When you work in the UK, you may have various sources of income ranging from salary and dividends to bank interest. There may however be some situations where you end up paying too much tax. When this does happen, you will want to reclaim what is rightfully yours.
There may be numerous reasons as to why you end up paying too much tax through your job. These could be because:
- Your employer is using the incorrect tax code for you on the payroll system
- You are temporarily on an emergency tax code as you have started a new job
- You are employed for part of a year only
- You have been made redundant
- You have more than one job at a time
These are just a few of the reasons why you could be overtaxed in your job.
If you have been unfortunate to have paid too much tax through the PAYE (Pay as you Earn) system, then there are a few ways that you can reclaim this from HMRC.
If you are an employee, as an individual, you will have to either call or write to HMRC to tell them why you think that you have paid too much tax. They may have to clarify your request by asking for more information. If the overpayment is in the current tax year (6 April to the following 5 April), then the refund due will be included in your wages for the year. If it is for previous years, HMRC will usually issue a P800 Tax Calculation to confirm if a refund is due and they will issue this refund to be paid by the September after the end of the tax year.
One thing to be wary of is that there are certain time limits for you to reclaim any overpaid tax through PAYE. These time limits can be found in the table below:
| Tax Year |
Tax Year ended on |
Submit Claim By |
| 2009 – 2010 |
5 April 2010 |
5 April 2014 |
| 2010 – 2011 |
5 April 2011 |
5 April 2015 |
| 2011 – 2012 |
5 April 2012 |
5 April 2016 |
| 2012 – 2013 |
5 April 2013 |
5 April 2017 |
If you are submitting
self-assessment tax returns, the same principle applies in that if you believe that you have overpaid taxes, you will have the same time limits as shown in the table above. If this is due to a previous error, you will have to notify HMRC by correcting your return.
Once HMRC accept the amended return and confirm you are due a tax refund, there are a few ways in which you can reclaim this overpayment. These are:
- Putting it on your self-assessment account to set against potential future tax liabilities
- Repay the amount directly to your bank or building society account by BACS payment
- By cheque
If you would like more information about your tax affairs, or assistance with reclaiming overpaid taxes, please contact us on 020 8952 0140 or email
[email protected] where a tax specialist will be more than happy to assist you.