Annoying SA result related to student loan - Do I just need to grin and bear it?

wookie6

Hi,

I finished paying off my student loan in the middle of the 2012 - 2013 tax year, having spoken to HMRC they said I had to say 'yes' to still having a student loan, therefore did so and then entered the amount of student loan I paid during the tax year (up until Jan when the full student loan had been paid off).

On calculating my tax I see it says:

Income Tax due after allowances and reliefs
plus Student Loan repayment

And for the 'plus Student Loan repayments' figure it has a relatively large figure. Why is this? Is this the figure it thinks I should have paid additionally assuming the student loan existed for the full tax year and didn't finish part way through it?

Do I just need to grin and bear it, pay it and then lodge a case for having overpaid on tax?

Any help appreciated.

jimmo

Did you put an X in the third box?
Take a look at this.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/csl1.pdf

wookie6

Thanks for the reply, this is helpful to know and yes I did put an 'X' in the third box, so at least this should be reviewed.

However am I right in assuming that this doesn't help me much as the calculated tax owed (rightly or wrongly) still needs to be paid today as far as I'm aware?

That said having submitted my return (but not yet paid tax owing) my account still says 'Nothing to Pay' when I log in to SA. Is there a lag in this updating?

jimmo

If you can pinpoint how much you are being overcharged I would just pay the balance you know to be due.
That may well trigger all sorts of automatic penalties etc but, as long as your figures are accurate, they will melt away when the system catches up.
It would probably just as well for you to contact HMRC and arrange an informal standover of the excess Student Loan charge but you can’t do that tonight.
As I understand it, because I’m not in SA myself, when you submit your Return you get a calculation of the amount of tax, NI and Student Loan due for the year but your SA account is not updated on the same day, normally the next.
Perhaps a lesson for the future, don’t leave your Return until deadline day.

wookie6

Thanks again for taking the time to help, I think I'll play good citizen and pay the requested amount and then contact them and tell them what has happened, hopefully the fact that I have done the right thing will count in my favour.

Hopefully they will just say amend the tax return as they need it done at which point the re-calculation will work out that I am owed a refund based on the fact that I will have already paid.

Well that's my theory anyway, however as you say there's a lesson to be learnt here :-)

agrinnall

Although I was an undergraduate long before anyone thought about student loans I was under the impression that as you approach the tax year in which your loan will be paid off you can contact SLC in order to make arrangements precisely to avoid this situation. As it appears you didn't do that then you probably are best to do what you have decided.