Can Anyone Help Sort Out My Girlfriend's Tax?

mr_fishbulb

Hi all - hoping some tax person can help here.

My girlfriend and I went away travelling in January 2004. We notified the inland revenue as we wouldn't be working any more that tax year and got a nice little tax refund in April 2004.

We came back to the UK in October 2005 (nice long break! ) and we both started working in November. I filled in a p46 form when I started but my girlfriend gave in her old p45 form (from January 2004).

My pay is fine - I'm on tax code 489L, but my girlfriend is on 489LX which the HM R&C doesn't have listed on its website but some other sites say it's emergency tax.

She spoke to her payroll after getting her first payslip who said they had sent everything to the tax office and they expected her tax code to be sorted by the next payslip - it wasn't. So she phoned up HM R&C to ask what was going on. They sent her a form to fill in asking what she had done between January 2004 and November 2005, which she filled out saying she was out of the country and returned it.

She's just had her January payslip and she is still on tax code 489LX, what's more she had another letter from HM R&C asking again what she had done, but this one had a typo asking her what she had done since January 2005 (should be 2004). She she phoned them up today to ask why they had sent another form and why there was a typo.

They admitted the form had the typo on as their records show she left the UK in Jan 2004 but they also told her that she is paying the correct amout of tax and that the X part of her tax code was there becuase she "is not registered yet for this tax year".

She's had 3 payslips now and is getting a bit p'ssed off that nothing is being sorted. Any advice on what she can do?

Cheers.

pchelpman

PAYE codes are the bain of my life. It's quite often a demoralising task trying to get them right.

I just recommend that - if it's not causing too much hardship - your girlfriend leave everything alone.

After 5th April 2006 she can send a copy of her P60 to the tax office and request a refund.

Things will/should start to move more positively then.

mr_fishbulb

Cheers pacman

Do they calculate a new tax code for everyone at the start of the new tax year?

pchelpman

If she stays in the same employment all should be well at the start of the new tax year.

Anyone who was on the so-called "emergency" code at 5th April 2006 can be automatically placed on a "proper" code by the employer from 6th April 2006.

The basic "proper" code from 6th April 2006 is 489L (or whatever the Chancellor raises it to in the upcoming Budget speech).

ctm_2

The standard code for the next tax year will be 503L.

Your girlfriend could wait until the end of the tax year to claim a refund, or if she has sent back the form P91 or P92 that was sent asking what she was doing, then she should be put on the correct cumulative tax code this year.

It's always worth remembering that there may be a delay between the employer receiving any new code, and it actually being used, depending on when the company runs their payroll calculations in the month.

If it has been a while since she sent in the original form, then I would be ringing up and asking why a new code hasn't been issued.

pchelpman

ctm wrote:

The standard code for the next tax year will be 503L.

I stand corrected. The allowance has indeed been set at that level for 2006/07. Well spotted, ctm.

ctm wrote:

Your girlfriend could wait until the end of the tax year to claim a refund, or if she has sent back the form P91 or P92 that was sent asking what she was doing, then she should be put on the correct cumulative tax code this year.

It's always worth remembering that there may be a delay between the employer receiving any new code, and it actually being used, depending on when the company runs their payroll calculations in the month.

If it has been a while since she sent in the original form, then I would be ringing up and asking why a new code hasn't been issued.

Agreed, ctm. However, personally, this is all such a headache and, being so close to the end of the tax year, I often find the Revenue can't get it fixed in time for the employer's final payroll run of the tax year. Might as well not bother, save your energy and just claim a refund after the event!

However, you can always go with ctm's recommendations. The Revenue should react accordingly and fix the code.

mr_fishbulb

Cheers for your help.

I'll let her know what the options are, but she'll probably not bother chasing it if it should be sorted in April

us,thecat&thedebt

hi all

the x stands for week one/month one

this has happened due to your gf handing in a p45 for a previous tax year...
as you have worked only since oct.. you will get a rebate in april anyway so she may as well leave as it is...

make sure in april you look into earnings and tax for this year so when you approach tax office you can send them the calculation it speeds things up...

basically for this tax year you have

£4895 tax free

£2020 at 10%

excess at 22%

example if you earn 10,000 per year...

first 4895 is tax free
next 2020 is at 10% = £202 tax


£3085 at 22% =£678.70 tax

so total tax due £880.70

hope this helps

:j

Cat1

As you she was out of the country, a form P86 - Arrival in the UK should be completed. That will decide her status for tax purposes and should reinstate a cumulative tax code.