HMRC writes on missing SA returns for 2020-21 to 2024-25

Anyone with outstanding Self Assessment returns for the tax years 2020-21 to 2024-25 may receive a letter from HMRCGOV between 9 November 2026 and 5 February 2027 asking them to actGOV, with a text-message reminder within two weeks of the letterGOV. The letter asks recipients to submit any outstanding returns, pay any tax owed, or tell HMRC they no longer need to complete a returnGOV, and directs them to guidance on GOV.UK.

The new material sits in HMRC's genuine-contact listingGOV, which records contact campaigns that use more than one communication method so recipients can check that an approach is genuine. A letter arriving between 9 November 2026 and 5 February 2027 asking for outstanding returns, payment, or confirmation that filing is no longer needed, with a text-message reminder within two weeks of the letter, is the contact the guidance describes. A separate missing Corporation Tax return campaign sends its own letters from 16 November 2026.

The letter covers the tax years from 2020-21 up to 2024-25, not only the most recent year.GOV Where a return is still due, the recipient files it and pays what is owed; where filing is no longer needed, the recipient tells HMRC that instead of ignoring the letter. A recipient who asks whether the letter or text is a scam is answered by matching it to the guidance: the stated period, the letter-then-text sequence, and the three asks.

Delay has a price beyond the campaign. Sending a return late brings an initial £100 penaltyGOV, then £10 a day up to £900 after three monthsGOV, then 5% of the tax due or £300 at six and twelve months, whichever is greaterGOV; paying tax late brings penalties of 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 monthsGOV, plus interest on the amount owedGOV. Sending the return and paying the bill as soon as possible avoids these penalties, and a reasonable excuse can be appealed.

The campaign is as stated in the GOV.UK guidance on checking genuine HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method, with late-filing and late-payment consequences as in the Self Assessment penalties guidance.