Research and analysis

Self Assessment Campaign Tracking report 2022 to 2023

Published 8 February 2024

Quantitative research with Self Assessment customers.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Research Report 732

Research conducted by YouGov between November 2022 and March 2023, the findings in this report reflect the attitudes of participants at the time it was conducted. Prepared by YouGov (Sophie Webb and Zöe Chamberlain) for HMRC.

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

Please be aware of the following before reading this report

Due to an issue in the pre-wave questionnaire, business respondents not paying or not aware of paying taxes other than Income Tax via Self Assessment were unintentionally excluded from participating. This only impacted businesses in the pre-wave survey. Individuals and businesses in the post-wave were not affected.

Further analysis indicates the exclusion of these businesses has minimal impact on the overarching conclusions of the research. We have therefore proceeded to publish this report as part of HMRC’s ongoing commitment to transparency. However, caution should be used when interpreting comparisons between business responses in the pre- and post-wave surveys.

1. Research background 

Self Assessment is a process HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) use to collect Income Tax. Tax is usually deducted automatically from wages, pensions, and savings. However, approximately 12 million HMRC customers have taxable income that requires them to complete a tax return each year.

HMRC customers who may need to submit a Self Assessment tax return include self-employed individuals; landlords; employees or pensioners with an annual income of £100,000 or more; and people whose income, or a partner’s income, is over £50,000 and claim Child Benefit. HMRC customers complete and pay their tax return for the previous tax year. In January 2023 HMRC customers completed and paid their return for the 2021 to 2022 tax year.

Each year HMRC runs a Self Assessment communications campaign, encouraging people to file their tax return and pay money due by the 31 January deadline. This annual campaign runs from October to January, with advertising acting as a final prompt between late December and end of January. In 2023 the advertising operated across multiple channels: 

• radio

• digital audio

• online banners

• video-on-demand

• social media

• key search engines

1.1 Research objectives

The research was designed to understand the effectiveness of the 2022 to 2023 Self Assessment communications campaign across 4 key areas of measurement:

• spontaneous and prompted awareness of the campaign and sources of awareness among Self Assessment customers

• recognition of the different campaign channels, including radio and video

• response to the campaign elements: message take-out and understanding of the call to action

• pre- and post-wave shifts in knowledge and attitudes as a result of exposure to the campaign

1.2 Methodology

YouGov conducted the research using an online panel.

Two waves of research were conducted to measure the 2022 to 2023 campaign performance: a pre-wave, which functioned as a baseline prior to the campaign running, followed by a post-wave after the campaign ended.

The 2022 pre-wave survey took place between 25 November to 26 December 2022, and the 2023 post-wave survey from 30 January to 5 March 2023. 552 Self Assessment tax return customers were surveyed in the 2022 pre-wave, and another separate 560 Self Assessment tax return customers were surveyed in the 2022 post-wave. Customers were sampled from across the UK from the YouGov online panel.

In the post-wave research, each customer was shown and played examples of the following campaign materials:

• one of two radio adverts (rotated evenly across the sample)

• one of three video adverts (rotated evenly across the sample)

In this report, comparisons are made between the pre- and post-waves of the survey. Differences in response between groups or across waves have been significance tested at a 95% level. Where we reference a ‘significant’ increase or decrease, this means a statistically significant difference at the 95% level.

The research for the 2022 to 2023 campaign has been conducted by a different agency to previous years and, as a result, the data may not be directly comparable with previous years. Minor changes were also made in the post-wave to the screening in order to ensure a large enough sample of sole traders within the business sample. Due to the small proportion of those who were impacted, it is unlikely this audience would have any impact on the overall results; however, caution should be exercised when making direct year on year comparisons. 

1.3 Sample composition 

Quotas were set to achieve a robust sample size for each of the 2 main Self Assessment tax return customer groups (individuals and businesses). The businesses sampled for this research, and referred to throughout the report, are those who use Self Assessment to pay the taxes on the income generated via their business activity. This includes the self-employed and those in a business partnership arrangement.

The individuals and business samples were weighted to constitute 50% of the sample each. Within the business sample, businesses with no employees and sole traders were weighted to constitute 90% of the sample.

2. Detailed findings

2.1 Campaign performance and recall

Recall increased between the pre- and post-waves, while recognition of HMRC advertising was strong

Customers were asked in both the pre- and post-wave surveys about their awareness of advertising or media coverage about dealing with their taxes, without being prompted with assets from the advertising campaign. In the post-wave, 33% of individuals and 27% of businesses reported seeing advertising relating to taxes unprompted.

For individuals, there was a campaign-related shift in recall, with unprompted recall of tax-related advertising rising from one in four (25%) in the pre-wave to one in three (33%) in the post-wave. There were no significant changes however between the pre- and post-waves amongst businesses. 

Customers were then prompted with a list of possible information and advertising sources to ascertain prompted recall. Overall, in the post-wave 62% of individuals and 59% of businesses recalled advertising or messaging through at least one source. This represented a significant increase among both groups compared to the pre-wave (52% consumers; 48% businesses). When asked where they had seen or heard any advertising or media coverage about dealing with their taxes, email reminders were the most commonly mentioned channel by both groups; 34% of individuals and 30% of businesses in the post-wave recalled hearing about dealing with their taxes in this way. This was followed by TV advertising (24% of individuals and 18% of businesses) and text messages (18% for both groups). 

Multiple channels saw increases in prompted recall between the pre- and post-waves amongst both individuals and businesses. Recall amongst individuals who saw the campaign anywhere on TV increased from 15% to 25% between the pre- and post-waves, as well as from text messages (from 9% to 18%), radio (from 13% to 23%), the GOV.UK website (5% to 10%) and social media (3% to 8%). Similar increases were seen amongst businesses. Overall, both groups were more likely to recall seeing or hearing advertising from at least one of these channels in the post-wave compared to the pre-wave when prompted; 62% of individuals and 59% of businesses said this in the post-wave survey, representing an increase of 16% and 11%, respectively.

Prompted recognition of the campaign was then measured by playing customers 2 different adverts used in the campaign: one video advert and one radio advert. More than half of both individuals (57%) and businesses (54%) report having seen or heard at least one of the adverts across both channels. This represented an increase compared to the 40% of individuals and 42% of businesses who reported this in the previous year. The radio adverts continued to have the highest levels of recognition; 54% of individuals and 51% of businesses said that they had heard it or something similar, which has increased since the previous year (33% and 34%, respectively). Comparatively the video adverts were recognised by close to 3 in 10 in both audiences (31% individuals and 35% businesses), also an increase compared to previous years (22% and 25% respectively).

2.2 Campaign messaging

Filing deadlines continue to be the most salient, dominant message

Those who originally recalled seeing or hearing advertising or information about dealing with your taxes in the past few months were asked to describe what messages they remembered from the advertising material. Around 8 in 10 (78%) individuals and 3 in 4 (75%) businesses mentioned Self Assessment deadlines in the post-wave. Nearly one in four (23%) of both groups mentioned Self Assessment generally, while 16% of individuals and 23% of businesses mentioned Self Assessment penalties.

There was a significant increase in the proportion of both groups mentioning deadlines between the pre- and post-wave. Specifically, individuals were 17 percentage points more likely to mention hearing coverage about this after the campaign (from 61% to 78%), with a similar increase of 15% amongst businesses (from 60% to 75%). There was also increased awareness of penalties among businesses, rising from 14% to 23% between the pre- and post-waves.

Similarly, after being shown the video and radio campaign adverts in the post-wave survey, all customers were asked what message they recalled from these adverts. First this was asked unprompted, with deadlines being most frequently referenced by both individuals and businesses, alongside some mentions to the help and support offered. 

This was then followed by a prompted question, which listed a variety of statements and asked customers to identify the key message from the adverts. The most commonly mentioned message was that they had until 31 January to do their tax return if they filed online (63% of individuals and 69% of businesses), while one in three of both groups (both 33%) cited needing to pay any taxes owed by 31 January as a message they took from the adverts. 

Another key takeaway mentioned was related to payment support that may be available to Self Assessment taxpayers (58% of individuals and 61% of businesses). About 4 in 10 individuals (41%) and businesses (40%) mentioned the information available on the GOV.UK website about your tax return. 

There was also evidence that the adverts created a sense of urgency among a large proportion of customers; 54% of individuals and 52% of businesses cited it being important to get on with doing your tax return now as a message they took from the adverts, while a similar proportion (45% of individuals and 46% of businesses) said that the adverts told them that you shouldn’t leave it until the last minute to do your tax return.

Campaign attitudes remain overall positive, and do influence action

Customers were then asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with a selection of statements about the campaign creatives in order to assess attitudes and perceptions. Consistent with previous years, attitudes towards the campaign are generally positive and key messages resonate well. Messaging was well understood, with 84% of individuals and 87% of businesses saying that it was clear what the adverts were telling them to do. Similarly, more than half said that the adverts told them something worth knowing (57% of individuals and 58% of businesses). 

Customers were also significantly more likely to feel that the adverts were supportive and encouraging (45% of individuals and 41% of businesses) than feel they were patronising (25% of individuals and 28% of businesses) or irritating (28% of individuals and 30% of businesses). Though it should be noted that these represent slight decreases from the previous year’s campaign. 

In terms of respondent behaviour, around one-third of both groups (35% of individuals and 36%) of businesses said that the adverts made them want to get their tax return done as soon as possible. This was again slightly lower than the proportions of these groups (both 45%) who said this in the previous year.

In the post-wave, customers were asked how the adverts made them feel after seeing or hearing them. Around 4 in 10 individuals (44%) and businesses (39%) said it made them think about the 31 January deadline. A similar proportion (42% of individuals and 41% of businesses) said the adverts made them feel good as they had already completed their tax return. Around one-third (both 32%) of each group said that the adverts made them feel like they shouldn’t put off doing their tax return. 

Customers who had seen at least one of the adverts before completing the survey were asked what actions, if any, they had taken as a result. As in previous waves, the adverts continue to act as a trigger for customers to complete their Self Assessment, with around 4 in 10 (43% of individuals and 40% of businesses) who reported having taken at least one action as a result. 

The most common of these was to complete their Self Assessment tax return online (30% of individuals and 19% of businesses), followed by thinking about what they needed to do in order to get their tax return done (10% of individuals and 11% of businesses). Roughly 4 in 10 said that they had already completed their tax return before seeing the advertisements (42% of individuals and 36% of businesses).

All customers in the post-wave survey were asked whether the adverts made them more likely to complete their Self Assessment tax return on time. About one in three (34%) of individuals and one in four (27%) businesses agreed that they were either a lot more likely or a bit more likely to. This represented a decrease in the proportion from both groups compared to the previous year (44% and 39%, respectively).

All customers were also asked whether seeing the adverts had any impact on their opinion about Self Assessment. One in seven said that they had a better opinion of Self Assessment after seeing the adverts (14% of individuals and 13% of businesses). However, a far lower proportion (5% of individuals and 4% of businesses) said they had a worse opinion. The majority said their opinion has stayed the same (78% of both groups).

2.3 Self Assessment completion: attitudes and awareness

While prioritisation overall is consistent with previous years, completion rates are high as is awareness of time-to-pay arrangements

The proportion of survey respondents who said that they had submitted their Self Assessment tax return for the year 2021 to 2022 in the post-wave was significantly higher than in the pre-wave; 97% percent of individuals and 94% of businesses had completed their tax return in the post-wave, compared to 60% of individuals and 64% of businesses in the pre-wave. The overall post-wave proportion has increased for both groups compared to the previous year (90% and 88%, respectively).

When asked what prompts, or type of reminders, customers recalled receiving to submit their Self Assessment, in the post-wave the most cited prompts were a personal reminder (e.g., calendar) (25% amongst individuals and 21% amongst businesses) and a reminder email (32% amongst individuals and 29% amongst businesses). This was also consistent with the previous year.

Between the pre- and post-waves, there was an increase in both individuals citing texts from HMRC (3% to 15%) and the arrival of Christmas/New Year (1% to 6%), as well as businesses (6% to 12%, and 2% to 8%). 

Customers were then asked about awareness of the filing deadline, where more than 7 in 10 individuals (72%) and 2 in 3 (66%) businesses were aware of the correct deadline for filing online returns in the post-wave. This proportion has significantly increased since the previous wave, where awareness was only around half amongst individuals (49%) and businesses (55%) in the post-wave. This does suggest that the advertising is effective in raising deadline awareness among both groups.

Awareness of late penalties remains very high in the post-wave, with 95% of individuals and 97% of businesses saying they are aware. This represented an overall increase in awareness of late penalties amongst both individuals (86%) and businesses (90%) compared to the previous year. Unlike the previous year, there was no significant change amongst individuals between the pre- and post-waves this year. However, there continued to be higher rates of awareness amongst businesses from pre- to post-wave (93%), suggesting effectiveness of the advertising towards this group.

This was then followed by asking customers their awareness of time-to-pay arrangements. In the pre-wave, about half of individuals and businesses (both 49%) were aware that HMRC offers time-to-pay arrangements for customers who are unable to pay their tax bill. In the post-wave, while individuals had no significant change (50%), awareness amongst businesses increased (59%). 

Customers were then asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with a selection of statements about the attitudes towards getting taxes done and feelings related to completion. Most customers continue to think it is better to complete your tax return early, with 8 in 10 in the post-wave agreeing that it is better to do it early than wait until the last minute (82% amongst individuals and 83% amongst businesses). However, only about a quarter of both individuals (28%) and businesses (27%) agreed that most people complete their tax return more than a month before the deadline. 

About 8 in 10 customers in the post-wave say completing their Self Assessment has the same level of priority for them this financial year as in previous years (80% of individuals and 85% of businesses). 

2.4 Attitudes to HMRC

Consistent with the previous year, most customers agree that HMRC informs them when the tax deadlines are, with 8 in 10 individuals (82%) and businesses (81%) agreeing with this statement in the post-wave. About half of individuals (48%) and businesses (52%) agreed that HMRC deals fairly with people who pay Self Assessment in the post-wave. 

A similar proportion of businesses in the post-wave agreed that HMRC is here to help with tax (54%) and that HMRC deals firmly with anyone who intentionally avoids their responsibilities (52%). However, agreement was significantly lower amongst individuals compared to businesses for both these statements (41% and 42% respectively). Approximately 4 in 10 customers agreed HMRC helps them get their taxes right the first time (37% amongst individuals and 41% amongst businesses). 

In line with the previous year, those who recognised any of the adverts continued to be more likely to say that HMRC informs them when tax deadlines are (85%) and that they are there to help with tax (51%) compared to those who did not recognise the adverts (77% and 43% respectively).

In the post-wave, one in three (33%) customers said doing their taxes is getting easier, while about one in five (22%) said it is getting more difficult. The highest proportion though were those who felt they were neither more difficult nor easier (37%). This wave, there was no significant difference between individuals and businesses in the post-wave.

3. Conclusion

Overall, the data indicates that the campaign was effective in raising awareness of Self Assessment deadlines in a number of ways. Both unprompted (among individuals) and prompted awareness (among both groups) of messaging relating to Self Assessment increased from the pre- to post-wave, while awareness of the campaign overall was generally higher than last year. Messaging was clear, with Self Assessment deadlines being the most commonly mentioned topic individuals associated with the adverts, and also created a sense of urgency among customers. 

While favourable feelings towards the adverts were slightly lower compared to the previous year, sentiment towards them remains positive overall. The campaign also appears to be effective at driving action among individuals and businesses, with majorities of those who had not yet completed their Self Assessment saying they had taken steps to do so after seeing the adverts.

Reported completion rate of Self Assessments was very high, with almost all survey respondents reporting that they had already completed their tax return in the post-wave, and the most cited prompts continued to be personal reminders and reminder emails.

Linked to this, a majority report being aware of the filing deadline, with the proportion this year increasing both between the pre- and post-waves as well as since the previous year (2021 to 2022) and almost all customers reported being aware of late penalties. However, awareness of time-to-pay arrangements was considerably lower, with only around half of customers reporting they were aware of this.

Despite higher awareness of the deadline, the majority prioritise completing their tax return the same this year as they did in previous years, with no change since last year; however, the proportion who prioritise it more this year decreased since 2021 to 2022. 

Perceptions of tax ease are mixed, with some (one in three) customers saying they are getting easier, some (one in five) saying they are getting more difficult but the largest proportion finding doing taxes neither easier nor more difficult. 

The majority of customers feel that HMRC informs them when the tax deadlines are, are here to help with tax, and deal fairly with people who pay Self Assessment. Many also believe that HMRC helps them get their taxes right the first time, however the proportion had decreased since last year amongst both businesses and individuals. Those who recognised any of the adverts continued to be more likely than those who had not seen them to say HMRC informs them when tax deadlines are and that they are there to help with tax.