We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Uniform allowance

Options
I put in a claim for uniform allowance & my tax code is now £60 higher.
However i also put in a claim for past few years (the whole £240 thing).
I have spoken to HRMC over live chat who have told me that out of them 4 years they will only give me £40 as after tax is only worth £12 a month... and they are not sure where the additional £2 has gone in regards to calculations... Hardly the £240 it was advertised at.. or is this wrong? seems really weird.

Comments

  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    like many before, and doubtless many after, you have misunderstood

    HMRC do not pay you £60. They reduce your taxable income by £60, so you pay less tax on the income you get from your job

    as a basic rate taxpayer you are taxed at 20%. So if your income is reduced by £60 you pay £12 less tax because 60 x 20% = £12

    it is in no way worth £12 per month, it is £12 per year.

    Your expectations of what you are going to get are the problem.
    4 years @ £60 = £240 less taxable income
    240 x 20% = £48 tax refund - that should be your expectation
  • Less the £1-2 per tax year you will no doubt have owed.

    HMRC ignore this until you claim a refund or need to be sent a tax bill.

    So £40 for 4 tax years sounds right. Unless you were a higher rate payer.

    I find it hard to believe the HMRC operative could not explain this to you, either why the tax relief is worth £12/year (to most people) or why the amount owed back to you wasn't quite the £48.
  • uknick
    uknick Posts: 1,766 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    There have been a number of posts recently where posters are saying HMRC staff either didn't understand their problem, could not explain the issue satisfactorily or gave wrong advice. They then come on here to post what, in many cases, is a relatively simple question to answer.

    I know HMRC are not perfect, but I'm starting to wonder if the fault may lie with the taxpayer and not HMRC.
  • Caz3121
    Caz3121 Posts: 15,830 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hardly the £240 it was advertised at.. or is this wrong?
    where did you see £240 advertised?
    refund from previous year
    20% tax payer - £12
    40% tax payer - £24
    non-tax payer - £0
  • Probably a bit like the regular posters on here who think HMRC pay 45p mile for business mileage.

    Although to be fair a few do say it is what their employer told them.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 257K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.