How to Change Your Address with HMRC (2026 Guide)

To change your address with HMRC, sign in to your personal tax account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account and update your personal details, one update covers Income Tax, National Insurance, Self Assessment, Tax Credits, Child Benefit and the State Pension simultaneously. You can also update via the HMRC app, by phone on 0300 200 3300, or by post. You must wait until you have moved before making any change.

This guide walks through every method in full, covers specific situations including Self Assessment, self-employment, and Child Benefit, and explains what happens if you don't update your records promptly.

Why updating your HMRC address matters

HMRC communicates almost entirely by post and email. Tax refund cheques, PAYE coding notices, Self Assessment reminders, penalty notices, and compliance queries all go to your registered address. If that address is out of date, the consequences can be significant and they build quietly, without you knowing.

• Tax refunds: HMRC sends refund cheques by post. If your address is wrong, the cheque goes to your old property and recovering it means contacting HMRC and requesting a replacement, a slow process.
• PAYE coding notices: These tell your employer how much tax to deduct. Missing one can result in the wrong tax code being applied for an entire tax year, leading to underpayment or overpayment of tax.
• Self Assessment deadlines: Filing reminders and payment notices go by post. Missing them does not pause the penalty clock, fines accumulate regardless of whether the letter reached you.
• Child Benefit and Tax Credits: Payments can be disrupted if HMRC cannot reach you at your registered address.
• Identity and fraud risk: Government correspondence arriving at a former address gives the new occupant access to documents containing your National Insurance number and tax reference.

What one HMRC address update actually covers

One of the most useful things about updating your address through your HMRC personal tax account is how far that single update reaches. You do not need to contact multiple HMRC departments separately. One update covers all of the following:

• Income Tax (PAYE)
• National Insurance
• Self Assessment
• Tax Credits
• Child Benefit
• The State Pension (via the Pension Service)

HMRC will send an email confirmation to your registered email address once the change has been processed.

What you'll need before you start

• Your National Insurance (NI) number
• Your Government Gateway user ID and password or your GOV.UK One Login credentials if you have set those up (GOV.UK One Login is gradually replacing Government Gateway as HMRC's sign-in system)
• A form of photo ID (passport or driving licence) if creating a new sign-in account for the first time
• Your old address and new address with postcode
• Your date of move

How to change your address with HMRC

There are four methods. Online and via the app are available around the clock and process the fastest.

Online: Your HMRC personal tax account

This is the recommended method. It updates your address across all HMRC-linked records in one step and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Via the HMRC app

The HMRC app on iOS and Android supports address changes directly. Sign in using your Government Gateway credentials, face ID, fingerprint or six-digit PIN, then navigate to your personal details and update your address. The app is available at any time.

By phone

Call the Income Tax helpline and an adviser will update your address during the call. Phone lines are generally quietest before 10am and mid-week, Tuesday to Thursday tend to be less busy than Monday and Friday. When HMRC's speech recognition system asks why you're calling, say "change of address" to be routed correctly.

By post

Write to HMRC including your full name, National Insurance number, old address, new address, date of move, and any reference numbers from recent HMRC correspondence. Send by recorded delivery and keep a copy. Postal updates are the slowest method, allow two to four weeks for processing.

Self-employed, Self Assessment and company directors

The personal tax account update covers most people. But if you are self-employed, file Self Assessment, or run a limited company, there are a few additional things to be aware of.

Self Assessment taxpayers

Updating your address through your personal tax account updates your Self Assessment records. However, if your next Self Assessment return is due soon after your move, verify that your new address is shown correctly on the SA100 form before you submit it. Do not wait until your return is due to update your address, do it as soon as you have moved.

Self-employed and sole traders

Update your address through your personal tax account as normal. If you use accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or similar, update your address there too, as this feeds through to future HMRC filings. Your business address for invoicing purposes should also be updated separately with any relevant clients or platforms.

Limited company directors

Updating your personal address with HMRC is a completely separate process from updating your company's registered office address. Your company's registered office must be updated with Companies House via form AD01, this does not happen automatically when you update your personal HMRC records. Your Business Tax Account (for Corporation Tax and VAT) is also a separate system from your personal tax account and must be updated independently.

Moving abroad

If you are leaving the UK permanently, or spending a significant period abroad, an address change involves more than updating your HMRC records. Your UK tax residency status may change, which has implications for how your UK income is taxed.

• Employees leaving the UK should notify HMRC using form P85 (available on GOV.UK), which formally records your departure and adjusts your tax position
• Self-employed individuals leaving the UK should report the move through their final Self Assessment return
• UK source income such as rental income from a UK property may remain taxable in the UK even once you are non-resident
• If you are taking up a new overseas address, contact HMRC's international helpline directly for guidance specific to your situation

Notifying HMRC alongside all your other providers

Updating HMRC is one task on a long list. Moving home means notifying your bank, energy supplier, local council, GP, dentist, the DVLA, your pension provider, your children's school, and many more, each of which has its own process and none of which talk to each other.

Moveinout is an online change of address service that lets you notify HMRC alongside over 9,000 other UK organisations across 24 categories, from government departments to your dentist, optician, vet and solicitor, all from a single platform. You enter your details once, select who needs to know, and Moveinout dispatches notifications to each provider on your behalf. A dashboard shows which providers have been notified, helping you keep track and avoid duplication as you work through your move.

What happens if you don't update HMRC when you move

An outdated HMRC address is not a minor administrative issue, it has financial and legal consequences that build without you being aware of them.

Missed tax refunds

Refund cheques go to your registered address. If your address is wrong, the cheque goes to your old address. Recovering it requires contacting HMRC, proving your identity, and requesting a reissue, a process that takes several weeks.

Wrong tax code

PAYE coding notices go by post. If you miss one, your employer applies whatever tax code they have on record. This can mean underpaying or overpaying tax for an entire year with a reconciliation bill arriving at the end of it.

Self Assessment penalties

Missing a Self Assessment notice to file results in an immediate £100 penalty. After three months, daily £10 penalties begin, up to £900. Percentage-based penalties apply after six and twelve months. All of this can happen while correspondence goes to a former address. HMRC does not automatically waive penalties because you did not receive the letters, if your registered address was incorrect.

Compliance enquiries

If HMRC opens a compliance enquiry and you do not respond because you never received the letters, the matter can escalate to formal assessment and enforcement action before you are aware it has started. Not knowing is not a defence once HMRC has written to the address on record.

How long does an HMRC address change take?

• Online (personal tax account or HMRC app): Typically processed within a few days. HMRC sends an email confirmation once the change has been applied.
• By phone: Updated during the call. Email confirmation usually follows within one to two days.
• By post: Allow two to four weeks. During peak periods, particularly January around the Self Assessment deadline, postal processing can take longer. If you have not received any confirmation after four weeks, follow up by phone.

There is no good reason to use the postal method unless you have no access to online services or a telephone. Online or phone updates are faster, more reliable, and generate a clearer audit trail.