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When might you have overpaid tax through your job?

You may have paid too much tax if:

• you started a new job and had an emergency tax code for a while 
• your employer was using the wrong tax code 
• you were only employed for part of the year 
• you're a student who only worked at holiday times and didn't complete form P38S Student Employees 
• you had more than one job at the same time 
• other income you have which is taxed through your tax code eg savings/investment income has reduced since you last told HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about it - which means the amount of income included in your tax code is too high 
• you stopped working and didn't get any taxable earnings or benefits for the rest of the year 
• your circumstances changed - for example you changed from full to part-time working or became self-employed

PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and tax codes

Your tax code is issued by your Tax Office and based on information we have about your income and entitlement to allowances. You'll find it on your PAYE Coding Notice (it’s usually sent to you before the start of the tax year and it may also be sent to you at other times if something has changed). Not everyone gets a Coding Notice, but the code can also be found on your P45 or your payslip. It tells your employer how much tax to deduct from your wages before you get paid. This way of paying tax is called PAYE.

If you have several jobs or work and get a pension you may have more than one tax code. It's important to know what your tax code means so that you can check that you are paying the right amount of tax.

• Understanding your tax code

• If you have more than one tax code

• Understanding your PAYE Coding Notice

How to reclaim PAYE overpayments - this year

How you reclaim this year's tax will depend on your circumstances.

If you're an employee

Tell your employer's Tax Office why you think you've paid too much tax. They may already have everything they need to check your claim. If not, they'll tell you what documents to send. You may get a new tax code, so any refund will be included with your wages.

If you've become unemployed or retired

If you've been working but have recently become unemployed or retired you could claim your tax refund.

• How to claim a tax refund when you stop work

How to reclaim PAYE overpayments - previous years

Write to your Tax Office and include any relevant documents about your earnings during the tax year for which you're claiming, such as:

• P60, P45 
• information about your employment and benefit history

They will look into your query, work out how much they owe you and send you a refund in the post.

If you've overpaid tax you must claim it back up to 31 January five years after the end of the tax year (5 April) in which the overpayment was made. For example, a claim for the tax year 2003-04 which ended 5 April 2004 must be made by 31 January 2010.

• Contact details for all Tax Offices Opens new window

How to reclaim overpaid Self Assessment tax

If you think you've paid too much tax under Self Assessment follow the link below to find out how to reclaim it.

If you're due tax back HMRC will make a repayment either by putting it in your Self Assessment account to set against future tax bills or by bank transfer or cheque.

• Find out more about reclaiming tax through Self Assessment

More useful links

• Working and paying tax

• Reclaiming tax if you've overpaid through your pension Opens new window