A tax rebate is a refund of tax which has been overpaid. There are a number of reasons why tax may have been overpaid, in this article we will discuss three of them:

1.Tax Refund For Employees

You may be able to claim a refund if too much tax was taken from your pay.

How to claim depends which tax year you paid too much. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

You can make claims back to the 2012 to 2013 tax year.

2016 To 2017 Tax Year

Check if your tax code is wrong. You might need to tell HMRC if you find out it’s wrong.

If HMRC have corrected your tax code and you’re due a refund, your employer will give you a refund in your pay.

2015 To 2016 Tax Year

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will post you a P800 tax calculation if they know you’ve paid too much tax, usually by the end of September.

HMRC currently don’t send notifications of tax rebates by email. You can report suspicious emails to them.

How To Claim

If your P800 says that you can get your refund online, claim it that way. if not HMRC will send you a cheque you’ll receive it within 14 days. If you’re owed tax from more than one year, you’ll get a single cheque for the entire amount.

Claim Online

You may be able to claim online. You’ll need:

  • your employer’s PAYE reference number – this is on your P60
  • details of any taxable benefits and taxable income you received

You can’t claim online for someone else.

Other Ways To Claim

Call or write to HMRC and explain why you think you’ve overpaid.

You’ll Need:

  • your National Insurance number
  • details of the jobs you had or State benefits you were getting at the time
  • your P45, if you have one

 

2.You Sent A Tax Return

You can claim a refund if you paid too much tax, for example because you:

  • made a change to your tax return after you filed it
  • entered the wrong amount when paying your Self Assessment bill
  • stopped being self-employed and have payments on account

How you claim depends on how you filed your Self Assessment tax return.

If You Did Your Tax Return Online

  1. Log in to your HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online account.
  2. From ‘Business tax account’, go to ‘Self Assessment Details and Options’.
  3. Choose ‘More Options’ from the right-hand menu.
  4. Click ‘Request a Repayment’ and follow the instructions.

If You Did A Paper Tax Return

You’ll usually get a tax refund paid directly to your bank account if you included your bank details on the Self Assessment form.

If you didn’t, you can call or write to HMRC and explain why you think you’ve overpaid.

If you write to HMRC, include your:

  • Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) – this is on previous tax returns
  • bank details or your nominee’s bank details – you can also ask to be repaid by cheque instead

HMRC will only pay refunds into UK bank accounts.

3.Tax Refund If You’ve Stopped Work

You Were Made Redundant

Call HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you’ve overpaid tax because of your redundancy payment. They may be able to refund you before the end of the tax year.

The tax year is from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

You Left Your Job

You can’t get a tax refund straight away if you’re getting any of the following:

  • Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Career’s Allowance
  • Incapacity Benefit, if you’ve been getting it for more than 28 weeks

Give the Jobcentre Plus parts 2 and 3 of your P45. If you’ve overpaid tax, you may get a refund either:

  • at the end of the tax year
  • when you start a new job

If you’re out of work for less than 4 weeks and you’re due a refund, you’ll get one through your wages from your new job. You can’t claim a refund.

Fill in form P50 if you’re not claiming the benefits above and not going to work for at least 4 weeks, for example if you’re retired, still looking for a job or returning to study.

You Leave The UK To Live Abroad

You need to read the guidance and fill in form P85 if you’re either:

  • leaving the UK to live abroad permanently
  • going to work abroad full-time for at least one full tax year

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the next year.

What Happens Next

HMRC will either:

  • send money to your bank account
  • send money to your nominee’s bank account (if you’ve nominated someone else to get the money)
  • send you a cheque (also known as a ‘payable order’) that you can pay into your bank account
  • contact you for more information
  • tell you that you’re not due a refund, and why