Advice and support: new HMRC app
The new HMRC app is a quick and easy way to get information about your tax, National Insurance, tax credits and benefits.
It is free to download and you can use it to check your:
tax code
National Insurance number
income and benefits
employment and income history from the previous 5 years
tax credits, when they will be paid and how much you will receive
Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for Self Assessment
Self Assessment tax and how much you owe
Child Benefit
State Pension forecast
gaps in National Insurance contributions
How to use the HMRC app for the first time
Download the free HMRC app from the Apple App or Google Play store.
Follow the instructions on screen to complete set up, users will be asked to sign in. If you’ve not already got an account, you’ll need to sign up by using accepted photo ID or by answering some questions instead.
You’ll need to sign into your account the first time you use the app, but after that you can select facial recognition, a short PIN or choose to use your fingerprint to sign in quicker.
Some of the things you can use the app for include:
Claim a tax refund, if owed one
This is the quickest way to claim your tax refund. HMRC will pay the refund straight into your bank account within one week of your claim.
To claim your tax refund, select the 'Pay As You Earn (PAYE)' section in the HMRC app. If you’re due money back, you’ll see a green button on the page to claim your refund and the amount you are owed. Select this button to begin your claim.
If you haven’t yet signed up to the HMRC’s online services, you can still claim your refund online by searching 'P800 refund'. You’ll need your P800 reference number (you can get this from your P800 letter) and your National Insurance number.
Find out more about claiming a tax refund via the HMRC app.
Support for families – claim and manage Child Benefit
If you are responsible for children, you can claim as much as £1,331 a year in Child Benefit for the first child and could also receive nearly £881 a year for any other children you have.
Parents can claim and manage their Child Benefit in the app and online and could get their first payment in as little as 3 working days.
You can also use the app to view recent payments, get proof of entitlement and update your bank details. This will all help to ensure you don’t miss out on any payments.
If your income is over £60,000 a year, you should still apply. You may have heard of the High Income Child Benefit Charge, but this shouldn’t put you off. By claiming, you can get National Insurance credits, which count towards future eligibility for the State Pension. You can opt out of payments when you claim or receive the payments and pay the charge through Self Assessment.
Preparing for retirement
If you are thinking about retirement, you can get ready for the future by checking your State Pension forecast and National Insurance contributions in the app.
The app is the quickest and easiest way to see how much State Pension you could get, when you can get it and increase it by filling any gaps in National Insurance Contributions, if you can.
It’s important to check if you can make voluntary contributions as soon as possible. You have until 5 April 2025 to make voluntary contributions back to 6 April 2006. After the deadline, people will only be able to make voluntary contributions for the previous 6 tax years.