To cut printing and postage bills by around £50 million and modernise how it deals with taxpayers, HMRC plans to stop automatically sending paper letters from next spring. Instead, people will get an email (or other digital) alert telling them a new message is waiting in their Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app.
This move forms part of HMRC’s wider “digital by default” strategy. The programme aims for about 90% of taxpayer interactions to take place online by the 2029–30 tax year. Budget documents confirm that ministers have approved a faster shift towards digital communication than many expected.
In practice, the familiar brown envelopes are on the way out. From spring 2026, only people who are digitally excluded, or those who explicitly choose not to use digital services, will continue receiving letters through the post. HMRC says the transition will be gradual and managed carefully, and anyone who prefers paper will be able to opt out of digital delivery.
To support this change, the government will update legislation so HMRC can contact taxpayers using email. However, official letters themselves will not be emailed directly. Instead, they will appear in the taxpayer’s HMRC online account, with email notifications pointing them there. This means users will have to provide an email address (or another digital contact method) to access the HMRC app or their online account.
The first group affected will be those already using digital services. Anyone currently logging into the HMRC app or a Personal Tax Account will move into the “digital letters” system early on. They will no longer get paper post automatically; instead, they will be alerted when a new document is uploaded for them to read online.
After questions about scope, HMRC told Business & Accountancy Daily that only people who actively use digital accounts will be asked to provide contact details. Everyone else including opt-outs will still receive paper letters. In short, this policy targets those who already deal with HMRC digitally, or who start doing so later.
HMRC clearly expects most taxpayers to switch over by the end of the decade. Its policy paper suggests that people who want to keep paper can do so by choosing not to engage digitally. Even so, Treasury figures indicate this reform is not expected to generate extra tax revenue through compliance gains.
HMRC also recognises that not all services are ready for full digital delivery yet, so the change will happen in stages. As each service comes online, users logging in will be prompted to confirm or add their email address and told it will be used to notify them about new messages. Those who need paper communications will still be able to opt out.
An HMRC spokesperson said the shift will release advisers to focus on customers who require more help, while delivering yearly savings of £50 million in printing and postage by 2028–29.
A clear upside is that HMRC will finally be able to alert taxpayers quickly by email or text when urgent letters are waiting in their accounts. Historically, HMRC has resisted email communication, often citing data-security concerns and a preference for traditional mail.
For people who cannot use digital services, HMRC says paper options will remain. The policy states that postal letters will still be available to those who are digitally excluded or who decide not to engage online.
Legal changes will be made through Finance Bill 2025–26, updating the rules on electronic communication currently set out in the Finance Acts of 1999 and 2002. Under the new framework, HMRC will gain powers to require digital users to provide valid contact details—such as an email address or phone number—at key points (for example, during annual tax filing).
Given last year’s data breach affecting tens of thousands of Personal Tax Accounts, security will be a major concern for the public, and HMRC will need to show the new system is robust.
HMRC has five years to meet its 90% digital target, alongside reducing reliance on phone helplines. But how quickly it can gather email addresses and mobile numbers for every taxpayer is uncertain. A particular challenge will be reaching groups like pensioners, especially as more may face tax bills if the state pension rises toward the basic rate threshold.
The equalities analysis included in the policy paper is telling. HMRC stresses that the initial push is aimed at people already using digital services typically younger users, and those less likely to have disabilities. By contrast, older people and some disabled customers are more likely to be digitally excluded or reliant on paper. HMRC says safeguards will ensure these groups can continue receiving letters by post through a straightforward opt-out process and support through non-digital channels.
Once digital letters become standard, HMRC intends to use the collected email addresses and phone numbers to notify users about any new correspondence across all tax areas. This would include sensitive topics such as penalties, compliance issues, assessment notices, or personal closure notices all flagged through digital alerts.
Apart from the digitally excluded, HMRC’s stated aim is for all outbound communications to become digital unless a user actively opts out. Beyond confirming that rollout will begin in spring 2026, HMRC has been vague about exactly how quickly specific services will transition. It says timing will depend on when different IT systems are ready and promises that paper communications will match digital standards for clarity and accessibility.
That commitment matters, because recent survey results (such as the ABAB perceptions research) indicate ongoing problems with the clarity of HMRC’s online guidance and letters.
Whether HMRC can complete such a major overhaul within four years is debatable, particularly given its reliance on taxpayers creating Personal Tax Accounts or using the app. A more complex tax system will also increase pressure to digitise more services and reduce paper-based forms.
Some areas remain far behind. Inheritance tax is a striking example: key forms are still paper-only and cannot be submitted online. HMRC says it wants to modernise this, but progress needs to speed up—especially as unused pension pots are expected to become taxable from April 2027, pulling many more estates into inheritance tax for the first time.
The new legal powers around collecting digital contact details, and allowing HMRC to notify by email, will take effect once Finance Bill 2025–26 receives Royal Assent, usually around July of the following year.
