Working-age customers begin receiving Simple Assessment letters

HMRC began sending Simple Assessment letters for the 2025 to 2026 tax year to working-age customers from 30 June 2026¹. The letters, known officially as PA302, set out how much tax is owed and why, and are sent to people who have tax to pay on income that has not been taxed through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) or Self Assessment¹. HMRC said it will issue around 1.8 million Simple Assessment letters¹.

Pensioners will begin receiving letters from 12 August 2026, and a second tranche will be sent between October and December 2026 relating to Bank and Building Society Interest (BBSI) data¹. The letters are automatically generated when HMRC receives data from employers, the Department for Work and Pensions and financial institutions confirming that tax is due, which HMRC describes as a routine annual process¹. They arrive by post or appear in a customer's Personal Tax Account online¹.

HMRC lists the circumstances in which a customer may receive a Simple Assessment calculation letter¹:

Recipients are asked to check the figures in their letter against their own records and pay any tax owed by 31 January 2027, unless a different date is shown¹. Payments can be made in full or in instalments before the deadline and do not require a tax return¹. HMRC says customers can pay using the HMRC app, online via GOV.UK, by bank transfer or by cheque¹.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's Chief Customer Officer, said:

Why it matters for households

The letters affect people whose tax on savings interest, dividends, a second income or pension income has not been collected through PAYE or Self Assessment¹. Because the tax cannot be collected through a tax code in these cases, the bill is issued directly rather than adjusted in a payslip or pension payment¹. Around 1.8 million letters are expected, with working-age recipients receiving theirs from 30 June 2026 and pensioners from 12 August 2026¹. The payment date given is 31 January 2027 unless the letter states otherwise, and the amount can be settled in instalments before that date without filing a tax return¹. HMRC says the letters are official and advises checking whether a letter from HMRC is genuine¹. More detail on how HMRC calculates a bill in this way is set out in the guide to Simple Assessment, and the wider rules are covered in the tax section.

What happens next

Pensioners begin receiving letters from 12 August 2026¹. A second tranche of letters relating to Bank and Building Society Interest data will be sent between October and December 2026¹. Payment of any tax owed is due by 31 January 2027 unless a different date is shown on the letter¹.