How and When can i get my tax back??

Bossyboots

The NI is clearly wrong, because as Sue points out it is not averaged. The figure I gave from the payslip calculator would be the maximum you would pay in a year if you earned £8000. If in some weeks you earn below the NI threshold (I think its £97) you won't pay any so if you have had £600 deducted, you have either earned more than you imagine to date or there is a mistake somewhere.

If you have only been working since July, your tax liability will be even lower as your allowance is spread across less months, giving you a larger starting figure for tax each month, unless you did other paid work before July.

Your tax free allowance per month is just under £420. You then get £85 per month at 10% and the rest at 22%. Therefore, if you were to have a good month and earn £450 every week, your tax allowance and lower band allowance is effectively used up in the first week and therefore the rest of your month's pay will be taxed at 22%. If your colleagues are earning £200 a week and you earn double that, then of course you are going to be paying a lot more tax than they are. If they earn around £800 a month, they are getting half of that tax free and then another chunk at 10%. Their pay and deductions are really not relevant to you because of the fluctuations in your pay.

Let us have the payslip details and we can work out what tax you should have paid and the maxiumum NI you should have paid.

MXW

You say you are not on an emergency code number, if that is correct you should have paid the correct amount of tax. If you have just the personal allowance in your tax code, the code number should show 503L, if there is a x or m1/W1 at the side of the 503l eg 503LX 503LM1 503LW1, then they are operating the tax code on an emergency basis. If you are going to the states 07/08 you cannot claim a cessation refund, only an unemployment refund (and you have to be unemployed for at least 4 weeks before you can claim)

MXW

ps: just to clarify what I have just said re 07/08--if you inform the tax office you are leaving the uk (even for a few months) they will not deal with any refund until you come back, this is because, if you receive any income whilst abroad this will be taken into accounnt. Even if you are only going on holiday, the refund should not be made until you come back and make a claim. A unemployment repayment can be made if you are still resident in uk and have been unemployed for 4 weeks. If you came back to UK then started work, a refund would not be made by tax office, you would hand your P45 in from old employer and your new employer will give you the refund. SORRY IF THIS IS CONFUSING YOU!

pbright

Too confusing for me. Right here we go. To date, and over the past 12months, I have earned £6,392.53. I have paid £538 PAYE tax & £390 NIC, my tax code is 503L & theres a W1/M1 on my pay slip whatever that means. Can i get any money back in April??

Thanks

Bossyboots

I calculate that you will be entitled to tax back. You pay more tax on £450 earned weekly than £450 earned in just one month. Therefore, in your bumper weeks your tax is higher but over the year you have ended up paying more tax than your total income requires. I make your tax liability to date around £176 (but someone cleverer might correct me).

As for the national insurance I haven't a clue how they have worked that out based on the figures you have given. It does seem very high even allowing for the periods where you earned £450 in a week. Hopefully someone else might be able to work it out properly but I think this may only be possible with a complete breakdown of your earnings.

pbright

what kind of breakdown? I am clueless. Tell me what to do folks and ill do!

Thanks

Bossyboots

A complete list of how much you earned every week for the current tax period.

Playing with your figures, I can't get the NI up to the level you have paid unless you have in fact earned £650 in some weeks over the past months.

MXW

MXW wrote:

You say you are not on an emergency code number, if that is correct you should have paid the correct amount of tax. If you have just the personal allowance in your tax code, the code number should show 503L, if there is a x or m1/W1 at the side of the 503l eg 503LX 503LM1 503LW1, then they are operating the tax code on an emergency basis. If you are going to the states 07/08 you cannot claim a cessation refund, only an unemployment refund (and you have to be unemployed for at least 4 weeks before you can claim)

The code number you have shown as an emergency code number as I showed above, you need to ring your tax office to enable them to issue the correct tax code (cumulative code)

pbright

What i need is one person in the know telling explaining to me what to do as if i am a child :-D

I do not have a complete breakdown, can my work get me one? I can tell you that in 1 or 2 weeks i did earn a little over £500(& then the next week it would be £70 so it balalnces out). My tax code reads as 503L W1/M1, and at this job(sarted in July) which is all i have earned over the past 12months(24 really but for tax purposes, since April) is £6,392.53. I have paid £538 PAYE tax & £390 NIC. I expect to leave in May, early June and go to the US for 3months-ish(long vacation), would be worth the effort if i can even get just £100 back before i go.....so what can i and do i do...please dont be confusing as i am self proclaimed "slow" :-D

Bossyboots

You will need to write to the tax office (see the hmrc website) asking them for a refund of over paid tax for the tax year 2006/7. Give them your personal details and where you have been working. It doesn't have to be a complicated letter, one or two lines asking them to calculate your tax and refund is sufficient. They will be able to process a refund for you, but you have little chance of getting this before May as the tax year doesn't end until April 5th and you can't ask for tax back before then unless you stop work now. Even so, the chances are it won't be processed before May.

As for the NI, in the weeks you earned £500 you would have paid NI on anything over £97. In the weeks you earned less than £50 you would have paid no NI. It is therefore impossible without a list of what you earned every week to work out whether your NI is correct.