Reclaiming tax??

24_Gramms

I am a student studying at college and i have a part-time job whic i get paid weekly about £80 (i know pretty shabby). Currently approximately 20% is taken by tax (£10-£15). I heard from a friend (who also has a part-time job) that i will be able to get my money back by April. Is there truth in this?

msmicawber

Yes, it is true. The tax year runs from 5th April in one year until 4th April of the next. All adults are allowed to earn a certain amount of money before they are liable to pay tax on it. Employers tend to take basic rate tax off your wages before paying them. At the end of the tax year, if you haven't earned the amount of your personal allowance, then you're entitled to a refund of all the tax you have paid. If you have earned more than your personal allowance, you may still be entitled to a refund of some of your money.

I'd recommend checking the Inland Revenue's web site, as it will all be set out on there - the amount of your personal allowance, and how to claim a refund. However, you won't get a refund 'by April' because the tax year won't finish until the 5th.

I hope that helps.

TrickyDicky

Try and contact your employers tax office (ask your employer who it is), and tell them that you dont think you will earn enough in this tax year to be taxed. If your employer cant tell you which one, just phone any of them and they can tell you which office to ring (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/local/individuals/index.htm for the office index). If it works, your employer should only take tax off you when you go over the minimum earnings threshold (£5090 this year I think). I did this succesfully in my year out. Remember you will still have to pay national insurance though.

If you claim at the end of the year, make sure you send them your P60, along with any other P45s of other jobs in the same year, with a nice letter saying how much tax you've paid and how much you think you're owed. I have succesfully claimed around £500 in tax refunds after easter and summer jobs before, but I was not in employment when I claimed them back as I was a hard working student (maybe ).

The first instance, where I didnt think Id earn enough inside the tax year to be taxed, was sorted in 1 phone call, and my next monthly wage packet was sorted with a big fat tax refund. But that was with a big employer.

The 2 claims took about 3 weeks and 2 months to settle, mainly because in the 2nd instance was because they sent me a load of forms to fill in (detailing all the jobs Id had in the last 2 years) and I held on to them for 2-3 weeks before I sent them back. But I got a nice fat cheque when it was done You can actually reclaim tax like this within the same tax year as the job occured too, aslong as you are no longer employed.