Can i claim any tax back?

astonsmummy

Hi i'm 21 and since i was 16 i have had a number of jobs, including temp work, and have had periods of being on benefits.

I am now working, i know that in most of the jobs if not all, i have payed emergency tax on one or more lots of wages, i havent kept any p45's p60's or anything else, is there any chance i could claim tax back? or would i even be due any?

thnx xx

Robert_Sterling

If you have paid more tax than was due you can claim it back.

pchelpman

astonsmummy ... it is vital that you keep all paperwork for 6 years. For 2 reasons. Firstly, you are required to do so by law (otherwise you may be fined) and, secondly, it will make claiming refunds much easier.

As you seem to have lost everything you must gather all the details together again.

First you must draw up a list of all your employments and the approximate dates you worked there.

You will need to know whether or not the benefits are taxable or not. If they ARE taxable then they will need to be notified to the Revenue.

Once you have compiled the list then go see if you can find any papers at all.

For those jobs you have lost the details you should contact the employers for the pay & tax figures. You might try asking the Revenue but they may not be able to help easily.

Once you have the pay and tax information together send the details to the tax office that deals with the most recent employer. Don't forget to quote your national insurance number in your letter.

Ask them to refund anything overpaid but watch out .... ask yourself ... what happens if you have UNDERpaid instead of overpaid? You could end up with a bill not a refund.

If you need more help post here again.

astonsmummy

thnx, i havent got any of my papers, due to personal reasons. they got thrown away, i will gather all the information i can, i am almost certain i havent overpayed. xx

Aark

astonsmummy ... it is vital that you keep all paperwork for 6 years. For 2 reasons. Firstly, you are required to do so by law (otherwise you may be fined)

That isn't strictly true unless you run a business. Other individuals are only required to keep tax records until one year after the 31 January following the end of the tax year (i.e. say two years). It may be a good idea to keep key documents such as P60s and P45s for longer, but is not required.

I've often thought it might be better if HM Revenue & Customs sent everyone some form of tax return (as simple as possible), so that people were reminded to think about whether they have paid the right amount of tax each year.

pchelpman

Thanks Aark ... you, if course, quite right. I am so used to dealing with the longer time limit I overlooked the shorter one for non-self employed folk. TMA 1970, s12B(2) has the rules.