With Easter fast approaching and moving season in full swing, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has joined forces with Pickfords to help take some of the stress out of moving home.
Supported by the HMRC app, the partnership helps movers keep important documents related to money and tax safe and accessible throughout the disruption of moving day.
- 75 per cent of people who have moved house in the last five years say the moving process feels hectic and rushed, and 80 per cent say having an app which securely stores documents would make moving house easier for them
- Nearly four out of ten movers said they find updating addresses with key organisations most stressful
- 1 million people used the HMRC app to change their address details easily after moving last year
- Chargers, screws and clothing are the most likely items that people lose during moves
- HMRC and Pickfords are urging movers to download the HMRC app to take some of the stress and chaos out of move day.
New research from HMRC found that while 87 per cent of people find the whole process of moving home stressful, the physical move (51 per cent), packing (47 per cent) and updating addresses with key organisations (38 per cent) were the top triggers. Twenty‑nine per cent said it took them 3 weeks or more to update their address details with key institutions such as banks, utilities and GPs.
The research of 1,000 adults who have moved house in the last five years, found that of those who have ever lost something whilst moving, also admitted to misplacing everyday items, from books (26 per cent) to one sock or shoe (21 per cent). Eight per cent reported misplacing financial documents during the move which was one of the most worrying risks highlighted by movers. In addition, 14 per cent of people who have broken something whilst moving said they ended up spending more than £150 replacing items they lost during a move, while over half1 (52 per cent) admitted they broke average of four items - costing £82 per move.
Nearly six in ten movers (59 per cent) said their biggest worry when moving is losing important documents, a far greater concern than misplacing electronics (29 per cent) or actual furniture (12 per cent). Passports (73 per cent) are the document people most fear misplacing or losing, followed by birth certificates (57 per cent) and driver’s licenses (30 per cent).
More than seven million people now use the HMRC app with around a million movers using it to update their address last year.
With the HMRC app, movers can be confident they won’t lose any important tax related documents, providing reassurance at a time when 63 per cent of movers say they only feel somewhat confident they could find key documents quickly after moving.
Many movers still lose track of their belongings, with 19 per cent saying misplaced items are one of the most stressful parts of the move.
One in ten worry specifically worry about losing their National Insurance number. Last year nearly 400,000 thousand (383,000) people used the HMRC app to securely save their National Insurance number to their digital wallet.
Sarah McMann, HMRC’s Chief Digital Product Owner, for the HMRC app said:
“Moving home can be stressful, there’s a lot to keep on top of and it’s easy for important documents to get lost along the way. The HMRC app helps ease that pressure by keeping your tax information safe, secure and easy to access. More than seven million people already trust the app to keep everything in one place.”
Lyndsey Wallbank from Pickfords added:
“As one of the UK’s longest-established moving specialists, we know how hectic moving day can be, particularly for people when managing it themselves. Many people underestimate the amount of time it takes to pack goods safely into boxes and the physical demands of moving furniture. We also have had experience of customers inadvertently packing their important documents into their storage and moving consignment during the move. Pickfords offers a full packing service to help its customers and to reduce the stress of moving home. Partnering with HMRC means that people undergoing the disruption of moving home will feel more in control, keeping vital documents safe and accessible, even when everything else is in transit.”
Download the HMRC app today from the App Store or Google Play to take some of the stress and chaos out of move day.
Top 20 things people lose when moving house
*Data shared by Pickfords
**Survey conducted by One Poll who surveyed 1,000 UK adults who had moved house in the last 5 years. Field work was conducted between 10th – 12th March 2026.