Urgent new HMRC message sent to 2million in UK 'as they owe £200'

Urgent new HMRC message sent to 2million in UK 'as they owe £200'HMRC put out an alert on Tuesday morningCommentsMoneySteven Smith Content Editor10:25, 14 Apr 2026View 3 ImagesPeople have been alerted to scams(Image: Liubomyr Vorona via Getty Images)HMRC has issued an urgent alert to nearly two million people. It told pensioners this morning that they "are being warned to be on high alert for scams as the recovery of Winter Fuel Payments begins this month".‌It revealed nearly two million people are expected to repay their winter 2025 payment because their annual income exceeded £35,000 – for most, an automatic procedure. HMRC reported receiving over 25,000 Winter Fuel Payment scam referrals during the past 12 months and cautioned that fraudsters may now exploit the recovery process as bait, using texts, emails and phone calls to target this demographic.‌For the majority, the payment will be recouped through an adjustment to their PAYE tax code from this month (April 2026), requiring no contact with HMRC.‌For Self Assessment filers who submit online, the payment should be automatically included in their 2025 to 2026 tax return, due by January 31, 2027. Customers should verify and add it manually if it doesn't appear.Paper filers must include it on their tax return, due by October 31, 2026.View 3 ImagesSome people have to repay the money(Image: Renata Hamuda via Getty Images)‌This applies throughout the UK – including Scotland, where the payment is called the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, and Northern Ireland, where payments were issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. In all instances, recovery is managed by HMRC.Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's chief customer officer, said: "Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters, emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC and trick people into giving them money."I'd encourage anyone who's unsure to use our online tool...