Archive Website of the UK government

When might you have overpaid tax through your job?

You may have paid too much tax if:

• you started a new job and had an emergency tax code for a while
• your employer was using the wrong tax code
• you were only employed for part of the year
• you're a student who only worked at holiday times and didn't complete form P38S Student Employees
• you had more than one job at the same time
• other income you have that is taxed through your tax code, eg savings/investment income has reduced since you last told HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about it - which means the amount of income included in your tax code is too high
• you stopped working and didn't get any taxable earnings or benefits for the rest of the tax year
• your circumstances changed - for example you changed from full to part-time working or became self-employed
• you were made redundant
• you received payments after leaving such as arrears of pay, payments in lieu of notice, unpaid holiday pay, redundancy or termination payments including compensation for loss of office or employment

PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and tax codes

Your tax code is issued by HMRC and based on information HMRC have about your income and entitlement to allowances. You'll find it on your PAYE Coding Notice. This is usually sent to you before the start of the tax year. It may also be sent to you at other times if something has changed.

Not everyone gets a Coding Notice, but the code can also be found on your P45 or your payslip. It tells your employer what your tax-free allowances are and how much tax to deduct from your wages before you get paid. This way of paying tax is called PAYE.

If you have several jobs or you work and get a pension you may have more than one tax code. It's important to know what your tax code means so that you can check that you are paying the right amount of tax.

• Understanding your tax code

• If you have more than one tax code

• Understanding your PAYE Coding Notice

How to reclaim PAYE overpayments - this year and last year

How you reclaim this year's and last year's overpaid tax will depend on your circumstances.

If you're an employee

Tell HMRC why you think you've paid too much tax. They may already have everything they need to check your claim. If not, they'll tell you what information they need. Any refund due for this year will be included with your wages. HMRC will send you any refund due for last year.

• Contact HMRC Opens new window

If you've become unemployed or retired

If you've been working but have recently become unemployed or retired read the guide below to find out how to claim your tax refund.

• How to claim a tax refund when you stop working

How to reclaim PAYE overpayments - 2009-10 and earlier tax years

Write to HMRC and include any relevant documents about your earnings during the tax year for which you're claiming, such as:

• P60, P45
• information about your employment and benefit history

They will look into your enquiry, work out how much they owe you and send you a refund in the post.

In most cases you'll get back the tax you've overpaid as long as you claim on time.

Time limits for claiming a tax refund through PAYE

The time limits for claiming a refund are shown in the table below. If you don't make a claim within the time limit you'll miss out on any refund due.

Time limits for claiming back PAYE tax

• Contact HMRC Opens new window

How to reclaim overpaid Self Assessment tax

If you think you've paid too much tax under Self Assessment follow the link below to find out how to reclaim it.

If you're due tax back HMRC will make a repayment by:

• putting it in your Self Assessment account to set against future tax bills
• repayment direct to your bank or building society account
• cheque

Time limits for claiming a Self Assessment tax refund

The time limits for claiming a refund are shown in the table below. If you don't make a claim within the time limit you'll miss out on any refund due. But if HMRC has made a mistake you can get extra time.

Time limits for claiming back Self Assessment tax

• Correcting your tax return and claiming any refund

More useful links

• Working and paying tax

• Reclaiming tax if you've overpaid through your pension Opens new window

Useful contacts

• Money, tax and benefits contacts

• National Insurance Contributions Office