Understanding 'Unpaid Tax Agents' and their motivations to register with HMRC
Mixed methods research to better understand Unpaid Agents, the people they help, and their motivations to register their helping relationship online with HMRC.
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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) commissioned independent research agency, Kantar Public, to conduct mixed method research with Unpaid Agents and the people they help. Unpaid Agents were defined as individuals who had helped someone in their dealings with HMRC free of charge in the last 2 years. Examples of Unpaid Agents are friends, relatives, volunteers, employers, and pro bono tax professionals.
The research aimed to provide HMRC with insight into the size and nature of the Unpaid Agent population in the UK and to inform design decisions for HMRC’s digital services.
The research comprised of 3150 people who completed an initial survey, of which 520 were identified as Unpaid Agents and completed a more detailed survey. This was followed by 33 interviews with Unpaid Agents and a further 5 interviews with those helped by an Unpaid Agent.