Is your tax code correct? millions are wrong!

Money Saving Expert reported last week

Revealed: 3.2m tax codes WRONG – check if you’re owed £1,000s

The National Audit Office found a huge number of tax code errors – our unique calc can check if you’re a victim

You’ll find your tax code on:

• your pay slip
• your PAYE Coding Notice – you usually get this a couple of months before the start of the tax year and you may also get one if something has changed but not everyone needs to get one
• form P60 – you get this at the end of each tax year
• form P45 – you get this when you leave a job

You can check your tax using this HMRC link

https://www.gov.uk/check-income-tax

If you think you code is wrong you can inform HMRC using this online form

https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/shortforms/form/P2

Check the following carefully:

1. P60 – you get this at the end of each tax year
2. P45 – you get this when you leave a job
3. PAYE Coding Notice
4. P11D Expenses and benefits
5. P9D Expenses payments and income from which tax cannot be deducted
6. Bank and Building society statements
7. Pension Tax Deductions

Is your National Insurance correct?

Unlike Income Tax which is cumulative and assessed across all earnings, National Insurance starts from zero on each individual employment and you also pay National Insurance on Self Employed earnings.

So if you are a Director of multiple businesses paid as an employee its easy to see how you could over pay and you might not even realise because National Insurance is not shown on your Self Assessment Return.

You can also over pay National Insurance if you are a part time employee with multiple employers and irratic earnings, this because National Insurance is calculated on a weekly/monthly basis, not a cumulative basis and its by employer.

What you need to do

Write to HM Revenue and Customs confirming:

• your National Insurance number
• why you’ve overpaid
• the tax year(s) you’ve overpaid

You should include your P60 or a statement from your employer showing the tax and National Insurance for each year you’re claiming for.

You should apply within 6 years of the tax year you’re claiming for.