Changed jobs, tax problem

Confusednewbie72

I changed jobs from my old employer to my new employer on the 2nd January this year. 

In january I received two payslips, one from my old covering 1 day pay and overtime worked previous month, and one from my new one, showing tax paid for the month, plus my P45 which I handed into my new employer.

In february I received my second wage slip which showed double the amount of tax taken. Tax code hasn't changed to emergency tax or anything.

People are saying, yes thats correct but I can't see how when I paid the appropriate amount of tax in the first month. It is like I am being penalised by paying two lots of tax on my pay in one month. 

It doesn't seem fair. HMRC won't help and my organisations pay services say that this is correct.

How can it be? I will have paid 13 months tax instead of 12.

molerat

Both employers probably used the January tax allowance so yes you will have any tax due from that extra £1048 allowance taken off the next pay, probably around £209.  If the P45 was correct as to the total amount paid and tax deducted then there is no reason to suspect the new employer has deducted too much tax, you will have paid too little tax in January and it has now caught up with you.  This is quite usual when changing jobs. Look at the tax code and month used on those 2 payslips.  The new employer pay slip should also show total YTD pay and tax.

Confusednewbie72

So explain why I have had the same amount of tax deducted december, january and the double in february.

I would understand this if I didn't pay correct amount in january but I did.

BoGoF

Unless you post full payslip details then we are guessing.

It's also getting so close to the end of the tax year for it to be resolved if there is an error. HMRC will review it anyway when they have all details and refund if you have overpaid. 

molerat

Confusednewbie72 said:

So explain why I have had the same amount of tax deducted december, january and the double in february.

I would understand this if I didn't pay correct amount in january but I did.

You said you were paid twice in January, once by each employer.  You get £1048 tax free per month.  If both employers gave you that £1048, as is the most likely scenario, then you were not taxed on £2096 instead of £1048.  PAYE will correct the under taxing by the new employer using the information from the P45.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Confusednewbie72 said:

I changed jobs from my old employer to my new employer on the 2nd January this year. 

In january I received two payslips, one from my old covering 1 day pay and overtime worked previous month, and one from my new one, showing tax paid for the month, plus my P45 which I handed into my new employer.

In february I received my second wage slip which showed double the amount of tax taken. Tax code hasn't changed to emergency tax or anything.

People are saying, yes thats correct but I can't see how when I paid the appropriate amount of tax in the first month. It is like I am being penalised by paying two lots of tax on my pay in one month. 

It doesn't seem fair. HMRC won't help and my organisations pay services say that this is correct.

How can it be? I will have paid 13 months tax instead of 12.

I think you have some fundamental misunderstandings about how PAYE works.

Without your payslip details it's impossible to be sure but I suspect something like this happened.

April to December your old employer was using the emergency tax code (1257L) on a cumulative basis.  So tax was recalculated each month you were paid.

In January your old employer continued to use the same code and it was being operated on a cumulative basis you paid the correct tax (for that tax code) or, if it was a low income month you may in fact have received a tax refund.

You were also paid by your new employer in January and they also used the emergency tax code (1257L) but on non cumulative basis. 

This would mean you received two lots of tax code allowance in January.

You then receive your P45 from your old employer and hand this to your new employer.  They use the details from that in February and the tax you owe from having two lots of tax code allowances in January is collected from your February wages.

No one, neither your old employer, new employer or HMRC has done anything wrong, that is how Pay As You Earn works when you have (been paid by) two jobs in one month.

Have you gone to the trouble of calculating the tax that will be due on your March wages?

http://payecalculator.hmrc.gov.uk/PAYE0.aspx

Confusednewbie72

Is it only me that sees this unfairness? I have effectively paid 13 months tax instead of 12. Can’t any of you see that?

molerat

On the limited information you have given most of us have come to the same conclusion that you have been given too much tax free allowance, something that often happens when changing jobs, and that has to be corrected.  You have not paid 13 months of tax or been treated unfairly.  You are the one that does not understand how PAYE works.  If you post up details of your total pay received from both jobs, the tax code used and the total tax deducted we will be able to confirm whether it is correct or not, likely that will all be on the February pay slip.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Confusednewbie72 said:

Is it only me that sees this unfairness? I have effectively paid 13 months tax instead of 12. Can’t any of you see that?

Perhaps you'd like to post the January payslip details from the old employer.

I suspect if you did that you might have a 💡moment.

In january I received two payslips, one from my old covering 1 day pay and overtime worked previous month, and one from my new one, showing tax paid for the month, plus my P45 which I handed into my new employer.

Flugelhorn

Confusednewbie72 said:

Is it only me that sees this unfairness? I have effectively paid 13 months tax instead of 12. Can’t any of you see that?

but likely you have had 13 months worth of tax allowance too - so this was done to balance it up. At the end of the tax year it will all even out and you will get a refund if one is due 

Confusednewbie72

So what has happened then to the non cumulative tax  that was deducted by my new employer in January?