New Self Assessment online chat service

HMRC have today announced their latest foray into the digital world.

They are offering an “online chat service to customers with Self Assessment queries this January”

How useful it will be is unclear, particularly as “staff will not have access to your account, so for detailed account queries you should call the Helpline as normal”.

That last comment is ironic because my biggest concern with this initiative is that any HMRC staff allocated to the chat service is one that cannot be allocated to the helpline, and that helpline is badly under-resourced as it is.

However you seek your help this January, I wish you luck.