Over-taxed

Amort

No idea if I'm posting this in the right place (I'm a newbie)

Basically I started a new job in November 2019. First pay was on 09/12/2019 and my tax code was 1250L which is the norm and I was taxed £61.44 from a £1042 wage. Which was usual and appeared fine.
Fast forward to my next pay date on 06/01/2020 and all of a sudden my tax code had changed to 521TX - which after scouring the internet I cannot find anyone with a code like that. Anyway I was taxed 201.18 in total from a 1128.88 wage. Which is not normal at all.

Now I've just received my next payslip and the tax code again is 521TX and I have been taxed £130 from a £900 wage leaving me with £730.

Just wondering what I can do about this as I've tried contacting HMRC and was rudely hung up on by their automated system not once but twice. Also does anyone have any idea why my tax code just changed like this? My tax account makes no sense to me at all. I haven't underpaid any tax in previous years, I don't owe any money. Just need this problem solving asap as it's driving me insane.

Thanks!

Dazed_and_confused

my tax code was 1250L which is the norm and I was taxed £61.44 from a £1042 wage. Which was usual and appeared fine.

Presumably you were paid by two employers in that tax month (no tax would be due from £1,042 on its own).

There could be a million reasons why your tax code is 521T (the X isn't part of your tax code, it just means the code is being used on a non cumulative basis).

Just wondering what I can do about this

Why not provide us with details of how your tax code has been calculated. This should be available on your Personal Tax Account on gov.uk. That would be a good start.

xylophone

https://www.litrg.org.uk/latest-news/news/191023-why-completing-starter-checklist-correctly-when-starting-new-job-really-does

Did you give your employer a P45 or complete a starter checklist?

You mention a "tax account" - did you mean your Personal Tax Account?

https://www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account

chrisbur

The figures you give for your first payment and date for second suggest that you are being paid every four weeks and that you are including national insurance in the tax figure you quote. Is that the case?
You say your tax code for first payment was 1250L did this have an X after it?
Can you give earnings details from previous job taxable gross to date tax paid to date and week or month number on P45 or last payslip?
Details for last payday given as "taxed £130 from a £900 wage leaving me with £730" Are these rounded a bit and should the net be nearer £770?

Amort

chrisbur wrote: »

The figures you give for your first payment and date for second suggest that you are being paid every four weeks and that you are including national insurance in the tax figure you quote. Is that the case?
You say your tax code for first payment was 1250L did this have an X after it?
Can you give earnings details from previous job taxable gross to date tax paid to date and week or month number on P45 or last payslip?
Details for last payday given as "taxed £130 from a £900 wage leaving me with £730" Are these rounded a bit and should the net be nearer £770?

chrisbur wrote: »

The figures you give for your first payment and date for second suggest that you are being paid every four weeks and that you are including national insurance in the tax figure you quote. Is that the case?
You say your tax code for first payment was 1250L did this have an X after it?
Can you give earnings details from previous job taxable gross to date tax paid to date and week or month number on P45 or last payslip?
Details for last payday given as "taxed £130 from a £900 wage leaving me with £730" Are these rounded a bit and should the net be nearer £770?

I am including national insurance in these calculations and I am paid every 4 weeks.
Gross pay tax National insurance
9 December 2019 1,042.67 16.00 45.44
6 January 2020 1,128.88 145.40 55.78
3rd February 2020. 903.10. 100.20. 28.69

First payment tax code was just 1250L, no X.

As for my previous job I started that job January 2019 and finished May 2019. Here's what my online tax account says about my earnings for that job.
Gross pay. Tax. National insurance
10 Feb 2019. 821.69. 164.20. 14.36 (tax code was 0T emergency)
10 march 2019. 818.96. -164.20. 14.03. (refunded emergency tax)
10 April 2019 1,222.64 36.00 60.44
10 May 2019. 910.57 -26.40 22.99

When I left his job my P45 states I paid 2133.21 to date. Month 1 week 1 box has N in it.

Don't know if I've gave the right details here so just let me know if there's anymore info needed. Thanks!

chrisbur

Was there no tax figure on your P45
The week 1 month 1 box should either be blank or have an X in it so no idea how the new employer would interpret an N I am guessing that they meant NO

Have you got any other taxable income other than these jobs?

On your payslips for the new job is there a space for gross to date and tax to date if so can you give the figures. If the code of 1250L was not applied as month 1 and there was no previous earnings in these figures you should not have had any tax deducted.

molerat

And between May and November you were ............ ?


Get up tomorrow morning and contact the tax office at 5 to 8 and speak to them.

Amort

chrisbur wrote: »

Was there no tax figure on your P45
The week 1 month 1 box should either be blank or have an X in it so no idea how the new employer would interpret an N I am guessing that they meant NO

Have you got any other taxable income other than these jobs?

On your payslips for the new job is there a space for gross to date and tax to date if so can you give the figures. If the code of 1250L was not applied as month 1 and there was no previous earnings in these figures you should not have had any tax deducted.

Just gone over the P45 carefully again and the week box is empty and month box has the number 4 in it. (Missed this before)

I have no other taxable income, I just work full time as a care assistant.

My pay slip says;
Gross pay to date: 3074.65
Gross for tax to date: 3074.65
Tax YTD : 261.60

Before my previous job I was in full time education so wasnt paying tax.
I'm just confused why my tax code changed all of a sudden. First month working for this job my tax code was 1250L then changed the second month even though nothing changed for me financially.

Amort

molerat wrote: »

And between May and November you were ............ ?


Get up tomorrow morning and contact the tax office at 5 to 8 and speak to them.

Already tried contacting the tax office this morning and was cut off as stated in my original post, will try again but just wanted to see if anyone had any idea what was going on first. Feel stupid when I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Between May and November I was in full time education.

Dazed_and_confused

There is no need for you to phone HMRC.

Just go on your Personal Tax Account and tell us how the 521T has been calculated.

Then we can tell you how to correct things (if they need correcting).

chrisbur

Amort wrote: »

Just gone over the P45 carefully again and the week box is empty and month box has the number 4 in it. (Missed this before)

I have no other taxable income, I just work full time as a care assistant.

My pay slip says;
Gross pay to date: 3074.65
Gross for tax to date: 3074.65
Tax YTD : 261.60

Before my previous job I was in full time education so wasnt paying tax.
I'm just confused why my tax code changed all of a sudden. First month working for this job my tax code was 1250L then changed the second month even though nothing changed for me financially.

The P45 which has gross of 2133.21 and no tax was issued in month 4 which is two months after the last payslip you have given details for. This would suggest that you were on their books for two months after you left and a tax refund of £9.60 would have been processed. This would I assume have been paid into the bank that was used for your normal wages.
The figures for pay and tax to date on your new job are only earnings in that job so the P45 was not used. Perhaps you did not hand it in or they did not use it or they got it after HMRC had told them to use 521TX.
I have no idea why the X appears on two payslips with the 521T code but not on the payslip with 1250L code The 1250L code was definitely applied on a week 1 basis on your first payslip, if it had not been applied as week 1 then no tax would have been deducted.
If you can go back to your Personal Tax Account the bit you want to look at is the calculation. It should start with an allowance of 12500 from which something is deducted to arrive at something like 5210. It is the bit that is deducted that is important .
It is possible that HMRC still have you down as being employed at your old job who knows?