Help needed with income tax

Bradley091

So I have been working all this year, I was furloughed back in March but salaried so my pay never stopped. In October I changed jobs, I’ve now received 3 lots of wages from my new employer and neither time have I paid tax. There are deductions for NI and smart pension however. I would like to try and understand why I haven’t yet been tax in case there’s an issue I need to raise with work. What details would someone who can help need to figure out why I haven’t been taxed? Thanks in advance 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

It s almost certainly because they have operated your tax code on a cumulative basis without taking into account your earnings (and tax paid) from the previous job.

Why that has happened is another matter.

Could be the new employers error or a mistake in a tax code sent by HMRC.

You could start by asking your new employers payroll where they got the tax code from in the first place.  Did you give them a P45?

But you will have to pay the tax back at some point.

Bradley091

thanks thanks for your reply. So frustrating as that’s all out of my control yet I will have to suffer in paying it back in one lump sum. I gave my P45 to my manager on my first day. I then wasn’t paid for 2 weeks so gave them plenty of time with it 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Unlikely you will have to pay it back all in one go (unless a very large or very small amount).

Does your copy of the P45 show your earnings from your previous job?

Has your new employer used the same tax code as shown on your P45?

Bradley091

yeah total pay to date and total tax to date are shown on my p45

the code matches between the p45 and my current payslips yeah

Dazed_and_C0nfused

First port of call would be to your payroll people then to see why they have used the tax code but ignored the pay and tax details.

Bradley091

Yeah my manager is going to ask them on Monday. He asked if I gave them my p60 when I joined. I said I gave my p45, that’s all I had and pretty sure all new employers need?? I don’t recall my p60 from this year. Would have been during national lockdown so might have to email my old boss because they weren’t sent digitally 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Not sure what relevance your P60, which would be for a different tax year, has when you changed jobs in October!

Your P45 should be all that was needed.

unholyangel

Sounds like, as dazed and c0nfused said, they've either not used previous pay and tax figures or a starter checklist has been filled out with statement A incorrectly selected. 

Sometimes an employer would have already added you to payroll before receiving your p45 (or sometimes they just seem to ignore it) and in that instance, they should have gotten you to complete a starter checklist. But again, employers don't always do what they're supposed to. 

If you have total pay and tax figures for both employers, last pay period (payslip should have week or month number on it) and your code, one of us could work out how much you've underpaid by (so perhaps can set that amount aside so you can repay in one go/aren't hit as hard when it's corrected) but it's better getting it corrected asap, else any underpayment is likely to increase.

Grumpy_chap

Bradley091 said:

thanks thanks for your reply. So frustrating as that’s all out of my control yet I will have to suffer in paying it back in one lump sum. 

You don't need to suffer paying it back in one lump sum.
When you get paid, put 20% of what you receive in a bank account (or 40% if you are higher rate tax payer) then, when the tax bill comes you can pay it easily and keep the balance for a treat to pat yourself on the back for being properly organised.