FAQs

In the UK, everyone is given a tax free allowance. This is currently £7,475 and you can earn this amount each year without paying any income tax whatsoever. Every pound that you then earn over this amount is taxed at 20% (up to a salary of £42,475).

 

Sometimes people overpay their tax and actually pay the government more than they should. It is the money that you overpay that we are able to reclaim. This money is legally yours and you are fully entitled to ask for it back – think of it as a savings account that you didn’t even know about!!

 

There are several reasons why people over paid tax – it may be that your employer has put you on the wrong tax code, or that you haven’t worked for the entire year. Everyone has the right to claim their tax refund regardless of nationality and it won’t affect your visa or residency status.

Anyone who has worked within the UK and has overpaid tax can claim their money back. You may have overpaid tax because you have been put on an emergency tax code (BR) or if you have not been working for a full tax year.

Yes. Everyone who works in the UK regardless of nationality gets the same entitlements. In the UK each year there is a tax free allowance. Currently everyone can earn £7,475 before any tax is due. Earnings between £7,475 and £42,475 are then taxed at 20% and earnings from £42,476 are taxed at 40%.

 

It is a common myth that foreign nations do not pay tax - please read our leaving the UK section for more information.

 

Students often believe they don’t have to pay tax because they often earn below the tax free threshold of £7,475 in their part time jobs. If you have earned below this amount but have still be charged tax then you are definitely due a tax refund.

Yes you will need to have a permanent National Insurance number issued to you. This should be something that you applied for prior to starting work in the UK as it is not issued automatically. However, if you worked without an NI number then you are virtually guaranteed to be due a refund as you will have been emergency taxed. If you are still in the UK you will need to apply for a NI number, but if you have left the UK then it can be possible to still claim your overpaid tax. Please contact us for more specific guidance with regards to national insurance numbers.

You can claim your overpaid tax when the tax year has finished which is after 5th April. If however you are leaving the UK or have stopped working for the rest of tax year then we can claim back overpaid tax for the current 2011/12 tax year at any time.

You can claim any tax you have overpaid during the past six years. Currently this will take us back to the 2005/06 tax year which started on 5th April 2005. HMRC will be reducing the number of tax years in January 2012 that you can claim for so it is best not to delay your claim unnecessarily or you may lose your entitlement

We will send you out a claim pack which will contain all the forms that you will need in order to claim back your overpaid tax. The forms inside will vary slightly depending on your personal situation. You will simply need to sign these forms, fill out a basic questionnaire and employment history and return these to us free of charge in the freepost envelope provided.

 

We will also need all the original P45 and P60 documents that you have. If you no longer have these for any reason we offer a service where we can obtain this information on your behalf. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.

PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn and will apply to you if you are employed by a company or an individual. It means that you pay your tax and national insurance out of your wages each month “as you earn”.

 

CIS stands for Construction Industry Scheme and only applies to some people who work in construction. Most CIS workers will know if this applies to them as they will have registered under the scheme.

A P45 is a document that your employer gives you when you have finished working with them. It will show you how much you have earned and how much tax you have paid during the current tax year.

 

A P60 is a document that your employer will give you every year at the end of the tax year on 5th April. It is a statement that shows how much you have earned and how much tax you have paid. If you have more than one job you should receive a P60 for each job you have.
Inland Revenue often ask to see the original documents. They will only accept a statement of earnings, or a copy at their discretion, if the originals have been lost. When HMRC has finished processing your claim the original documents will be returned to you.

Ideally, it should not take more than 4-6 weeks from the date that we submit your claim to HMRC. It is important to note that any timescales that we quote are directly provided by Inland Revenue and these are subject to change at any time. It is important to remember that we also don’t get paid until you receive your refund and so we do everything we can to ensure the turnaround time is as quick as possible.

Yes. We can transfer your money to any overseas bank accounts. For refunds of up to £2,000 we will usually charge you a £15 transfer fee which simply covers our bank charges. There are individual countries (eg. Brazil) where this may vary. We can issue refunds direct into UK bank accounts, or issue you with a cheque for free.