Tax - TSR guide and questions thread

Someone's already mentioned the link but just to add in that you can only claim back INCOME TAX - not national insurance, so check your payslips, if you filled in a P38(S) form which is if you're a full time student then you won't have been taxed in the first place so no need to claim it back.

But if you did get taxed income tax, yes you will usually have about £4,500 (ish) personal allowance, if you earn anything above that you will be taxed but if you've earned less than that in a tax year then you can claim it all back. Yippee :smile:

Oh and it's quite simple to do too, can't remember what form it is you need.

...LIES! It's a R40 form from the HMRC :smile:

Reply 223

Perseus

Your tax free amount depends on your earnings/tax code. Filling out the a P38 does not mean you have paid the correct tax. It should do but it doesn't. Just contact HRMC and see what they say. I would suggest contacting them by letter as opposed to phoning as the call center is pretty useless. Be warned though, if you claim back anything over £1500 you will be subject to self assessment returns for a few years, and trying to make them understand that you do not need to be self assessed is not easy once you are under the microscope.

Reply 224

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/r40.pdf

Link to the form. You don't need to send your P60/P45 or anything, just fill in the details, they should have it all on the system (since they were the ones you sent your P45/P60 in the first place) so will just verify from the form.

Of course if you were to lie/get it wrong then they'd be asking to see proof of your P45/P60.

Just in case you didn't know..

P45 a form you get when you leave a job
P60 a form you get on an annual basis whilst you're employed to detail all the tax you've paid in that year. Should get it in April/May time each year (to coincide with the end of the tax year). Generally won't get one if you're not employed.

Reply 225

Zebrastripes

13

dobbs

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/r40.pdf

Link to the form. You don't need to send your P60/P45 or anything, just fill in the details, they should have it all on the system (since they were the ones you sent your P45/P60 in the first place) so will just verify from the form.

Of course if you were to lie/get it wrong then they'd be asking to see proof of your P45/P60.

Just in case you didn't know..

P45 a form you get when you leave a job
P60 a form you get on an annual basis whilst you're employed to detail all the tax you've paid in that year. Should get it in April/May time each year (to coincide with the end of the tax year). Generally won't get one if you're not employed.

Do we have to wait for a P60 to come through the post before sending off the R40? Or wait til the end of the tax year/start of the new one?

Reply 226

callum9999

16

dobbs

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/r40.pdf

Link to the form. You don't need to send your P60/P45 or anything, just fill in the details, they should have it all on the system (since they were the ones you sent your P45/P60 in the first place) so will just verify from the form.

Of course if you were to lie/get it wrong then they'd be asking to see proof of your P45/P60.

Just in case you didn't know..

P45 a form you get when you leave a job
P60 a form you get on an annual basis whilst you're employed to detail all the tax you've paid in that year. Should get it in April/May time each year (to coincide with the end of the tax year). Generally won't get one if you're not employed.

That R40 form says "Claim for repayment of tax deducted
from savings and investments". I'm pretty sure it was a P50 I was told to fill out to claim back income tax (which does require you to send off the P45).

Reply 227

Zebrastripes

Do we have to wait for a P60 to come through the post before sending off the R40? Or wait til the end of the tax year/start of the new one?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/r40notes.pdf

There's a link to the notes that accompany the R40 form which should explain more, however I do believe that you must wait for the end of the tax year, but you don't need to necessarily wait for the P60, as I say you may not get one.

The notes give you advice to just collect together all your P45s from the tax year and then calculate your total earnings and total tax and all that, then just write it in.

Most of the form can be left blank i.e. investments, savings, assets, etc etc.

You'll also need to find out the address of your tax office. NOTE that your tax office doesn't necessarily mean your closest one, if you work for a big company with a head office in London then your tax office may be one in London. My tax office is Glasgow because that's where my company's head office is.

But again just go on the HMRC website and search for your tax office based on your tax code or something on your P45. Failing that just send the form to your closest tax office, they should sort it :smile:

Reply 228

callum9999

That R40 form says "Claim for repayment of tax deducted
from savings and investments". I'm pretty sure it was a P50 I was told to fill out to claim back income tax (which does require you to send off the P45).

I believe a P50 is if you're unemployed and not expecting to work again for some time.

An R40 can be used to claim back tax from the past 5 years, even if you're currently working.

Though you may be correct, tax is very confusing!!

Reply 229

callum9999

16

dobbs

I believe a P50 is if you're unemployed and not expecting to work again for some time.

An R40 can be used to claim back tax from the past 5 years, even if you're currently working.

Though you may be correct, tax is very confusing!!

I'm just going on what I was told but if the R40 will work with income tax as well, I guess there is no harm in using it?

It is too confusing - I bet it was designed that way to make it hard for you to know if you overpaid and therefore get it back! All they need is 1 tax reclaim form with a different section for each category, easy!

Thanks!

callum9999

I'm just going on what I was told but if the R40 will work with income tax as well, I guess there is no harm in using it?

It is too confusing - I bet it was designed that way to make it hard for you to know if you overpaid and therefore get it back! All they need is 1 tax reclaim form with a different section for each category, easy!

My Dad, Mam, Sister, and Brother-in-law all work for the HMRC so I've had a lot of help in the past claiming back what I'm entitled too. Throughout Uni I claimed back in the region of £800-£1,300 each year in tax, was fantastic :biggrin:

Just looked into it, if you go to http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/stop-work-refund.htm it does indeed suggest the P50 if you've been out of work for more than 4 weeks (i.e. going back to Uni). And yes you need to send your P45s/P60 with this.

However I've always used the R40 in the past, which doesn't require you to send any of these forms. But I have usually had a letter back from them to confirm various things before they send me the cheque.

So you can do it either way I guess :smile:

Reply 232

georgia

14

Don't bother filling in any forms. I called them up (was on hold for absolutely ages though) and just gave my details to the girl on the end of the phone who put them into the system and is sending it all to the right department who will work out what I'm due back and will send me info through within 28 days and hopefully a cheque to follow. Easy peasy and no complicated forms to fill in!

Reply 233

georgia

Don't bother filling in any forms. I called them up (was on hold for absolutely ages though) and just gave my details to the girl on the end of the phone who put them into the system and is sending it all to the right department who will work out what I'm due back and will send me info through within 28 days and hopefully a cheque to follow. Easy peasy and no complicated forms to fill in!

Ha I bet they send you a form to fill in! :p:

Reply 234

georgia

14

dobbs

Ha I bet they send you a form to fill in! :p:

They shouldn't do from what the girl I spoke to said. She just said they'd send me the calculations and the cheque...we'll see if she's right or not hopefully within 28 days!

Reply 235

OP

Meeee :)

I worked as an Xmas Temp from October to January and I got tax taken from my pay. Am I right in thinking you can earn up to a certain amount of money before having to pay tax, and therefore I can claim back the tax that was taken?

If so, how do I get it back? I've had a look on the internet but can't really find anything to help me...

If your total income for the year is less than (or equal to) your tax free 'personal allowance' (which is currently £6,475 for most people) then you shouldn't ultimately have an Income Tax liability for the year, so should be able to claim a refund for any that you've paid. Note that this doesn't apply to National Insurance Contributions (NICs), as the threshold above which these are paid is set for each pay period, rather thahn being an annual threshold.

The P50 is the correct form to use to reclaim overpaid Income Tax from employment during the current tax year, provided that you've either been unemployed for four weeks, or don't expect to work again before the end of the tax year. You would need to send this to your tax office (contact details here) along with Parts 2 and 3 of your P45 (retain Part 1A for your records).

However, as today is the last working day of the tax year, the form won't be relevant for a claim for repayment made now as it would not be received for processing until the start of the new tax year, on 6 April 2010. Instead, just write to your tax office enclosing Parts 2 and 3 of your P45, requesting a refund in the letter.

All of this and more is explained in more detail in my guide in the TSR wiki, which you can find here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Income_Tax_and_National_Insurance

Reply 236

OP

callum9999

That R40 form says "Claim for repayment of tax deducted
from savings and investments". I'm pretty sure it was a P50 I was told to fill out to claim back income tax (which does require you to send off the P45).

This is correct. For claims for repayment of current year Income Tax on employment income after leaving employment, a form P50 should be used. The form R40 is used to reclaim overpaid Income Tax on income from savings (or investments). See here for more details.

Reply 237

OP

callum9999

I don't know what a P38 is for, but you are allowed something like 6,500 tax free - so unless you have done other work during the tax year (or earnt a lot as a temp?) you can claim it all back (apart from NI).

Instructions should be on the HMRC website somewhere. I think you need to get a P45 from your employer, and then fill out a P50 form and send it to the tax office listed on the P45.

By completing a form R38(S) and giving it to your employer, students who work only during holiday periods and who expect their total annual income not to exceed their personal allowance can arrange to be paid without deduction of Income Tax that they would otherwise have to reclaim at a later date. This doesn't affect their overall Income Tax liability for the eyear, merely the pattern of payment. Take a look here for more on this. :smile:

Reply 238

Meeee :)

3

I've started working again (about 2 months after finishing the last job) so can I claim back the tax from the first job now, or do I have to wait until I finish this job too?

Reply 239

OP