Reform UK has proposed giving taxpayers a £30 tax credit if they are left waiting more than 30 minutes to speak to an HMRC adviser by phone. Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick unveiled the "delay, repay" scheme, arguing it would pressure HMRC into improving customer service and accused the tax authority of deliberately letting phone services deteriorate to push people online. He also said the pay of senior HMRC officials would be tied to service performance under a Reform government, with bosses facing dismissal if waiting times fail to improve.

The credit would be capped at two claims per taxpayer per tax year and estimated to cost £70 million annually, which Reform believes is affordable given expected improvements in waiting times. HMRC figures show 85.1% of calls seeking an adviser were answered in 2025/26, the first year it met its 85% target, with average wait times of 11 minutes 35 seconds between April and June, down from over 13 minutes a year earlier. Jenrick also announced other policies at the same press conference, including scrapping GDPR for a lighter-touch New Zealand-style data regime, widening small business investment tax relief, reversing Labour's employer National Insurance rise and inheritance tax changes on farms, and introducing a tax-free "hard work bonus" on overtime.