A new report from the CIPP (Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals) has revealed that payroll teams are struggling with HMRC services that deal with RTI (real time information), with some cases spending years trying to get simple issues resolved. 

Other case studies report that HMRC agents have been worried about ‘getting into trouble’ for resolving cases, or otherwise ‘hang up’ the call when they are unable to assist further.

The report, released on the 28 February 2025, highlights seven case studies which showcase issues payroll professionals across the country are experiencing. In some cases, employers have been waiting upwards of two years for a resolution on an incorrect charge on their tax account.

RTI has been a part of the payroll process for over 12 years now and has generally achieved its aims and goals, making the processing of the tax system approachable, digital and fair.

However, this is not the case 100% of the time.

With little ability for employers to verify and address discrepancies between the data held by HMRC and themselves, specialist teams at HMRC have a backlog of such queries that continues to grow. As the scope of RTI expands, this problem may become ever more prevalent in the payroll process.

Jason Davenport, CEO at The CIPP said: “The CIPP represents payroll professionals across the UK, and we must put their best interests first. We do our utmost to be critical friends to HMRC and look forward to working with them to improve transparency, ensure the correct tax is paid and close the tax gap.

“Errors resulting in disputed charges should be handled transparently and expediently, the CIPP will stand by our  members to ensure this happens not just for them but for the whole payroll community.” 

For this reason, the CIPP is calling for:

• Greater transparency on the backlog of RTI issues being handled by HMRC
• A review of the RTI system processes causing issues and its capacity for expansion
• Employers to have a view of the RTI data held by HMRC in relation to the submissions sent by them.

Mathew Akrigg, policy and research officer, CIPP  added: “Employers and taxpayers need clarity in how their issues will be resolved in a fair and timely manner. We hope this report highlights some of the issues that payroll professionals face daily and encourages HMRC to work with us on a way to move forward and improve processes.” 

HMRC responded with the following comment:  “HMRC welcomes the work the CIPP and its members have done to gather insight from employers and payroll providers to produce this report regarding Real Time Information. The majority of the data processed through RTI is correctly allocated, but in the small number of cases where mismatches occur it is important HMRC and employers take action together to put things right in a timely way. 

“We will continue to work with the CIPP on how we can identify necessary improvements to the RTI system, further enhance employer education, guidance and systems, and how we can improve our customer service offering when problems do arise.”

Professional organisations and bodies supporting this report have made the following comments:

Steve Wade, Chair of ICAEW’s Employment Taxes and NIC Committee, says: “This report, along with its real-life examples, reinforces the consistent message that ICAEW hears from its members regarding the RTI system. ICAEW agrees that HMRC’s RTI system and liabilities and payments databases need a radical overhaul. This was recommended in HMRC’s PAYE post implementation review report of 2017. Ideally, change should take place before the mandatory payrolling of benefits, including the in-year charging of Class 1A places even more strain on the system.”

Glenn Collins, Head of Technical and Strategic Engagement ACCA UK, says: “This report is an important intervention with respect to how we can create a better tax system for taxpayers, their Agents and HMRC. Far too much time is spent on non-productive basic tax administration and the simple chasing of information. We are hopeful that the additional funding and focus on improved Agent service will create a more certain tax environment. HMRC’s focus must be on improving customer service and effectiveness to give us the modern, efficient tax system we need, ultimately improving public and private sector finances and boosting productivity in the UK.”

Steve Wilkinson, Co-chair of BASDA’s Payroll, Pensions and HR Specialist Interest Group says: “BASDA has been involved with RTI since its inception – helping develop its initial framework and then ongoing improvements, and we are delighted to be supporting CIPP in this excellent report. Collectively, we strive to improve the outcomes for all payroll users (in- house and outsourced), developers, advisors and policy makers, and ultimately, employees.

“We welcome this report into the state of the RTI infrastructure and wholeheartedly support CIPP’s findings and recommendations. RTI is fundamental to the payroll process, and it is critical that it is fit for purpose; it’s clear from the report that significant further investment is needed from the government – to the benefit of all.”