Change of tax code / Paying the right amount of tax

electrum2008

Hi guys, I am hoping someone can help me (at least before I contact HMRC)

I am unsure whether my current tax code is correct and whether I am paying the right amount of tax currently.

Current situation

I am a freelance journalist so I am not guaranteed work or have a fixed contract with the organisation.

I get paid on a weekly basis, PAYE

Current tax year

My current earnings (before tax) for this tax year so far is is 5,630.00
The tax I have paid this year is 954.00
NI is 402.84
Current tax code:: 297L

Last tax year as stated on P60

Earnings: 7,375.00
Tax paid: 86.20
Tax code was: 1150L
----
When I do work I tend to get paid between £375 to £500 in a week (before tax), but that's not every week.

So just wondered if my tax code is correct as it changed as you can see, so wondered why and if is correct.

I've looked in different places but can't seem to find a definitive answer so wanted to ask here before doing anything further.

00ec25

do you understand what a tax code does? It is your tax free personal allowance for the year converted into a figure which an employer then uses for PAYE

the personal allowance for 2018-19 is £11,850 so tax code 1185
anyone who has a different code to that has either asked for an adjustment (eg claimed expenses which have increased the code), or HMRC has altered it based on info they think is correct, eg: you have a benefit in kind so the code is lowered (hence you have "lost" £350 of tax free allowance to give 1150)
OR.....

for your code to have dropped to 297 (so 2,970 tax free in that job) HMRC appear to be treating you as having 2 (or more) jobs and have therefore given you a low code for the journo job on the basis you don't earn much money in it, so there is some "code" left over to be used elsewhere and therefore mean you will get at least some tax free income in the second job

if that is rubbish and you only have the journo job as a source of PAYE income then pick up the phone to HMRC (calling just before 8am is recommended to reduce queue times) and ask them to adjust it how you want it...

Murdina

Something is wrong last year as well - was the code followed by M1 or W1? If not by the end of the year your employer should have refunded all tax on those pay and tax figures and for that code. (M1 or W1 mean that PAYE is worked out by month or by week, not cumulated over the year).

It may be HMRC have since refunded it.
Does HMRC think you have arrears of tax? Maybe it is trying to collect those?
You need to find your notice of coding or call HMRC to find out how your code is made up.

Dazed_and_confused

In all honesty the op hasn't provided sufficient information yet for you to be able to say anything is wrong for last year.

I have checked my crystal ball and think the op had a previous job where they had earned £4,915 and paid no tax. The £86.20 on their P60 looks good to me!

electrum2008

00ec25 wrote: »

do you understand what a tax code does? It is your tax free personal allowance for the year converted into a figure which an employer then uses for PAYE

the personal allowance for 2018-19 is £11,850 so tax code 1185
anyone who has a different code to that has either asked for an adjustment (eg claimed expenses which have increased the code), or HMRC has altered it based on info they think is correct, eg: you have a benefit in kind so the code is lowered (hence you have "lost" £350 of tax free allowance to give 1150)
OR.....

for your code to have dropped to 297 (so 2,970 tax free in that job) HMRC appear to be treating you as having 2 (or more) jobs and have therefore given you a low code for the journo job on the basis you don't earn much money in it, so there is some "code" left over to be used elsewhere and therefore mean you will get at least some tax free income in the second job

if that is rubbish and you only have the journo job as a source of PAYE income then pick up the phone to HMRC (calling just before 8am is recommended to reduce queue times) and ask them to adjust it how you want it...

Thanks for your kind, helpful response this is indeed my only one job.

electrum2008

Murdina wrote: »

Something is wrong last year as well - was the code followed by M1 or W1? If not by the end of the year your employer should have refunded all tax on those pay and tax figures and for that code. (M1 or W1 mean that PAYE is worked out by month or by week, not cumulated over the year).

It may be HMRC have since refunded it.
Does HMRC think you have arrears of tax? Maybe it is trying to collect those?
You need to find your notice of coding or call HMRC to find out how your code is made up.

Thanks for your reply. It's W1 on the P60 for last year.