UK Tax Refund - do you qualify

Do you qualify for a Tax refund ?

We estimate that one in three of UK employees qualify for an Income Tax Refund.

The way to establish if you might be due an Income Tax refund is to consider some of the following:-

Have you worked for less than a full UK tax year that is from 6th April to 5th April?

If your earnings are less than the personal tax allowance which currently is £6,475.

Perhaps you work in the Construction Industry on the CIS scheme and have tax deducted on CIS payment slips.

You have been taxed on an incorrect tax code perhaps having a health or car benefit coded in whereas this benefit was provided in a previous employment or indeed is no longer provided in your current employment.

Perhaps you have incurred business expenses that have not been re-imbursed to you if for example you were a Home Carer.

A Home Carer will usually need a car to visit their clients?

Assuming that they have not made a business expense claim then perhaps a claim for a refund on part of the business element of the motoring costs could be claimed against your income and you may be able to claim for prior years.

To see if you qualify you just need to consider some very simple questions:-

Have you used your own motor vehicle to visit your clients and or incurred other business mileage for your assignments. One good example could be shopping for clients or collecting prescriptions.

Have these expenses not been refunded by your employer or if they have was this at a lower rate than 40p per mile.

Do you have some evidence of the costs incurred perhaps this could be obtained from time sheets or perhaps from pay records.

There are other examples of how employees under PAYE may be able to claim expenses and some examples could be :-

Motor Mechanics who provide their own tools.

Employees who have to have and provide specific work wear.

What will it cost to use an agent to reclaim your tax refund for you and how do agents that get tax refunds operate as regards the payment of their fees?

Many firms that operate a tax refund claim service usually have a No Refund No Fee policy.

This simply means that if there is no refund then there is no fee. Usually this is an agreed percentage of the refund that is actually obtained.

These fees can vary depending on the type of claim that is being made and as to the source of that Income.

Sometimes there can be a minimum fee to cover basic costs.

In operating a No Refund No Fee structure then the service provider will expect that claimant to sign a mandate authorizing the service provider to obtain the claim on the client's behalf.

When they receive your refund they will then make a payment direct to your bank account less their fees of cost and assuming that you still have a uk bank account there should be no cost for that service. However if you wish to have the funds sent abroad by Wire or Telegraphic Transfer then there would be some additional costs.

Income tax is complex so it is a good idea to consult a professional to help you make a UK Income Tax claim.


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The Author writes many articles on Income Tax and Tax Planning for more information please go to UK Tax Refunds