Best way for son to deal with his tax rebate?

sparkiemalarkie

My son is in the Australian outback at the moment. He has just received a letter saying that he is due a UK tax rebate.
How easy would it be for him to the online Government Gateway site to get the rebate? He has no access to a PC but does have a phone.
On the other hand how easy would it be for me to pay the cheque into his bank account?
tia
sx

Teapot55

I have a feeling that HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) just pay the amount due as a rebate straight into a person’s bank account, using the information they already have & that the letter is just so he knows it’s happening. Or did the letter say specifically that he has to apply?

Also, it’s not a scam is it? because there’s a lot of criminals trying to lure people in to revealing bank details with promises of tax rebates/ refunds. 

bradders1983

Surely if someone is due a rebate they just send it, without announcing one is due? Or has the procedure changed?

OP I think you need to post the letter, omitting any personal details.

oldbikebloke

bradders1983 said:

Surely if someone is due a rebate they just send it, without announcing one is due? 

they send a P800 - a "letter" in the eyes of the uninitiated.
Those are usually sent out in Sept and relate to the previous tax year (April 20). They advise that a claim can be made through .Gov, in which case the refund will take 5 (working) days to reach the bank account

if you do not make the claim through .Gov you will get a cheque sent to whatever address HMRC has for you. If you know that address is valid then no worries, wait for a cheque. If you don't know what address HMRC thinks it knows then be careful as they could send it anywhere and you'll never get it.
read: 
https://www.gov.uk/tax-overpayments-and-underpayments/if-youre-due-a-refund

bradders1983

"If you do not claim within 42 days, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will send you a cheque. You'll get this within 60 days of the date on your P800."

Could just wait for the letter to time out, but where would they send the cheque to? I assume the address is still a valid UK address for your son?

As for paying the cheque in, a lot of banks are now making it more tricky for a third party to pay cash and cheques in, and if you dont have the bank card you cant use the automated machines either.  I once posted a cheque to my branch with instructions to credit to my account, suppose you could do that and sign your sons name on the letter.

sparkiemalarkie

oldbikebloke said:

bradders1983 said:

Surely if someone is due a rebate they just send it, without announcing one is due? 

they send a P800 - a "letter" in the eyes of the uninitiated.
Those are usually sent out in Sept and relate to the previous tax year (April 20). They advise that a claim can be made through .Gov, in which case the refund will take 5 (working) days to reach the bank account

if you do not make the claim through .Gov you will get a cheque sent to whatever address HMRC has for you. If you know that address is valid then no worries, wait for a cheque. If you don't know what address HMRC thinks it knows then be careful as they could send it anywhere and you'll never get it.

Thanks this is exactly it.
He's not due back in the UK until 2022
A cheque would come to our address - mum and dad - but it's paying it in that I'm concerned about. He banks with Monzo and Santander but has no paying in books for either. there are bank account details but no cards at home here.

How difficult would it be for him to set up a government gateway account ?
tia
sx

bradders1983

You can post cheques to Monzo. Hang on....

bradders1983

There you go.

csgohan4

careful the letter is not a scam

bradders1983

csgohan4 said:

careful the letter is not a scam

If he does nothing and just lets them send a cheque (assuming its real), then its not an issue.

macman

sparkiemalarkie said:

oldbikebloke said:

bradders1983 said:

Surely if someone is due a rebate they just send it, without announcing one is due? 

they send a P800 - a "letter" in the eyes of the uninitiated.
Those are usually sent out in Sept and relate to the previous tax year (April 20). They advise that a claim can be made through .Gov, in which case the refund will take 5 (working) days to reach the bank account

if you do not make the claim through .Gov you will get a cheque sent to whatever address HMRC has for you. If you know that address is valid then no worries, wait for a cheque. If you don't know what address HMRC thinks it knows then be careful as they could send it anywhere and you'll never get it.

Thanks this is exactly it.
He's not due back in the UK until 2022
A cheque would come to our address - mum and dad - but it's paying it in that I'm concerned about. He banks with Monzo and Santander but has no paying in books for either. there are bank account details but no cards at home here.

How difficult would it be for him to set up a government gateway account ?
tia
sx

So you simply walk into your nearest Santander branch and say, 'please can I pay this into the account of sparkiemalarkie Jnr, here are his account number and sort code'. No need for a paying-in book or bank card.