The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department is currently contending with a massive queue of tax refund applications. As such, millions of taxpayers are suffering through delays of more than 12 months. The backlog includes back tax repayment claims tied to jobs or pensions that date back to January 2025. On top of that, some self-assessment repayments are still ongoing for requests as recent as March 2025.
HMRC is already struggling to keep up with an increase in claims for refunds. Yet taxpayers are experiencing unprecedented long delays, according to the most recent taxpayer service reports. In December, a tracking tool created by Coal Plant Tracker was displaying some unbelievable news. Some refunds won’t be cut until as late as March 2026!
HMRC are now responding to reduce the backlogs. They are putting £500 million into digital services to improve the processing of refunds and make them quicker. The agency has made public commitments to reducing wait times for tax refunds. Despite this promise, most taxpayers continue to be concerned about significant delays.
Overall though, HMRC does a good job, getting millions of tax refund claims each year and most completed in good time. An overwhelming amount of people have written in with growing aggravation over the delays on their owed refunds.
Simon Hughes, who is currently waiting for a reimbursement of £4,550 claimed last April, expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation.
“When people owe it money, they get fined for late payment, but when it owes money, it can take as long as it likes without penalty.” – Simon Hughes
Jill Eden is approaching an even bigger wait as she cycles through time. She’s patiently waiting for a £48,000 refund from HMRC. Kabir Das is still reeling from the news that his claim won’t be processed before September. This news puts him in a position of not knowing what to do.
Retired teacher Jane Leigh has publicly vented her anger about the loss of her £78,000 refund of UK pension. Despite getting approved in September, she has been promised at least four times since that the cheque is forthcoming. That still hasn’t been enough for it to land.
“I keep being told the cheque has been sent, then given different reasons why it hasn’t arrived,” – Jane Leigh
She further explained that every time she calls to follow up, she’s instructed to wait an additional six weeks for the issue to be addressed.
Lindsey Wicks is a senior technical manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). She highlighted ongoing issues regarding HMRC’s extreme refund wait times.
“For 15 years I’ve had my overpayments refunded within six weeks. This year I was first told my request should be acted upon by November,” – Ashcombe
HMRC provides paltry redress when it fails to meet its refund deadlines. Most taxpayers are disappointed because they feel these measures do not go far enough in addressing the hassle that delays can cause.
While HMRC does offer modest compensation when it fails to meet its own targets for refunds, many taxpayers feel that these measures do not adequately address the inconvenience caused by the delays.