HM Revenue & Customs is a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act. We hold information for the purposes of taxes, social security contributions, tax credits and certain other statutory functions as assigned by Parliament. The information we hold may be used for any of HM Revenue & Customs' functions.
We may get information about you from others or we may give information to them. If we do, it will only be as the law permits, to:
- check accuracy of information
- prevent or detect crime
- protect public funds
We may check information we receive about you with what is already in our records. This can include information provided by you as well as by others such as other government departments and agencies and overseas tax authorities. We will not give information about you to anyone outside HM Revenue & Customs unless the law permits us to do so.
Confidentiality and security
HM Revenue & Customs has a legal duty to protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information. We take every precaution to protect any information you submit via our website, both online and offline, in accordance with legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998. Any data, which we use in our offices, is protected in accordance with Government standards.
Throughout the registration process, and also when you are submitting sensitive information such as that required in a tax return, the information is encrypted to protect confidentiality, and protected according to industry best practice.
Monitoring e-mail
We may monitor e-mail communications with HM Revenue & Customs (this includes any HM Revenue & Customs member of staff). Any such monitoring will take place in accordance with the law.
Sharing of Information
Any information you submit via our website will only be shared in accordance with the law.
Registration
HM Revenue & Customs website offers several services including the facility to send tax returns via the Internet. To use some of these services, you must first complete the registration form. During registration, we ask you to provide certain details to allow us to verify your identity. You may also be asked to provide contact information (such as an e-mail address), which we will use to let you know about the services on our website and to respond to your questions about the services. Once you have registered, we will send a welcoming e-mail detailing the services currently available and any plans to offer new services. We may send further e-mails later to announce the availability of new services.
We do offer you the option not to provide your e-mail address during the registration process.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored locally on your computer and contains information about your activities on the Internet. On our website, we use cookies to track users' progress through the site, allowing us to make improvements based on usage data. The information on a cookie is not linked to any personally identifiable information you submit to our site.
Once you close your browser, our access to the cookie simply terminates. If you choose not to accept the cookie, this will not affect your access to the majority of facilities available on our website. However, you may not be able to make full use of our online forms service.
Log Files
When you use the Internet, you are assigned a unique address, known as an IP address. We use IP addresses to analyse trends, to administer the site, track users' movements, and gather statistical information. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Links
Our website contains links to other sites, mainly those of other government departments, but also to those of third parties. HM Revenue & Customs is not responsible for the privacy practices within any of these other sites. We encourage you to be aware of this when you leave our site and to read the privacy statements on other websites you visit which collect personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected on our website.
Correction/Updating Personal Information
If your personally identifiable information changes, or if you no longer wish to use our services, we will provide a way to correct, update or remove your personal data from the records on our Internet system. You will be able to de-register from the service either online or by contacting your local Tax Office.
Notification of Changes to Policy
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post details of any changes on our Homepage. This will help ensure that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we share it with other parties.
