Maximising tax rebates for foreign workers in the UK

In the UK taxation year differs from the calendar year. It runs from 6th April in the current year to 5th April in the next.

As a general rule you’ll be due a refund in the following circumstances:

• You commence work in the middle of the tax year
• You stop working in the middle of the tax year
• You have a break in employment during the tax year
• You incur expenses which are allowable against your employment income
• Your Coding Notice was incorrect
• You were on an emergency tax code

Firstly, you need to acquire a NIN (National Insurance Number). This is the unique tracker HMRC will use to keep track of your PAYE and National Insurance Contributions (NIC).
If you’re British, you’ll get your NIN automatically when you turn 16. If you come to the UK to work then you’ll need to arrange a NIN, you can contact the National Insurance Contributions Office at 0300 200 3500.

Yes, but the rules are complex and the class of expenses is very narrow. The key is that the expenses must be “wholly, exclusively, and necessarily” incurred for the employment. Expenses which may be claimed include the following:
• Temporary workplace – travel, accommodation, subsistence
• Professional subscriptions to recognised bodies i.e British Medical Council, Institute of Engineering etc.
• Tools which you are required to provide for your employment (e.g a carpenter who must provide his own hand tools)
• Uniforms – cost and maintenance
• Business travel – where employee must provide his own transport (note that if you use your own car then relief is given on the number of miles you travel – you should keep a record)
Your Taxback account manager will advise you on what expenses you can claim.

You can claim your tax refund from the past four years.

If you are leaving the country during a financial year and either won’t be working again in that financial year or are leaving the UK permanently or indefinitely then yes you can claim a refund from HMRC upon departure and won’t have to wait until the end of the tax year.
If you are leaving temporarily and will be working elsewhere in the tax year that you leave e.g. if you go to Australia on a working holiday visa, then you may have to wait until the end of the tax year to get your UK tax back. It will all depend on your exact circumstances, but we can check this out for you and let you know.

PAYE stands for Pay As You Earn. PAYE is the system of tax collection from employees in the UK, where taxes are collected with each payment.

Most PAYE workers in the UK are not required to file a tax return. However, many employees in the UK are due a tax refund. The only way to claim your tax back is to file your return.
What’s more, if you earned income outside the PAYE system in the UK, you may be required to file a tax return.

Tax code is used by your employer to work out how much Income Tax to take from you. Anyone employed or paid via PAYE will be given a tax code by their employer via HMRC, which will be shown on their payslip, P45, and P60 forms. The tax code is made up of numbers and letters in the end. 1257L is the tax code currently used for most people who have one job or pension.

You should be aware of the following:

• P46 employee (no P45): Issued to employees by employer when they start work and they have no P45 from a former employment;
• P45: Issued to an employee by the employer when the employee leaves that employment.
• P60: Issued to an employee by the employer at the end of a tax year. It is a summary of pay, tax deducted and National Insurance deducted.
• P11D: Issued to the employee by the employer at the end of the tax year. It reports all Benefits in Kind the employee has received during the tax year.

You should keep any documents you receive from your employer (P45, P60, P11D) as these are required to file your claim. If you are claiming for tax-deductible expenses, then you should keep sufficient records to satisfy HMRC if they decide to carry out an audit on your file.

Real Time Information (RTI) for PAYE only changes the process of reporting PAYE, not the way it is calculated. RTI can only report the data HMRC already has, without checking the accuracy of this information, so you may be underpaid or even have your refund delivered to the wrong address.
Meanwhile, Taxback will check all your paperwork before sending it to HMRC, make sure it adheres to tax law and that all the necessary information is included so that you get the maximum tax refund possible.