Please help BR Tax code

lauraocal

I'm lost.

I have so much debt to pay each month, my finances are an utter mess!

I thought getting a new job would help with my debt burden but it's just getting worse.
I work for an agency and got work through them but I'm slogging my guts out for over 40 hours a week and earn £250.25 wages.
It's not great money but I can deal with that.
What I can't deal with however is the BR tax code that after deductions leaves me with £184.25.
I've given the agency my P45 with my tax code on it. So why am I still on the emergency code after 4 weeks?
I've got no money left to buy food each week and after going on Direct.gov web site I'm left hopelessly lost.
I just want off this stupid code asap. How can I make this transition faster?
The .gov site tells me I am going to be refunded, but when?
It's alright someone telling me I'll get a refund when at the same time I've got the same .gov constantly on at me to pay an estimated (by them!!) VAT bill.
I keep telling them I've got no money and that they are taking all my money in tax but they d ont care.
I tried telling them I'm getting a tax refund, and you know what they said?
"when?" to which I replied that I didn't know, "well thats not good enough"!!!!
It doesn't matter that we have no food, just that their profits are lacking £380.00 they ESTIMATED I owed.

Please can anyone give me some advice?

fengirl_2

First of all, code BR is not emergency code, it is basic rate which is used for instance for a second job. Emergency code is 543L week 1 basis, although at this stage of the year, it should not be used.
You speak of a VAT bill which suggests you are also in business, in which case code BR would be correct. However, if the business has cased, you need to inform your tax office and ask them to issue code 543L to the agency. If your business is still running, but you are not expecting to make a profit this year, you can still ask for your allowances to be set against your job, on the understanding that any profit you make will be taxed at basic rate.
A quick phone call to your tax office will sort it out.

Conor_3

You will be on the BR until the Inland Revenue supply your employer with your tax code. Giving them your P45 doesn't speed this up. If you started working for this agency after 5th April, your previous P45 is pretty worthless for telling them your tax code for this year anyway. There's not a lot you can do to speed it up. TBH, you'd have been better filling in a P46 because then at least you'd have been on a Week 1 tax code.

As it is, you're only £31 a week worse off than if you were on your proper tax code.

lauraocal

First of all, no I'm not in business.
I have filed a p46 too.
Might only be £31 to you but to me its my food for the week.

fengirl_2

You need to ring your tax office then and tell them your employer is ignoring the P46

tigtag02

Conor wrote: »

You will be on the BR until the Inland Revenue supply your employer with your tax code. Giving them your P45 doesn't speed this up. If you started working for this agency after 5th April, your previous P45 is pretty worthless for telling them your tax code for this year anyway. There's not a lot you can do to speed it up. TBH, you'd have been better filling in a P46 because then at least you'd have been on a Week 1 tax code.

As it is, you're only £31 a week worse off than if you were on your proper tax code.

Wrong again Connor ~ P45 CAN and SHOULD be used.

OP ~ I suggest you either speak to the payroll dept and complete another P46 or chase HMRC to send them your P6.

Completely agree with fengirl too.

PasturesNew

Also, if you are over 25 and living alone (self-contained), check out if you can get Working Tax Credit. While a salary of £13,000 is on the borderline you might get a few quid coming through from them in the medium term. It's worked out on your income and how much your rent/council tax are. As a temp, your yearly earnings will probably be less than the £13k as you won't be working all the time, with voids between bookings, so if you think this is likely then say your yearly money is £12,000 or whatever you can reasonably work it out to be.

http://www.entitledto.com

Every penny counts.

lauraocal

Thanks for the help guys.
I'm not sure what the p6 is but I'm off to Direct.gov to find out.
I thought tax credits worked on the previous tax year's income?
Last years income was £18k so I didn't try to claim this year.
Can I still claim then?

lauraocal

Can anyone tell me why I'm on this code (BR) if it's not an emergency tax code?
I only have one job (temp) and I'm not in business of which Inland rev know, old business ceased, been to hell and back with Inland Rev!

fengirl_2

I suspect your employer didnt give you a P46 to sign, or else they lost it in their internal machinery. Employer's instructions are to operate BR in the absence of a P46 and a large employer wouldn't bother chasing you for one.

liney

BR is Basic Rate, used when A) you are working a second job, or your P45 is not usable due to it's age, or it was last tax years.

A WK1 tax code is not an emergency code, it is a 'non cumulative' code, meaning it does not take in cosideration what you earnt last week, and uses your basic weekly tax allowence - this is only a problem if you have had weeks off work, as your allowence would be greater weekly and the WK1 assumes you are consistantly employed.

Your action should be to fill in a P46 which will put you on 543L wk1, and the tax office will write back to your employer given them a code to correct the overpayments you have made. The WK1 code will not tax you more, but put you on an even par while the overpayment is sorted.