How to claim a tax refund from HMRC

If you’re employed, PAYE usually takes the right amount of tax from your pay. But mistakes and changes in circumstances mean many people pay too much. This guide covers the most common reasons employees overpay, how HMRC tells you, and how to claim your money back.

Common reasons for overpaying tax

You may have paid too much income tax if:

• you were on an emergency tax code after starting a new job, especially after a gap in work. See our guide to emergency tax codes.
• your tax code was wrong, for example because HMRC thought you had a company benefit you no longer get, or counted the same allowance twice.
• you left a job part way through the tax year and didn’t work again before 5 April, so you didn’t use all of your Personal Allowance.
• you had two jobs and both were taxed on a BR code, or your allowance wasn’t split correctly. See paying tax on two jobs.
• you paid for work expenses that your employer didn’t reimburse, such as professional subscriptions, uniforms or using your own car for work.
• you’re eligible for Marriage Allowance but haven’t claimed it. See our guide to Marriage Allowance.
• you paid into a relief at source pension and pay tax above the basic rate, but haven’t claimed the extra relief.

You can also be owed a refund on a redundancy payment, on a pension lump sum, or on savings interest taxed when it shouldn’t have been.

Refunds through your pay

If HMRC corrects your tax code during the tax year, your employer uses the new code with your pay and tax so far. Any overpayment is usually refunded automatically in your next pay or the one after, with nothing for you to do. Our guide to tax codes explains how to check yours.

The P800 tax calculation letter

After the tax year ends on 5 April, HMRC compares the tax you paid with what you should have paid, using information from your employers and pension providers. If the figures don’t match, it may send you a tax calculation letter, known as a P800. These letters are sent between June and the following March.

The P800 explains how HMRC worked out your tax and tells you how to get your refund. GOV.UK’s guide to tax overpayments and underpayments explains what each type of letter means.

If the letter says you can claim online, you can do so through GOV.UK, the HMRC app or your personal tax account. You’ll need your National Insurance number and the reference from the letter. Refunds paid by bank transfer usually arrive within a few working days. If the letter says HMRC will send a cheque, you don’t need to do anything.

If you think the figures in your P800 are wrong, contact HMRC and explain which amounts you think are incorrect. Compare the letter with your P60s and final payslips.

Claiming without a P800

You don’t have to wait for a letter. You can claim directly if:

• you stopped working part way through the year and haven’t started again: you can claim during the year using the forms on GOV.UK.
• you have job expenses: you can claim tax relief online. The relief is at your highest rate of tax. For example, £300 of eligible expenses gives relief of £60 for a basic-rate taxpayer, or £120 for a higher-rate taxpayer. You can usually claim for earlier years too.
• you’ve paid too much on a pension lump sum: there are specific forms depending on whether you’ve taken all of your pension or only part.

GOV.UK’s claim a tax refund tool asks a few questions and directs you to the right form or online service.

If you’re in Self Assessment, overpayments are dealt with through your tax return instead.

If you owe tax instead

A P800 may show that you’ve underpaid. If so, HMRC usually collects the amount by adjusting your tax code for a later year, so you pay it in instalments through your salary. If that’s not possible, it may send a Simple Assessment letter with a bill. You can also choose to pay sooner.

Avoiding tax refund scams

Tax refund scams are common. HMRC will never:

• tell you about a refund by text message or email;
• ask for your bank details or card number by text, email or phone call;
• threaten you with arrest over the phone.

If you get a message about a tax refund, don’t click any links. Sign in to your personal tax account or the HMRC app directly to check. You can forward suspicious emails and texts to HMRC’s phishing team.

Some companies offer to claim refunds for you in return for a fee or a share of the refund. You can claim for free directly from HMRC, so check carefully before signing anything that allows a company to deal with HMRC on your behalf.

Keeping records

Keep your payslips, P60s and P45s for at least a few years. You’ll need them to check a P800 or support a claim. Our guide to P60, P45 and P11D forms explains what each shows.

To see what you should be taking home with the correct code, use our take-home pay calculator. If you have two jobs, the two jobs tax calculator shows whether your codes are likely to lead to an overpayment or underpayment. To work back from a target take-home figure to the gross salary needed, try the reverse salary calculator.