Have I overpaid tax on a student internship?

andystanger

Hello!

Apologies if there is already a topic dealing with this, im sure that there is but I cant find it anywhere, please point me in the right direction if there is.

But if not, I would really appreciate some help regarding whether Ive paid too much tax. Basically in the 08/09 year, I had a ten week summer internship during which my total pay was 7824.68, and total tax was 1111.60, tax code 543L. This was my first employment for the april 08 - april 09 tax year. 7824-5430 = 2394, i.e. my taxable allowance was taxed at almost 50%. Surely this isnt right?


My only other employment during the year was a four week christmas job, with total pay 1018.22 and total tax 39.60, tax code 603L. Is this significant?

Thanks very much in advance!

Lokolo

Do you have the P45s for both jobs?

dzug1

It looks like you have overpaid - yes. It arises out of the timing of your jobs, and the fact that the allowance is phased through the year and not given out in one big dollop.

You should have handed in the P45 from the summer job to your Christmas job - you'd have got a lot of tax back but would still have overpaid as you wouldn't have had the benefit of the Jan - Mar allowances.

andystanger

Thanks for the quick replies!

I have the P45 for both jobs, I was reading the above details off them. So for whatever reason I didnt give the P45 from my summer job to my christmas job. Would this imply that I wouldn't have got any tax back at all? Although maybe I did give it in and I got it back...or they got a photocopy...I can't remember at all. I suppose there is no way to find out?

Regardless, whats the next stage? Do I contact my local tax office as per the hmrc website /incometax/overpaid-thro-job.htm (wont let me post the full link)

dzug1

Your Christmas job would have been treated in isolation if you didn't hand your P45 in. As if the summer one had never happened.

Yes - contact your local tax office