In this week’s Enews, we look at the government's reminder for people with side hustles to register for self assessment. There is also news of the government's VAT cut on household electricity and HMRC's customer service levels to update you on.
News - 24 July 2026
HMRC reminds people with side hustles to register for self assessment
HMRC is reminding people with side hustles that they will need to tell it if they earn more than £1,000.
The Help for Hustles campaign aims to assist individuals with side hustles to ‘get their tax right, quickly and easily’.
New entrants to self assessment should register for the 2025/26 tax year by 5 October 2026.They must file their online tax return and pay any tax due by 31 January 2027. HMRC has an online tool to help people with side hustles to check if and when they need to report their additional income.
Kevin Hubbard, Director of Small Business and Individuals at HMRC, said: ‘For many people, a side hustle is a valuable source of extra income. If you’re earning more than £1,000 a year from your side hustle it’s important to understand your tax responsibilities, and HMRC wants to make that as straightforward as possible.
‘You can check if you need to do a Self Assessment tax return by using the tool on GOV.UK.’
Internet link: HMRC press release
Government announces VAT will be cut from household electricity bills
The government recently announced that VAT will be cut from household electricity bills from 1 October in time to impact the next Ofgem price cap.
The move is part of new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to help ease the cost of living.
The cost of this immediate action for this financial year is being funded from the cancellation of the £1.8 billion Digital ID programme.
Any further action on energy bills will be taken at the Budget, alongside the publication of a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). All decisions at that point will continue to be funded and also consistent with the government’s fiscal rules.
The Prime Minister said: ‘Westminster has not been working for people for too long, with families struggling with the cost of living.
‘We’re taking immediate action to cut taxes on energy bills, put more money in people’s pockets and bring back hope.’
Internet link: Government website
HMRC still has a long way to go on customer service, says CIOT
HMRC's performance data for 2025/26 shows it has made progress on customer service but still has a way to go, according to the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).
The data shows a mixed picture with progress on compliance activity, digital adoption and HMRC's telephone service.
However, challenges remain around debt levels, correspondence handling and customer satisfaction.
The CIOT welcomed the news that HMRC has met their target of 85% of attempts to get through to an HMRC helpline adviser succeeding. This is the first time it has met their target in this area.
The CIOT also noted that HMRC has missed its other four customer experience targets.
Charlotte Barbour, Chair of the CIOT's Technical Policy and Oversight Committee, said: 'HMRC has some notable achievements in 2025/26 including record compliance yield, improved telephone performance and increased usage of digital channels. However, service levels are still below where they should be, customer satisfaction remains below target and HMRC continue to struggle with a persistently high level of tax debt.
'Use of HMRC's digital channels continues to tick up but it will need an acceleration if HMRC are to hit their target of 90% of customer interactions online by 2030. It's good news that HMRC are answering their phone lines more quickly than a year ago, but it is still taking twice as long as it did in the 2010s.'
Internet link: CIOT website
