Possible Tax Rebates, how should i approach this

foggydew

I have received a few letters from IR in the past asking me to verify past employment for the purposes of getting their records in order.

I have been self-employed since April '05 and it has become apparent that the tax office is not aware that the self-employed me is the same person as the previously not self-employed me. I have made a couple of attempts to verify everything but to no apparent avail. (I thought that they should be able to pull everything together via my NI number but apparently not).

My main query is whether or not i am entitled to claim back the tax i paid between 1999 and 2003 when i was a student and whether the fact that i never broke the lower tax threshold between 1999 and 2004 bares any significance on anything.

So can i do it and to whom and in what style should i compose the letter, or can it be remedied by phonecall - previous attempts have rendered all parties in confusion seemingly.

Any help or advice would be most appreciated - i am a recent convert to the moneysavingexpert ethic.

foggydew

c'mon i was told i'd get help in here...

malcindebt

I assume the letters you are getting are either Request for information, or Employment Records. The reason that they system does not recognise that you have been s/e since 2005 is that the PAYE system and the SA system are not linked, and so cannot pass information from one to the next.

If however you feel that you may be due a refund, what you should do is send in your P45/60 details for the period in question with a covering letter requesting repayment of possible overpaid tax.

You will only be able to go back to the year ending 5 April 2001 at the moment, however you have not got long, the claim for the year ending 5 April 2001, has to be made and received by HMRC before 31/01/07. If the claim is made after that date, the earliest you can calim to is 5 April 2002 onwards.

foggydew

Thanks alot for that mate - very helpful, i posted the letter off 1st class today so hopefully that will qualify me for year ending 5 Apr 01.

Will the two systems be forever separate because it is confusing and often frustrating communicating with customer service reps that only know half the story!

I think that i was in the wrong tax code for most of my employment these years and am hoping for a rebate - i understand that rebates normally occur automatically but as the tax office is clearly confused as to whom the different versions of me are i am hoping my clarifications will tie all loose ends...fingers crossed.