HMRC has issued guidance on tax refund procedures following a customer’s enquiry. The taxpayer reached out to the tax authority via social media on March 10, asking: “I received a message from HMRC today stating that I overpaid tax last year.”
They added: “I was told that the overpaid tax would be sent to me as a cheque within 14 days. However, I as away from England and I want the payment to be made to my bank account.”
In response, HMRC clarified an important restriction that comes into effect once a cheque has been sent out. The group explained: “Unfortunately once a cheque has been issued, a bank transfer isn’t possible. You’d need to contact the helpline [and] request a replacement cheque is sent to you.”
The tax authority also provided a link to the information page for those with income tax queries. Taxpayers can reach out to HMRC using the online chat tool or by calling the helpline, which can help with issues like tax overpayments or underpayments.
You could be owed a tax refund, also known as a tax refund, for a variety of different reasons. This could be because you paid too much tax on:
- Your wages from a job
- Job expenses
- Pension payments
- A self assessment tax return
- A redundancy payment
- Your UK income if you live overseas
- Interest from savings or from payment protection insurance (PPI)
- Income from a life or pension annuity
- Foreign income
- UK income you earned before leaving the UK.
If you suspect you’re due a refund from HMRC, you can verify this and learn how to claim it through a tool available on the Government website. Claiming a tax refund can be done through your personal tax account, which you can set up on the Government website.
Your account also gives you access to various tax details including your current year’s income tax estimate, your tax code, and your state pension forecast. The tool can also show you if you would gain from making voluntary National Insurance contributions and whether you can make these payments online.
Now is an opportune time to check, as you currently have the option to top up over a longer period, going back as far as the 2006/2007 tax year. Typically, you can only do this for up to six years prior.
However, this extended period for topping up is only available until the end of the current financial year, which wraps up in April. This means you have weeks to capitalise on this offer.