How do I find out if I have overpaid tax in any of the last 10 years because I think I might of
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Anth1982
1 year ago
Expert Financial Adviser Answer
John Stirling
answered 1 year ago
I am afraid the only way to find out will be to work out how much tax you think you should have paid, and compare it to how much tax you have paid. If there is a discrepancy then you may have the right to get some of it back, however under self assessment it is significantly more difficult to get historically overpaid tax returned, as the responsibility for submitting figures lies with you.
Realistically this is a job for a pretty decent accountant, not a financial adviser.
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Realistically this is a job for a pretty decent accountant, not a financial adviser.
Anth1982
answered 1 year ago
I'm not self employed but have left jobs and in between years and my final year p60 do not include other paid jobs hope that makes sense can I get all my p60 info from somewhere
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Expert Financial Adviser Answer
John Stirling
answered 1 year ago
Yes, that does make sense. Your P60 should include other jobs, but if when you have left jobs within a tax year (I think that is what you mean?) you have either not received a P45, or not passed it to your new employer then it is quite possible that your tax will have been calculated incorrectly by your new employer initially. However in theory your local tax office are able to keep track of you according to your national insurance number, and so any discrepancy within a particular tax year should be sorted out in your tax code for the following year.
Having said that, it was reckoned at one point that one in six tax codes were wrong, so if you haven't been providing the correct paperwork to your employers it is quite possible you were one of the six.
It should be possible to reconstruct the position from all your P60s, and P45s (you'll only need these if the P60 doesn't reference a job you left during the year) well enough to judge whether your tax position is roughly correct or not.
Alternatively you could ask HMRC to provide you with tax statements for the last decade or so. I have never done so, so I don't know what information they can/will supply, but it might be an easier solution in the first instance.
Best of luck
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Having said that, it was reckoned at one point that one in six tax codes were wrong, so if you haven't been providing the correct paperwork to your employers it is quite possible you were one of the six.
It should be possible to reconstruct the position from all your P60s, and P45s (you'll only need these if the P60 doesn't reference a job you left during the year) well enough to judge whether your tax position is roughly correct or not.
Alternatively you could ask HMRC to provide you with tax statements for the last decade or so. I have never done so, so I don't know what information they can/will supply, but it might be an easier solution in the first instance.
Best of luck
Expert Financial Adviser Answer
Darren Smith
answered 1 year ago
Hello Anth
it's not as big a job as you might think.
sadly because HMRC limited the option to claim overpaid tax to no more than 4 years (used to be 6) and it was with effect of this current tax year.
So you can only go back as far as 2008-9
some easy pointers are to check that you have had a tax code credited on each payslip (ideally the last one, or the p45 or p60) as tax codes are cumulative, they will correct any errors in the year they are issued.
BR means basic rate and that might infer an overpayment unless you had multiple sources of income at the same time or in the same year.
it can be relatively straightforward to establish if there is a discrepancy but do remember it works both ways, if you have underpaid, HMRC can still send you a bill and charge interest!
feel free to get in touch with any further queries
it might still be worth while
report abuse
it's not as big a job as you might think.
sadly because HMRC limited the option to claim overpaid tax to no more than 4 years (used to be 6) and it was with effect of this current tax year.
So you can only go back as far as 2008-9
some easy pointers are to check that you have had a tax code credited on each payslip (ideally the last one, or the p45 or p60) as tax codes are cumulative, they will correct any errors in the year they are issued.
BR means basic rate and that might infer an overpayment unless you had multiple sources of income at the same time or in the same year.
it can be relatively straightforward to establish if there is a discrepancy but do remember it works both ways, if you have underpaid, HMRC can still send you a bill and charge interest!
feel free to get in touch with any further queries
it might still be worth while