General Tax and National Insurance Question

NurseChrissy999

I am 62 and retired from NHS this year. (ICU nurse burnt out) Unfortunately I only have a very small pension of £500 per month. To subsidise this I do one agency shift per week at an average income of £300 per shift. Some months I do 2-3 shifts per month some its 4. I spoke to the tax office back in April/May and they said that they would split my tax allowance between the two amounts. My pension is not being taxed at the moment but the code has changed the last 3 months from S650L to S650L M1. My agency shifts are being taxed at S529T and I pay roughly NI £37 and tax of £52.00 per shift. Is this the best way to do this with my personal allowance being split in this way. I am married, mortgage free and husband working part time.

Thanks in advance

molerat

You are overpaying tax slightly on the agency due to the pension tax allowance being too high, £500 x 12 = £6000 and you have £6509.04 allowed against it. I would ask for a 601 / 578 split (assuming pension is exactly £500 and has been in payment since April). I assume your extra £290 tax free is correct - your tax account should give you the reason for it. NI cannot be changed.

Dazed_and_confused

molerat has pretty much covered it but remember you need to consider your whole income for this tax year so don't just think about what's happening now.

In your op you say you retired "this year" which is a little vague when it comes to tax. Do you mean this calendar year or tax year? Even then what really matters is what you have been paid, if anything, by the employer you retired from as that may be relevant.