Certificate of Coverage 2022

Dear forum members,

I am an American living in the UK and working as a self-employed person, which is why I always attach a Certificate of Coverage to my US tax return. A couple of years ago, I think I found a phone number on this forum, which I called to get the certificate and it has worked since then.

However, this year nothing has worked and I have still not managed to obtain a new Certificate of Coverage. I have made multiple attempts to get the certificate but they typically do not know what I am talking about or end up sending some other document a couple of weeks later.  I am also employed and once I was told that I cannot apply for it online when I am employed and self-employed but a few weeks later I got a proof of residency document.

Has anyone else also had issues this year or do you have any tips for how to obtain one? Who do I call?

My US tax return is now overdue, would you send it without the certificate or with the certificate from last year?

Kind regards,

Viking12

A certificate of coverage as a self-employed person never expires. What you should already have is a 2-page letter from HMRC headed “Certification that you’re under United Kingdom (UK) Social Security laws whilst employed and self-employed in the UK". [Previous versions – which remain valid so do not need to be updated - were called Form UK/USA 1A.] 

Incidentally, it is not clear why an extension until 15 December 2022 was not requested.