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Do you need to pay tax?

Students working while studying may need to pay Income Tax and National Insurance. This page can help you find out:

Tax and National Insurance if you work for an employer

If you work for an employer during term-time, any Income Tax and National Insurance due will be deducted from your wages before you receive them. This is known as Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

Everybody can earn a certain amount before they start paying Income Tax - this is the personal allowance (£7,475 for the tax year 2011-12).

For the tax year 2011-12, you begin making National Insurance contributions when you earn above £139 a week (the earnings threshold). To find out more about Income Tax and National Insurance, follow the links below.

Tax forms when you leave a job

When you leave a PAYE job, your employer will give you a Form P45. You'll need to keep this safe and give it to your next employer - to make sure you don't pay too much tax in the future.

• Employee tax and National Insurance (money, tax and benefits section)

Special rules if you only work in the holidays

If you're a full-time student with a holiday job, you may not need to pay tax through PAYE (you will still pay National Insurance if you earn more than the weekly threshold).

You can ask your employer for a form P38(S) (or download it below) if all the following apply:

If you have a part-time job during term time, you can't use form P38(S) just for your holiday job. Your employer will take care of the paperwork to make sure you don't pay too much tax.

• More about form P38(S) Opens new window

Think you might have paid too much tax?

If you think you've overpaid your income tax, use the student tax checker to find out if you could be due a refund.

• Use the student tax checker Opens new window

Tax and National Insurance if you're self-employed

If you work for yourself, you won't have an employer to sort out tax and National Insurance for you.

Instead you'll need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return each tax year, declaring your income and expenses.

This allows HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to work out how much tax you need to pay.

Registering as self-employed

You should tell HMRC as soon as you start working for yourself (you can’t register in advance). To register, call the 'Newly Self-Employed Helpline'.

To find out more about tax and National Insurance for the self-employed - and how to complete a tax return - follow the links below.

• Contact the HM Revenue & Customs Newly Self-Employed Helpline

• Introduction to Self Assessment (money, tax and benefits section)

• Self employed tax and National Insurance Opens new window

Working abroad in the holidays

Paying tax

If you normally live and study in the UK but work abroad during the holidays, for tax purposes you'll still count as a UK resident for that tax year. You will be liable for UK tax on anything you earn abroad above the personal allowance.

However if your overseas employer also taxes you, and you aren't able to claim tax back directly from the foreign authorities, you'll probably be able to claim a deduction or credit in the UK.

Ask HMRC for details if this applies to you.

• How to contact HM Revenue and Customs

National Insurance

If you normally live in the UK and then work abroad for a UK employer you will be required to pay National Insurance while you are abroad.

If you work abroad for a foreign employer you will not normally pay National Insurance in the UK, but you may have to pay foreign contributions. Sometimes these can count towards Social Security benefits back in the UK.

• Contact the HMRC Centre for Non-Residents (CNR)

If you're a foreign student working in the UK

If you work in the UK while studying, you'll normally pay UK tax and National Insurance as described above.

However, you may be entitled to reclaim tax you've paid when you leave by filling in a form P85 and sending it to HMRC.

• More about form P85 from HM Revenue & Customs Opens new window

• Working in the UK Opens new window

More useful links

• Beginner's guide to tax (money, tax and benefits section)

• Getting tax-free interest on savings or claiming tax back (money, tax and benefits section)

• The National Minimum Wage rates (employment section)

Useful contacts

• National Union of Students (NUS)

• Samaritans

• Universities and higher education contacts

• Education and learning contacts