Official UK letters, explained in plain English

HMRC & Tax Letters

Most HMRC letters are routine, a tax calculation, a new tax code, or a request for information, and only a minority ask you to pay a penalty or res...

• P800 tax calculation
• SA302 tax calculation
• Simple Assessment (PA302)
• Self Assessment late filing penalty
• Tax code notice (P2)

Council Tax Letters

Council tax letters follow a set escalation: an annual bill, then a reminder if you miss a payment, then a final notice, then a court summons and a...

• Council tax liability order
• Council tax court summons

Court & Legal Notices

Most court letters about money are county court claim forms, and you normally have 14 days to respond before the court can decide the case without ...

• County court claim form (N1)
• County Court Judgment (CCJ)

Debt & Bailiff Letters

A debt collection letter and a bailiff (enforcement agent) letter are not the same thing: a debt collector has no special legal powers, while an en...

• Notice of Enforcement

DWP & Benefits Letters

Most DWP letters now relate to Universal Credit, which almost everyone on a working-age benefit has moved onto. If a letter changes, stops, or refu...

• Mandatory reconsideration
• PIP assessment letter
• Why has my Universal Credit gone down?
• UC overpayment & DWP Debt Management letters
• UC health element: £217 or £429?
• Universal Credit sanction
• Universal Credit Migration Notice
• Two-child limit removed: what you get now
• Universal Credit rates 2026/27
• Transitional protection: why your top-up shrinks
• UC deduction rates table 2026/27
• UC claim review: bank statements & ID requests
• WCA50 capability for work questionnaire
• PIP review letter (AR1 / AR2)

NHS & Medical Letters

Most NHS letters are administrative, an appointment, a referral, or a reminder, and say clearly if you need to reply or attend. The ones worth read...

Bank & Finance Letters

A bank or finance letter matters most when it uses the words 'default notice' or 'arrears', because those start a formal process that can affect yo...

Planning & Housing Letters

Planning and housing letters split into two very different types: planning letters (about what can be built or changed) and tenancy or eviction let...