Claim a tax refund

1. Overview

You may be able to get a tax refund (rebate) if you:

• are employed and had too much tax taken from your pay
• have stopped work
• sent a tax return and paid too much tax
• have paid too much tax on pension payments
• bought a life annuity

You may also be able to reclaim tax:

• you’ve paid on savings interest if you’re on a low income
• if you live in one country and have income in another - how you do this depends on whether you’re a UK resident with foreign income or a non-resident with UK income

2. You're employed

• You may be able to claim a refund if too much tax was taken from your pay.

  Reclaiming tax for the current tax year

  Check if your tax code is wrong. You might need to tell HMRC if you find out it’s wrong.
  The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year.
  If HMRC have corrected your tax code and you’re due a refund, your employer will give you a refund in your pay.

  Reclaiming tax for a previous tax year

  Check you’ve paid the right amount of tax after the end of the tax year.
  HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will post you a P800 tax calculation if they know you’ve paid too much tax, usually by the end of July. You’ll normally get a cheque (also known as a ‘payable order’) within 14 days of getting the P800 - you don’t have to do anything.
  HMRC currently don’t send notifications of tax rebates by email. You can report suspicious emails to them.
  If you think you’ve paid too much tax but you’ve not had a P800 or need a refund sooner, you can make a claim to HMRC for any of the 4 previous tax years.

  Claim online

  You may be able to claim online. You’ll need:
  • your employer’s PAYE reference number - this is on your P60
  • details of any taxable benefits and taxable income you received
  • an account with GOV.UK Verify - you can sign up in 15 minutes (GOV.UK Verify will soon work with many government services)
  You can’t claim online for someone else.

  Other ways to claim

  Call or write to HMRC and explain why you think you’ve overpaid.
  You’ll need:
  • your National Insurance number
  • details of the jobs you had or State benefits you were getting at the time
  • your P45, if you have one

  What happens next

  HMRC will do one of the following:
  • contact you for more information
  • send you a refund by cheque (also known as a ‘payable order’) or directly to your bank account
  • send your refund to your nominee by cheque or directly to their bank account (if you’ve nominated someone else to get the money)
  • tell you that you’re not due a refund, and why
  If you don’t have a bank account you can nominate someone else to receive the money or cheque.