Letter list updated 15 September 2026 · Retirement Annuity Relief
Retirement Annuity Relief: HMRC's genuine-letter window, 14 to 28 September 2026, has ended, and a follow-up text is listed from 29 September 2026.
HMRC added Self Assessment Retirement Annuity Relief to its list of genuine letters on 15 September 2026. It may write to you or your authorised agent from 14 September up to and including 28 September 2026 to ask you to check a claim; that letter window has ended. From 29 September 2026 it may also text people it has written to.
HMRC's stated dates for this contact ended on 28 September 2026. HMRC's stated dates for this contact have passed; the entry stays as a record.
Last reviewed 10 October 2026 · How Tax Letters checks its facts
- Who gets it
- Self Assessment filers, or their authorised agents, asked to check a Retirement Annuity Relief claim.
- How it arrives
- By letter, then by text message to people HMRC has written to.
- HMRC's dates
- Letters: from 14 September 2026 up to and including 28 September 2026, a window that has ended. Texts: from 29 September 2026, with no end date given.
- Clock fixed by law?
- No. HMRC's entry gives no reply-by date.
What it asks
To check your Self Assessment tax returns and whether you made personal contributions to a Retirement Annuity Contract in the 2024 to 2025 tax year. The text asks you to review the claim and correct your return if anything is wrong; HMRC says it will not ask for personal or financial information or include links.
What to check
- Check the sender and the date against HMRC's entry.
- Compare what it asks: a check of the claim on your 2024 to 2025 return.
- Any reply-by date is printed in the letter itself.
Does it match HMRC's description?
A letter matches HMRC's description if it is dated 14 to 28 September 2026 and asks you to check a Retirement Annuity Relief claim; this entry does not describe a letter dated outside those dates. A text matches if it is dated from 29 September 2026 and asks for no personal or financial information.
HMRC's own words
From 14 September 2026 up to and including 28 September 2026 HMRC may write to you or your authorised agent.
GOV.UK: Check if a letter you've received from HMRC is genuine, read 10 October 2026HMRC may contact you by letter to ask you to check that you have claimed Retirement Annuity Relief (RAR) correctly. This is because RAR can sometimes be mistaken for other types of pension contributions. The letter will ask you to check: your Self Assessment tax returns whether you made personal contributions to a Retirement Annuity Contract in the 2024 to 2025 tax year Your letter may include a RAR claim figure, but not all letters will include this information.
GOV.UK: Check if a letter you've received from HMRC is genuine, read 10 October 2026From 29 September 2026 HMRC may contact you by text message. HMRC may send you a text message if we have written to you about a retirement annuity relief claim. The text message will ask you to: review your retirement annuity relief claim check the contributions shown on your 2024 to 2025 tax return correct your tax return if any information is wrong The text message will not: ask for personal or financial information include links to websites
GOV.UK: Check if a text message you've received from HMRC is genuine, read 10 October 2026
- GOV.UK: Check if a letter you've received from HMRC is genuine, read 10 October 2026
- GOV.UK: Check if a text message you've received from HMRC is genuine, read 10 October 2026
Checked against the sources above on the dates shown. Information, not advice.