Is it normal to get a Tax Refund every year?

somethingcorporate

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Look at it this way, when you pay for something you check your change don't you?

When you have a meal out you check the bill?

When your credit card statement arrives you check each line?

So why not do it with the biggest financial arrangement you have?

Sheer lunacy if you don't isn't it?

Cheers fj

No time for none of that shenanigans, I'm a super-duper high-flying NQ teacher with marking to do!!! My wife has to do all my forum posting for me!!

If it's worth a couple of good few hundred a year you'd have thought they would put some effort into getting it fixed - a phonecall to the taxman would get you somewhere and they get something like 10 weeks holiday a year in which to do it!

Wizzbang

somethingcorporate wrote: »

No time for none of that shenanigans, I'm a super-duper high-flying NQ teacher with marking to do!!! My wife has to do all my forum posting for me!!

If it's worth a couple of good few hundred a year you'd have thought they would put some effort into getting it fixed - a phonecall to the taxman would get you somewhere and they get something like 10 weeks holiday a year in which to do it!

Your optimism is touching. It's nothing about trying to be a high-flyer, it's all about trying to keep your head above water to keep your job. Yes, his wife (i.e. me) has had to everything for the last 3 years- cook, clean, do laundry, pay the bills, you name it, I do it. Not because I want to, but because we're trying to secure a future for ourselves which wasn't possible when he was a cover supervisor and only paid peanuts for part of the year. I can assure you, it's a 'fantastic' way to live- the only time I see my husband is once a day for 20 minutes whilst we eat our evening meal.

And as for 10 weeks of holiday, well you really are deluded! Besides the fact that after doing an 11 hour day at school, he then comes home to work all evening and every weekend- which would entitle him to a bloody long holiday in itself! He then has to spend 'holidays' trying to get on top of the never ending marking (which is impossible), preparing for Ofsted and other inspections, preparing schemes of work, writing reports, school trips and so on and so on.

But you can believe that he has weeks and months where he just sits on his !!!!. I mean, he has plenty of time to make this phone call doesn't he?!

Wizzbang

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Would this have anything to do with Student Loan repayments?

I hope not, we paid that off in one lump sum with savings before the interest kicked in. Worth checking though- thanks.

Wizzbang

patanne wrote: »

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that teachers get tax relief on PART of their union membership!

Thanks, made a mental note to check that too- he is a union member.

WHA

You really have two choices. Leave it as it is or find the time to get it sorted, but that will take time to work through all the documentation and then the patience to wait on the phone to speak to an HMRC advisor.

Or a third choice I suppose would be for him to engage an accountant to sort it out for him - shouldn't cost too much and then you'll both have piece of mind that it's right.

The Summer holidays are upon us shortly. An ideal time for you/him to dig out all the HMRC documentation and payslips, P60s etc that you can find. Work through it all, and then when you have it all together, phone HMRC and get it sorted.

somethingcorporate

Wizzbang wrote: »

Your optimism is touching. It's nothing about trying to be a high-flyer, it's all about trying to keep your head above water to keep your job. Yes, his wife (i.e. me) has had to everything for the last 3 years- cook, clean, do laundry, pay the bills, you name it, I do it. Not because I want to, but because we're trying to secure a future for ourselves which wasn't possible when he was a cover supervisor and only paid peanuts for part of the year. I can assure you, it's a 'fantastic' way to live- the only time I see my husband is once a day for 20 minutes whilst we eat our evening meal.

And as for 10 weeks of holiday, well you really are deluded! Besides the fact that after doing an 11 hour day at school, he then comes home to work all evening and every weekend- which would entitle him to a bloody long holiday in itself! He then has to spend 'holidays' trying to get on top of the never ending marking (which is impossible), preparing for Ofsted and other inspections, preparing schemes of work, writing reports, school trips and so on and so on.

But you can believe that he has weeks and months where he just sits on his !!!!. I mean, he has plenty of time to make this phone call doesn't he?!

You say I'm deluded but I am surrounded by my peers that are teachers/deputy heads and heads (next door neighbour is a head and her husband is a teacher) and they all seem to get the school holidays off. My other teacher friends brag about it on FB, some of them are NQs too. Are you saying your husband doesn't get this?

Honestly, if he cannot make time to make a 30 minute phonecall in a few years to sort out your tax situation then you need to have a look at your life and see what you do with your time.

FYI you pay interest on your student loan from the second you take it, had you read your annual statement you would see it so unless you paid it off the second it arrived you pay interest on it.

xylophone

Have you seen post 18?

Wizzbang

The student loan is fully paid off, it is no longer. It was paid off in full and confirmed by SLC. There are no annual statements because it is paid off, in full. It's paid off in full, oh I think I said that already.

We have checked his tax code, found the documents etc and it is exactly as it should be- 1060L. I got him to phone HMRC anyway- they kept him on the line for 30 minutes and then cut him off because apparently they all went home at 8pm. Lucky them. I am certain when he does finally get to speak to them, they are going to say that everything is exactly as it should be with no explanation for the annual refunds. It will be a while before he has another 30 minutes plus to waste, probably for nothing.

I'm glad your teacher friends get so much time off- I find that very hard to believe if they really are deputy heads or heads. They, in particular, live and breathe their jobs and never get any time off. The only other explanation is that they are in failing schools or simply, not doing what they are supposed to do. There isn't an NQT in this country who isn't up their ears in paperwork and lesson planning. This is the reason why such a high percentage leave the profession within a few years- they simply can't hack it. Good luck to them if they 'think' they have all this time off, it will surely come back to haunt them, that is for certain! Of course, you don't actually live with them- so you don't really know how much work they're doing. I'd encourage you to read some of The Guardian articles, if you want to know what the job is really like.

At least we're getting a refund every year, it looks like it's going to stay that way, unless someone at HMRC miraculously answers the phone which doesn't look likely from a quick internet search.

FutureGirl

Wizzbang wrote: »

At least we're getting a refund every year, it looks like it's going to stay that way, unless someone at HMRC miraculously answers the phone which doesn't look likely from a quick internet search.

Then try calling them instead of doing an internet search? They can't pick up the phone if you aren't calling.

zygurat789

The tax deducted under PAYE depends entirey on the code number which, in the circumstances you have described, be 1060L . The spaces after the L are also part of the code and there may not always be spaces there.If the code number is 1060L on the P60 then the correct tax will have been deducted for that coded number, if the code number is 1060L M1 then the correct tax may not have been deducted.
When a refund is made HMRC usually send a calculation, Form P800, showing income, tax chargeable tax deducted and balance refunded. If you wish to know why there has been a refund in previous years then you will need the P800 and P60, a P2 Coding notice showing how the code on the P60 has been arrived at would be invaluable.
If your husband now a code 1060L , the normal code then there would not normally be a refund, however, your husband's tax affairs are not quite that simple. Since he is a teacher he is entitled to certain allowances, as mentioned above, and he should check with his union as to whether or not there are any more. These will have the effect of increasing his code number and hence reducing his tax payable. You should write to HMRC claiming these items and they should amend the code number before the end of the year (5 April) if the code is now cumulative then it will all go through smootghly and he should pay the correct amount during the year and hence have no refund.