Customers who have suffered a recent bereavement, and are acting as the deceased's personal representative, no longer have to complete Form R27 – 'Reclaiming tax or paying tax when someone dies'. This is because HMRC can now obtain relevant pay and tax information from its Real Time Information PAYE system.

For individuals who were in PAYE when they died, the R27 form will be replaced by a simpler, more efficient, automated process, says HMRC. This will include HMRC writing to their personal representative to confirm that all the required PAYE information will be collated by HMRC. Once HMRC has all the necessary information, it will then carry out an automated in-year reconciliation of the individual's tax affairs and inform the representative of any tax rebates or payments due.

For customers who were in Self Assessment when they died, HMRC will issue letters tailored to the individual's circumstances, which explain exactly what steps their personal representative needs to take.

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HMRC's director general of Personal Tax, Ruth Owen, said: "We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to deal with us. As part of this, we are making better use of the data we hold to reduce the amount of information we ask our customers to provide.

"This change is the latest improvement to HMRC's service for bereaved customers, which will simplify their dealings with us at a difficult time."

HMRC has a dedicated Bereavement Helpline, which can be accessed by calling 0300 200 3300 (open 8am to 8pm, Mondays to Fridays, and 8am to 4pm on Saturdays).