Trans taxpayers 'are given access to a VIP hotline reserved for MPs and the Royal Family'

Published: 19:55, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 19:55, 27 May 2026 Transgender taxpayers are being granted access to a VIP HMRC hotline usually reserved for MPs, celebrities and the Royal Family. They are treated to a special tax service, known as Public Department 1 (PDI), which sees their phone calls for queries relating to tax or National Insurance answered faster than the general public. PD1 provides a dedicated phone service for high-profile taxpayers with callers getting through to a clerk in an average of five minutes - while others face lengthy waits of up to 45 minutes. Those who have legally changed their gender with a Gender Recognition Certificate can access the hotline to ensure 'greater protection' to their privacy under equality laws. Transgender people have their records restricted by the tax service for improved confidentiality and only a small number of 'specialist staff' at HMRC and DWP can access them. HMRC said this is because they require enhanced protection and PD1 is a 'helpline' for those who need to speak with specialist staff rather than a 'VIP service'. They claim taxpayers using the PD1 service have reduced access to digital services and the general helpline because of added restrictions on the records. Transgender taxpayers have been entitled to the PD1 service since 2005 when the Gender Recognition Act, which allows adults to legally change their gender, came into effect.  Transgender taxpayers are being granted access to a VIP HMRC hotline usually reserved for MPs, celebrities and the Royal Family Transgender people have their records restricted by the tax service for improved confidentiality and only a small number of 'specialist staff' at HMRC and DWP can access them Their queries over benefits or pensions are also handled by a specialist team at the DWP. One person using the hotline said it was an 'awesome trans benefit' which 'means you're elevated to an elite team with a direct telephone number, that you can easily and simply reach with very little waiting time'. Another said: 'The awesome thing about calling PD1 is it's the same [department] used by MPs and Royals so there is almost no wait time.'   And one added: 'My coworker needed to call HMRC about some simple query. Spent two hours waiting, then their phone dropped out mid-conversation and they had to spend another two hours waiting before they resolved the issue. 'The next day I had to ring Special Section D to fix my tax code [with] maybe 30 seconds on hold, and it was done within three minutes of calling. Bliss.' But John O'Connell, the chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance told the Telegraph: 'Taxpayers will rightly question why individuals with a Gender Recognition Certificate are transferred indefinitely into a separate HMRC unit with specially restricted records, while ordinary taxpayers struggle with long waits and poor service.' The average wait for the HMRC general helpline is 16 minutes but those calling the PD1 line faced an average of just five minutes in the 12 months from December. Taxpayers are warned they could wait up to 45 minutes before speaking with an advisor for help with their self-assessment tax return. An HMRC spokesman said: 'PD1 is not a 'VIP service' but a helpline for taxpayers whose records require greater protection and therefore can only be accessed by specialist staff. This can be for a number of reasons. 'Call wait times on our helplines for all customers now average around 10 minutes.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.