A quick guide to claiming tax back from HMRC

Income tax is complicated. Although it is usually automatically taken from your salary by your employer, mistakes can happen when the calculations go wrong, or if your circumstances change.

So it may be worth getting in touch with HMRC, the government department responsible for collecting tax. Part of their role is to help people claim back overpaid tax.

And remember: you can claim back any overpaid tax from the last five financial years, so contact HMRC if you have any reason to believe you might have a claim.

Contacting HMRC

Before you start, make sure you have your National Insurance number and details of any jobs you've had or benefits you have received.

You can call HMRC on 0845 300 0627 (open Monday-Friday 8am-8pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm).

If you'd prefer to write and you work for an employer, the address is:

HM Revenue & Customs

Pay As You Earn

PO Box 1970

Liverpool

L75 1WX

Or if you have filled in a Self Assessment tax return, the address is:

HM Revenue & Customs

Self Assessment

PO Box 4000

Cardiff

CF14 8HR

Reasons you might be due a refund

You have earned less than £9,440 this year

Income tax is only charged on anything you earn above £9,440 in a year (from April 2013 - until then, the limit is £8,105). For people over the age of 75, this increases to £10,660.

If you earn less than that, you shouldn't pay any income tax at all. However, if you recently started a job and you were paying 'basic rate' tax, you may be able to claim some or all of it back.

HMRC should pay this back automatically, but you'll get your money back sooner if you make a claim.

HMRC have miscalculated your tax

This can happen for many reasons, but it's common for people who work more than one job (which makes calculating tax a bit more difficult). Most people will only find out they have paid too much tax when the refund lands on their doormat, but contact HMRC if you have any reason to believe you have overpaid.

You have stopped working or received a pay cut

The amount of income tax you pay is based on your expected earnings for the year. So if you stop working and your income is less than that, you should be able to claim some or all of it back.

You have miscalculated your tax return

Filling in your own tax return is notoriously complicated, so mistakes can happen. If you think you may have overpaid on your tax return, contact HMRC and explain the situation.

A warning about emails claiming you have a tax refund

There are a number of scams involving emails that appear to be from HMRC, claiming you have a tax refund. HMRC never sends this kind of information by email, so you should report this kind of thing as soon as possible.

Reclaiming tax is a simple process, and you should be wary of any company claiming they can help you get your tax back.