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Best way for son to deal with his tax rebate?

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sparkiemalarkie
sparkiemalarkie Posts: 939 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
edited 30 September 2020 at 1:16PM in Cutting tax
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

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  • Teapot55
    Teapot55 Posts: 792 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 30 September 2020 at 1:34PM
    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. 

    would've . . . could've . . . should've . . .


    A.A.A.S. (Associate of the Acronym Abolition Society)

    There's definitely no 'a' in 'definitely'.
  • 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
    oldbikebloke Posts: 1,096 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 September 2020 at 1:51PM
    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
    bradders1983 Posts: 5,684 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 30 September 2020 at 1:55PM
    "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.
  • 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

  • You can post cheques to Monzo. Hang on....
  • There you go.
  • csgohan4
    csgohan4 Posts: 10,600 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    careful the letter is not a scam
    "It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"

    G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP
  • 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
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    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.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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