation, integration and joined-up journeys.

2026 to 2027 planned activity: Income Tax Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and National Insurance contributions (NICs)

Make incremental improvements to the Personal Tax Account to deliver a more accessible, personalised experience, helping customers understand their tax position and take action in one place.

Continue delivery of a single, consolidated digital expenses service, building on private beta learning to support wider rollout. This will allow customers to claim expenses online and upload supporting evidence digitally.

Expand features available through HMRC’s online PAYE service, releasing improvements in stages as design and testing completes. Enhancements include clearer explanations of how untaxed interest affects tax liabilities, improved online information explaining under and overpayments, and making the impact to a customer’s take home pay clearer, through personalised calculations, messaging and explanations on the P2 tax coding notice with these enhancements rolled out in phases across 2026 to 2027.

Introduce a digital refund service for individuals who have overpaid National Insurance, with initial functionality delivered during 2026 to 2027 and further enhancements following phased rollout.

Enhance the Check Your State Pension forecast service by introducing a new feature to enable payments of voluntary Class 2 NICs, making it easier and quicker for self-employed customers to understand gaps in their National Insurance record.

2026 to 2027 planned activity: Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA)

Deliver pre-population of Self Assessment returns with Child Benefit data, rolling out during 2026 to 2027, subject to final data and service assurance.

Develop additional online expenses services so customers can claim for professional subscriptions and mileage online, and upload supporting evidence digitally, with staged rollout following testing.

Improve the Registration Service for customers who already have a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) to rejoin Self Assessment more easily, starting with targeted improvements to reduce common errors and delays.

2026 to 2027 planned activity: Child Benefit

Introduce end-to-end Child Benefit claim tracking, with initial tracking functionality available during 2026 to 2027 and further enhancements delivered incrementally, improving visibility from claim to payment and helping identify complex cases earlier Introduce digital award notices for Child Benefit claims and the High-Income Child Benefit Charge as part of phased service improvements.

2026 to 2027 planned activity: VAT

Introduce an improved VAT repayments tracker, with initial functionality available to customers during 2026 to 2027, and further enhancements delivered following user testing.

Further improve VAT registration processes during 2026 to 2027, including simplifying application journeys, improving upfront guidance, and reducing avoidable delays in registration decisions, with changes delivered incrementally.

Deliverable: Customer Management Services modernisation

Description

HMRC will deliver a customer engagement platform, anchored by new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) capabilities, to drive modernisation, simplification, and improved service delivery, embedding compliance by design throughout the customer journey.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

To improve customer service by moving work to new IT systems such as a new CCaaS platform which will better embed AI capability. CCaaS implementation will be phased over time.

Continue to use technology to support customers calling HMRC’s helplines, for example through the use of call summarisation, information messages to provide customers with the details they need, and voice biometrics where appropriate.

Deliverable: Inheritance Tax Digitisation

Description

The new digital Inheritance Tax service will allow executors and representatives to manage and complete IHT cases online, with faster processing, clear guidance, and reduced manual intervention and improved compliance.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Continue to design and build a modern end-to-end digital service to replace the existing manual, paper-based Inheritance Tax process. This digital service will go live from 2027 to 2028.

Deliverable: HMRC One Login Transition

Description

HMRC will transition new and existing HMRC customers (individuals, agents and organisations) to GOV.UK One Login, the cross-government single, secure sign-in and identity verification service by 2030.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

All new HMRC individual customers (those without a Government Gateway ID) are now accessing HMRC digital services using GOV.UK One Login.

HMRC is also making preparations to bring existing individual customers (those who already have a Government Gateway ID) into GOV.UK One Login.

Alongside this, work is underway to assess how agents and organisations can transition to the service.

Deliverable: Raising awareness to encourage use of digital services

Description

HMRC will drive awareness and adoption of the HMRC app and online services through the ‘You’re on it’ campaign, supported by targeted bursts of activity aligned to new functionality and our project to reduce postal outputs, and we will support Self Assessment customers to file by the deadline while encouraging more of them to file early, driving prompt payment.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Achieve 10 million unique users on the HMRC app by March 2027. Expand and improve the digital offer for individuals and small businesses to ensure focus on areas that will deliver the most benefit to customers. Make a further circa 4,000 GOV.UK guidance updates and improvements, helping more customers to digitally self-serve.

Deliverable: Digital services for intermediaries

Description

HMRC will improve digital services for intermediaries, enabling customers to transact within their preferred systems.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Continue improvement, automation and onboarding of its new agent registration system, including fully operating Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to strengthen digital identity, security and fraud prevention for tax advisers.

Evaluate the options for expanding an income record viewer service for agents.

Evaluate the options for a digital route to submit tax code change information, with any rollout dependent on successful testing.

Evaluate the options for a service enabling customers to track their Self Assessment repayments and submissions.

Evaluate the options for an online service to enable agents to close their client’s Self Assessment record more efficiently.

Introduce for VAT new functionality enabling customers to authorise multiple tax advisors.

Work with end users and stakeholders across the software sector to define a clear and prioritised delivery plan for publication in April 2027.

Closing the Tax Gap

Deliverable: Compliance and debt collection workforce

Description

HMRC will continue its commitment to grow our workforce by 5,500 frontline compliance officers and 2,400 debt collectors, along with expanding necessary supporting functions.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Recruit an additional 1,100 compliance officers.

Recruit an additional 800 debt management staff.

Deliverable: Modernising debt management

Description

HMRC will deliver its commitment to reduce debt year on year as a percentage of receipts.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Continue the long term programme of modernising its debt management case system, which will simplify the processes tax debt caseworkers use and support customers by contacting them with the right message at the right time.

Collect £31 million of older tax debts through the increased use of debt collection agencies following the successful trial last year.

Collect £22 million through the gradually increased use of directly recovering tax debts owed by companies following a successful test and learn phase last year.

Deliverable: Tackling illegality on the high street

Description

HMRC will undertake a programme of activity to tackle the people and enablers of businesses that operate illegally on the high street. This will address a broad range of risks including tax evasion, and align with HMRC and government strategies for Tobacco, Alcohol, Vaping, National Minimum Wage and Anti-money Laundering.

This will be delivered through planned operational activity and further measures announced at Budget 2025, including supporting delivery of the cross-government high street taskforce, strengthened border enforcement on the vaping supply chain, formation of the new Small Business Evasion and Enforcement Team, and improved partnering with Insolvency Service and Companies House.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Undertake at least 30,000 high street linked interventions, collaborating with other agencies, and dedicate 50% capacity of HMRC’s criminal investigators from the new Small Business Evasion and Enforcement team to tackle high street businesses linked to illegal activity.

Deliverable: Fraudulent Document Identification Risking (FDIR)

Description

HMRC will reduce repayment fraud through strengthened identity verifications capabilities — improving fraud detection and prevention across tax services and protecting public revenue, which will apply to ITSA, VAT and PAYE.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Improve tools for HMRC caseworkers to identify fraudulent documents during compliance activities using more advanced mechanisms.

Deliverable: Use new third-party data to prepopulate ITSA returns by 2028

Description

HMRC will design a new data ingestion engine and reform our information powers to capture data collected from third-party organisations (such as banks and building societies), ensuring that this data can feed into our risking processes and upstream compliance interventions, such as pre-population of certain parts of tax returns and auto-registration into tax regimes.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Introduce secondary legislation and publish guidance on third-party data requirements to support risk assessment, tax compliance and administration.

Deliverable: Deliver policy Spring Statement 2025 measures

Description

HMRC will progress a joint plan with Companies House and the Insolvency Service to tackle those using contrived insolvencies to evade tax and write off debts owed to others.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Increase Insolvency Service enforcement outcomes in phoenixism cases to 150 and doubling the value of tax protected through HMRC securities to £250 million.

Deliverable: Secure Digital Exchange Communication (SDEC)

Description

HMRC will go live with our SDEC solution to give taxpayers and intermediaries secure digital channels, giving them the ability to communicate and exchange documents digitally.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Deliver the core capabilities that enable secure digital communication and file exchange through SDEC programme.

Deliverable: Large Business and Wealthy Customer Management

Description

HMRC will deliver new digital channels and create a seamless customer experience for the UK’s largest businesses, complex customers, and wealthy taxpayers. HMRC will digitise manual processes and bridge data gaps to build a holistic view of our customer population, and this year HMRC will commence private and public beta phase testing for the Digitise Senior Accounting Officer (DSAO).

2026 to 2027 planned activity

To support delivery of the desired customer experience, publish the Further Closing Wealthy Tax Gap plan in Autumn 2026.

Deliverable: Digital Disclosure Service

Description

HMRC will deliver a self-serve capability through the Digital Disclosure Service for customers to disclose, calculate and pay their liabilities. This will deliver an improved customer experience, business efficiencies with processing current and future disclosure demands, and improve the range of our online services.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Develop a Digital Disclosure Service to allow customers and intermediaries to correct mistakes and pay liabilities and penalties for all taxes and duties, with the aim to go live in 2027 to 2028.

Reform and modernisation

Deliverable: Making Tax Digital (MTD)

Description

MTD for Income Tax modernises the way businesses keep records and calculate their tax liabilities. In total around 2.9 million customers will be brought into MTD for Income Tax Service.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Continue roll out of MTD for Income Tax to those with income over £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.

Deliverable: Automatic Exchange of Information, Crypto Asset Reporting Function, modernising Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

Description

HMRC will implement Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) international tax reforms and continue to enable Automatic Exchange of Information with a new strategic platform that will support future international data exchanges (such as Crypto Asset Reporting Framework announced at Spring Budget 2024) and transform existing international data exchanges such as the CRS.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Deliver a reporting service ahead of the reporting deadline of 31 May 2027 to support Crypto Asset Service Providers to meet their legal requirements to report to HMRC using the OECD schema, and for the UK to exchange information with other participating jurisdictions by 30 September 2027.

Deliver the OECD schema changes announced in January 2026 to enable Financial Institution submissions ahead of the UK reporting deadline of 31 May 2027. This will enable Financial Institutions to meet updated CRS and FATCA requirements, and for the UK to exchange relevant data with other jurisdictions by 30 September 2027.

Deliverable: Global Minimum Tax (Pillar 2)

Description

HMRC will continue to implement the ‘Pillar 2’ Global Minimum Tax (GMT) in the UK to deter profit shifting by large businesses and raise £1.7 billion per year by 2030 to 2031. HMRC will complete deployment of the IT services and maintain alignment of the UK’s rules with the latest OECD and G20 Inclusive Framework model rules and commentary, and work with international partners to ensure a coordinated approach to implementation, supporting businesses and protecting the integrity of the global system.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Delivered a reporting service ahead of the reporting deadline of 30 June 2026 that enables Multinational Enterprises to meet their Pillar 2 filing requirements, and preparing for the UK to meet its international commitment to exchange relevant data with other jurisdictions by 31 December 2026.

Deliverable: E-Invoicing

Description

As announced at Autumn Budget 2025, VAT e-invoicing for Business to Business and Business to government transactions will become mandatory from April 2029. Applying co-creation principles, HMRC will engage extensively with businesses and industry to shape policy around their needs and delivery capability. HMRC will publish full guidance, standards, technical specification and legislation by the end of 2027 to 2028.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Work with Department of Business and Trade (DBT) to publish an e-invoicing roadmap at Budget 2026 that will set out the milestones to implementation in April 2029 and build on co-creation work taking place with industry representatives in 2026.

Deliverable: Artificial Intelligence and innovation

Description

HMRC will consolidate HMRC’s AI foundations and core capabilities to drive the adoption of AI across HMRC and introduce and exploit a range of use cases to improve customer experience, increase compliance and improve productivity.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Begin to make available a new tool to the trading community to support importers and exporters to find customs information they need.

Continue to monitor and maximise benefits from the roll out of Copilot.

Undertake further trials of AI use cases.

Deliverable: COTAX modernisation

Description

HMRC will modernise HMRC’s Corporation Tax system (COTAX), transitioning from legacy technology that inhibits our ability to digitise Corporation Tax (CT) process and workflows, to a more modern, flexible IT platform that can be supported by multiple vendors.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Work on the replacement system for COTAX, as well as developing a response to the recently published consultation on modernising and standardising company tax returns.

Deliverable: Common Transit Convention (CTC)

Description

HMRC will update the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) system to meet the UK’s legal obligations under the CTC after leaving the EU. This work won’t change how customers use the system but will ensure compliance with EU technical requirements. In 2026 to 2027, we’ll complete all the necessary build, testing, and deployment phases, and provide support as the new version goes live.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Introduce version 6 of the NCTS, which facilitates the movement of goods under the Common Transit Convention and is a valuable facilitation for UK traders. The new version NCTS6 was delivered successfully on 1 June 2026 with positive feedback from traders and stakeholders.

Deliverable: Cross government

Description

HMRC will work in partnership with other government departments and devolved administrations to deliver the government’s economic aims.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

HMRC will work with the Scottish Government and Revenue Scotland as they implement their Air Departure Tax replacing Air Passenger Duty in Scotland planned for April 2027.

HMRC will work with DWP to develop a strategic, automated data share to support National Insurance-based benefits and streamline DWP’s services for more timely and accurate processing of claims.

HMRC will work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) on GOV.UK One Login.

HMRC will work with DBT and wider government to implement and deliver the Regulation Action Plan and Plan for Small Businesses.

HMRC will work with Companies House, DSIT, DBT and the Insolvency Service, to improve cross-department collaboration and deliver improvements to how businesses interact with government.

Deliverable: Improving day-to-day performance on core Valuation Office (VO) services

Description

HMRC will accelerate VO’s digital transformation, delivering improvements to its customer service and supporting a fair and efficient tax administration.

2026 to 2027 planned activity

Quicker outcomes for customers who challenge their business rate: The VO will give customers earlier certainty about their Business Rates. By March 2027, it aims to resolve over 70% of challenges within 12 months, increasing to 90% by December 2027 — more than doubling the proportion of challenges resolved on time from around 40% currently, giving significantly more customers earlier certainty.

Faster decisions for business rates customers facing hardship: By March 2027, the VO aims to resolve 90% of hardship check cases within 2 months, and 90% of hardship challenge cases within 4 months — building on recent improvement from around 60% in 2023 to 2024 to around 80% in 2025 to 2026. This represents a significant further step forward in performance, in an area where outcomes can vary depending on operational cycles and will ensure more consistent and earlier support for the most vulnerable customers.

Faster decisions on business rates and Council Tax for self-catering properties: Having already reduced decision times from 5 months in 2024 to 2025, the VO will reduce the average decision time to one month by October 2027 — an 80% reduction overall.

Faster decisions for customers who request a review of their Council Tax band: The VO will respond more quickly when customers ask it to formally review their Council Tax band. By March 2027, the VO aims to make decisions on over 90% of requests within 2 months, an improvement from 65% in March 2026 — significantly increasing the proportion of customers receiving timely decisions.

Faster Council Tax banding for customers occupying new properties: By October 2027, the VO will reduce the average time it takes to assign a Council Tax band for new properties from around 3 months to one month — reducing decision times by around two-thirds.

Speeding up the removal of properties from the Council Tax list: By October 2027, the VO will reduce the time taken to action requests to remove properties from the Council Tax list from around 4 months to one month — cutting waiting times by 75%.