Claiming tax rebate without paperwork?

Roobarb73

Hello

This is my first time posting here for advice although I've posted a couple of times elsewhere on the site. I was wondering if anyone could help.

I have a feeling I may be due back income tax for year 2006/2007.

Basically at the start of that tax year I was in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay of around £106 pw up until July when I was then unemployed, and claimed contribution based Job Seekers Allowance at the prevailing rate (around £55 a week or something).

This was my only money coming in until I started work on 6th November 2006 earning £17100 a year. I got paid on the 18th November covering period 6th - 30th November. I was taxed on a BR tax code and same again happened in December. This was because my employer had failed to send me a p45 and by the time my employer processed a p46 for me it was too late to get the tax codes before the pay cut offs.

For the rest of the tax year from Jan - April 07 it looked like I paid the right amount of tax for my earnings. However I have a feeling I'm owed a rebate as I overpaid big style in November and December 06 - I had been expecting really not to pay any tax those months as I'd have had so much unused allowances from the time I was just on JSA.

So, long story short, can I find the P60 and/or the last payslip for tax year 06/07? No. I put them somewhere to keep safe, and I think I lost them when we moved!

Is there any point trying to pursue this, just explaining the story as detailed above, or is there no point without the P60/latest pay slip?

Thanks for any advice.

Money_Grabber13579

There's probably no point unless you have all your records. What's more HMRC will probably fine you for failing to keep adequate records. It is essential to keep payslips and P60's and other official documentation.

Pennywise

Write to your current HMRC office (name and reference on your latest P60 or P45 and use "contact us" on HMRC website to find their address) - tell them what you've said here, but add more detail, i.e. dates employers names & addresses, etc. They should be able to trace your employment history as long as you've always given your NI number to your employers.

Please don't be put off by the other reply. HMRC aren't going to fine you - you're the loser not them in this case. There is every chance that HMRC will be able to reconstruct your employment history and make repayment.

If you don't receive a reply after about six weeks, write again, enclosing a copy of your original letter, and keep doing so every month or so, as HMRC are notorious for filing incomming post in the "bin" if their to-do piles get to big and they're in danger of missing their targets.

It would be better if you could find the paperwork, so keep looking.

Roobarb73

Money_Grabber13579 wrote: »

There's probably no point unless you have all your records. What's more HMRC will probably fine you for failing to keep adequate records. It is essential to keep payslips and P60's and other official documentation.

Why on EARTH would they fine me? That is a ludicrous suggestion. They wouldn't fine a private individual, who has always paid my tax via PAYE and there's no suggestion I've underpaid tax, for losing a p60 and a couple of payslips. There's not an obligation on a private individual to keep records in the same way there is a business anyway.

Roobarb73

Pennywise wrote: »

Write to your current HMRC office (name and reference on your latest P60 or P45 and use "contact us" on HMRC website to find their address) - tell them what you've said here, but add more detail, i.e. dates employers names & addresses, etc. They should be able to trace your employment history as long as you've always given your NI number to your employers.

Please don't be put off by the other reply. HMRC aren't going to fine you - you're the loser not them in this case. There is every chance that HMRC will be able to reconstruct your employment history and make repayment.

If you don't receive a reply after about six weeks, write again, enclosing a copy of your original letter, and keep doing so every month or so, as HMRC are notorious for filing incomming post in the "bin" if their to-do piles get to big and they're in danger of missing their targets.

It would be better if you could find the paperwork, so keep looking.

Thanks, that's very helpful.

I'll do up a letter with a chronology detailing my exact dates in/out of employment and my income/earnings and hopefully they will be able to trace it. I did have the payslip and P60 set aside for safekeeping, I think they must have been a casualty of the house move.

Thanks Again.

suso

Write to HMRC, they will be able to trace your records.

I'm not sure if you are due a refund or not, as if the employer started using a different code after BR, it depends whether it was a cummulative code or a week/month 1 code.

If it was cummulative it would have taken into account the overpayment you made in Nov + Dec, if it was a week/month 1 code then you should be due a refund.

One word of waning though, as the tax year has just ended lots of people are claiming tax refunds for 08/09 and they take priority, so yours will take a bit longer to process, but give it a 6 weeks or so and they will be able to give you an update, but don't worry its still well within the time limits for claiming.
good luck