UK tax system takes a little break from the interwebs

Anyone wishing to commune electronically with the taxman will have to wait until Wednesday – HMRC systems are down for planned maintenance.

A spokesman for the Rev said the downtime was planned because it is one of HMRC's quietest periods.

From 7am on Monday until 6am on Wednesday most HMRC systems – including PAYE, Self Assessment and online VAT payments – will be unavailable.

The Revenue's full service list is here.

HMRC said the downtime was routine.

A spokesman for the Rev told the Reg: "The planned system downtime is part of our normal business operation and happens twice a year (in April and October). It's necessary to allow us to implement changes to our IT systems in preparation for the new tax year.

"This particular one has been planned for the last nine months and whilst some IT services will be affected we have taken steps to minimise impacts where we can.

"The majority of our online web services will be available for customers and key trade systems such as our import and export system are not impacted."

Her Majesty's tax collectors directed taxpayers here for guidance on how service is being affected. ®