UK Tax FAQs

For people new to the UK…

Before you start heading off to sightsee in London and sample the haggis in Edinburgh, there are a few key facts about life in the UK that you should know.

To start working, earning and paying tax in the UK you'll need to get a National Insurance Number and set up your UK bank account.

Once you start work you'll pay 22% income tax on earnings above £2231 and 40% on earnings over £34,600.

Taxback.com can claim back part, or all of what you paid.

The average UK tax rebate we get for our clients is £963 for PAYE workers and £1253 for self-employed.

Try our FREE tax refund calculator to see how much cash you could get back.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Show all

How can I open a UK bank account?How can I open a UK bank account?

Banks in the UK require proof of address, a letter of employment or a UK utility bill in your name in order for you to open an account with them. This can be very difficult if you've just arrived in the country and are still finding your feet.

Taxback.com has partnerships with three of the biggest banks in the UK – Barclays, USBC and Lloyds – and we can help you open an account. All we need is proof of ID and a correspondence address.

We charge £35 for this service. Apply online for your UK bank account today.

What is a National Insurance Number (NIN)?

Your National Insurance Number (NIN) is the unique number allocated to you by the Department for Work and Pension in the UK. It allows you to work, pay taxes and access public services in the UK.

Having an NIN is a prerequisite when you apply for a job in the UK. You'll use your NIN in all your correspondence with HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pension. Your NIN is used as a reference number for the benefits and tax credits system in the UK and is used for making tax and National Insurance deductions from your earnings.

Taxback.com can organise an NIN for you. Apply online for your National Insurance Number today.

How can I get a National Insurance Number (NIN)?

To get a National Insurance Number (NIN) in the UK you need to apply at your local JobCentre Plus Office and it can take months. Taxback.com can organise an NIN for you and reduce the application process to weeks.

We organise your NIN interview within 24 hours of your registration with us. We get you the earliest possible appointment available at the JobCentre closest to your home or work. The usual timeline for the interview to take place is three to four working weeks.

The National Insurance Agency issues your NIN within two working weeks of the interview to your UK home address.

For National Insurance Number applications we charge a fee of £40. Apply online for your National Insurance Number today.

How do I know if I'm PAYE or Self-Employed?

Whether you are employed (PAYE) or self-employed depends on the terms and conditions of your work.

If you work for someone else in the UK, it is important to know whether you are working for that person in an employed or self-employed capacity, such as an independent contractor or a subcontractor. If you are employing other people it is your responsibility to correctly determine their employment status too.

Usually it will be easy to decide whether you are an employee or self-employed. If you answer ‘yes' to the following questions, you are probably an employee/PAYE worker :

Do you have a contract of employment between you and a company?
Do you work in a specific role, for specific tasks, during specific hours and with a specific manager?
Does your ‘employer' pay you weekly or monthly and deduct income tax from your earnings before they pay you?
Are you entitled to/do you receive payslips?
Do you have specific targets?
Do you receive bonuses?
Are you paid overtime for extra hours worked?

If you answer ‘yes' to the following questions you are probably self-employed:

Do you run your own business and take responsibility for its success or failure?
Do you fulfill short-term contracts for specific periods of time or a specific body of work?
Can you hire someone to do work for you or help you at your own expense?
Do you risk your own money?
Can you decide how, when and where you work?
Do you provide the main items of equipment you need to do your job?
Do you regularly work for a number of different people?
Do you have a contract for services?
Do you issue an invoice for your services to receive payment?

What is PAYE?

The Pay as You Earn (PAYE) system means that tax is deducted from your earnings by your employer and paid to HM Revenue and Customs. The rate at which tax is paid depends on how much you earn.

If you are PAYE in the United Kingdom you may be owed a tax refund at the end of the tax year or when you leave the country so when you finish work, use our FREE Online UK Tax Refund Calculator to see how much cash you could get back.

Visit our PAYE Standard Worker in the UK section for more information.

What is Self-Employed?

If you're self-employed in the UK, you are responsible for your own tax and National Insurance contributions. This means:

You must register with Inland Revenue as self-employed
You must file a self-assessment tax return each year and declare all your income
You must pay tax on the profits you make during the tax year
You must pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions

For more information, visit our self-employed in the UK section.

What is a P45?

A P45 is the official tax form that you get from your employer when you finish working for them. It outlines your earnings and the amount of taxes that you paid for that employer. If you leave a job to start another one, you'll need to give your P45 to your next employer so make sure you keep a copy for yourself. We'll need your P45 or your P60 to claim your UK tax back when you leave the UK or at the end of the tax year.

If you misplace your P45 or you don't receive it, our document retrieval team can obtain one for you.

What is a P60?

A P60 is the tax certificate you receive from your employer at the end of each tax year in April. It shows all your earnings and tax paid in that tax year. We need your P60 or your P45 from each of your employers to claim your UK tax refund.

If you misplace your P60 or you don't receive it, our document retrieval team can obtain one for you.

Can I drive in the UK?

Getting a UK driving licence while you're in the UK is a good idea as many employers request a drivers' licence to employ candidates and it is also a generally accepted form of ID.

If you have a valid European Community licence, or a licence from Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you can drive for up to 12 months in the UK - provided your full licence remains valid.

If you want to drive in the UK after those first 12 months you'll need to exchange your licence for a UK licence before the 12 months is up.

We can help you exchange your licence for a full UK one, or help you obtain a provisional UK driving licence if you don't have a full licence in your home country. We charge £75 for this service.

Apply online for your UK Driver's Licence today.

When can I get my tax back?

The UK tax year is from April 6th until April 5th of the following year and you have up to six years to claim any overpaid UK tax. The 2008 tax year started on April 6th 2008.

2008 UK tax refunds: If you work in the UK during the 2008 tax year we can get your tax back once you leave the UK permanently so make sure you keep your P45 and payment documents.

If you continue working in the UK until April 2009 or beyond, we can file your tax return once the tax year ends on April 6th 2009. Make sure you keep all your documents so we can get your cash back as fast as possible when the time comes.

2002 – 2007 UK tax refunds: If you've worked in the UK between 2002 and April 5th 2008, we can file your tax return straight away so apply for your UK tax refund today.

Try our FREE online tax refund calculator to see how much tax you could get back.

What are the advantages of using taxback.com?

Thousands of people choose our service because:

We get you the maximum legal refund
FREE online refund estimations
Every customer gets a Personal Online Tracking Account – you can follow your tax return every step of the way
All our tax returns are legal and compliant with UK tax law.
Document retrieval service
24-hour customer support and tax refund help
Free phone, free fax, free online tax help with our live chat!
No language barriers - our services are available in: Bulgarian, Chinese, Chinese-Taiwanese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
Money sent worldwide and in your local currency. You can get your refund in: Australian Dollars, Brazilian Reals, Bulgarian Lev, Canadian Dollars, Czech Koruna, Euro, Hong Kong Dollar, Indonesian Rupiah, Japanese Yen, Latvian Lat, Lithuanian Litas, Moldovan Lei, New Zealand Dollars, Norwegian Krona, Pakistan Rupee, Peruvian Nuevo Soles, Philippine Peso, Polish Zloty, Romanian Lei, Russian Rubles, Singaporean Dollar, Slovak Koruna, South African Rands, South Korean Won, Swedish Krona, Thai Baht, Turkish Lira, UK Pounds, Ukrainian Hryvna, US Dollars.

How does taxback.com work?

Here's how our easy three-step service works:

Register online or use our FREE tax refund calculator and then download the TaxPack for UK tax returns.
Send us your documents and signed forms. We'll estimate your refund and give you an online tax tracking account. If you're missing any documents we can get replacements for you.
Chill out while we file your tax return and get you the maximum possible legal refund.

How much money will I get back?

Taxback.com will get you back as much overpaid UK tax as is legally possible. That amount depends on factors like:

Your earnings
Your expenses
Whether you work the whole tax year
If you have more than one job at a time or change jobs
Whether you have children
If your circumstances change, eg: you become self-employed
If you take a break during or between employments

The average refunds we get for our clients are £963 for PAYE and £1453 for self-employed customers.

Try our FREE online tax refund calculator to see how much cash you could get back.

How much will it cost?

First of all, our FREE Online Tax Estimation costs you nothing - just a few minutes to fill it out. We'll email your refund estimation straight to your personal email with no obligation to use our service.

When you send us your documents and signed forms, we'll evaluate your refund and what additional services you need such as document retrieval. Then we'll let you know how much it will cost to file your return for you.

For UK tax refunds we charge from 11% + VAT of the refund received, subject to a minimum processing fee of £50.

Why the minimum fee?

This fee covers all the things that make filing your application with us so easy, such as:

Customer support 24/7 by phone and Live Chat
Online tracking service – in seven languages
Free phone and free fax
Local staff to meet you and guide you through the process in 18 offices worldwide
Tax technicians
Researchers to identify new legal developments to maximise your refunds
Quality team

What if I lose my documents or I don't receive them?

We know it's easy to lose documents in the move back home or to not even receive them in the first place. That's why we have a dedicated document retrieval team who deal with employers all over the world and can organise replacement documents for you.

Can I get tax credits?

Tax credits are payments from the government to help with everyday costs. A tax credit isn't tax and it isn't deducted from your tax bill – it's money that you receive regularly and you can get it even if you don't pay tax.

The tax credit payments you receive are based on your current personal circumstances and your income during the tax year.

If you're responsible for at least one child or young person who normally lives with you, you may be eligible for Child Tax Credit. If you work, but earn low wages, you may be eligible for Working Tax Credit. The amount of tax credits you receive depends on things like your income, how many children or qualifying young people live with you, and if any child or young person is disabled.

Taxback.com can assist EU members to claim tax credits in the UK. For this service we charge £50 and to apply for your tax credits we'll need:

Your National Insurance Number
Your UK bank account (# to bank account FAQ)
Original child birth certificates
Your P60 or, if you're self-employed, your tax return

It usually takes about six to eight weeks for this application to be processed. [link_]Apply online for your tax credits today.[/link_]

Can I get Child Benefits?

Child Benefit is a monthly tax-free payment made to anyone bringing up a child or young person. To qualify for Child Benefit you do not need to be the parent of the child or young person but you must be responsible for them. If the child does not live with you, you can only get Child Benefit if:

You pay money to bring up the child
The amount you pay is the same as or more than the weekly rate of Child Benefit
The person the child is living with is not getting Child Benefit for them.

If you've recently arrived in the UK you can qualify for Child Benefit if you and the child or children you are responsible for usually live in the UK. This means that your main home is in the UK or you have chosen to live and settle in the UK for the time being.

Child Benefit for the 2007-2008 tax year is £18.10 per week for the eldest child and £12.10 per week for each additional child.

Taxback.com can assist EU members to claim Child Benefit in the UK. We charge £50 for this service and it usually takes about four to six weeks.

To claim child benefits for you we'll need:

Your National Insurance Number
Your UK bank account
Original Child Birth Certificates

[link_]Apply for your Child Benefit in the UK today.[/link_]

How long will it take to receive my UK tax refund?

As soon as we have it, you'll have it, because we contact you immediately when we receive your refund from the tax office to organise the easiest way to get it to you.

You can watch the step-by-step progress of your application on your online account. It'll go something like this:

When we receive your documents it takes us just 1-3 working days to get your UK tax return ready. This includes:

Receiving and checking the documents
Estimating your refund
Completing your forms
Sending them to the tax office

Once at the tax office your application takes about 8-12 weeks to process, depending on how busy they are. Our tax team will keep chasing the tax office to see how your application is progressing.

As soon as the tax office sends us your refund, we'll contact you to sort out the best way to get your cash straight to you.

The total estimated time for your UK tax rebate is 8-12 weeks.

How will I know what's happening with my tax return?

You will be able to follow the progress of your UK tax return on your personal online tracking account. It allows you to see every step of your application. As soon as we have your refund we'll contact you to sort out the best way to get your money straight to you.

Rather talk to a human being? We have staff available to talk to you 24/7 in 21 taxback.com offices in 18 different countries. Click here to find your local office number or use our Live Chat.

Can I do it myself?

Every tax office in the world is set up to accept applications directly from taxpayers so yes, you can file your return yourself. The reality is though once you submit it, there's no updating process and no feedback until you get a yes or a no, which is frustrating and very worrying.

Preparing your UK tax return will involve getting all the tax forms and trying to put all the information together properly – and it's not as easy as it looks.

The UK tax system is very complex and filing their own tax return is a challenge that many British citizens don't even attempt themselves.

At the end of the day ask yourself -
Would I wire my own house?
The reality is no, I wouldn't. I'd use an electrician.
It's a technical professional piece of work, so I'd get a technical professional to do the job properly. I don't want to risk my house blowing up!

It's the same with tax. Our taxback.com customers rely on us as technical professionals to file their UK returns and get their tax back. Last year we filed nearly 10,000 UK tax refund claims. Our customers tell us they knew trying to file it themselves would lead to stress and a possible loss of money in refunds. They'd rather focus on their university courses, their day-job or, more importantly, enjoying a pint at the local pub.

Filing your return yourself won't make your house explode, but it can result in lots of stress and leave you out of pocket if you miss out on refunds you're owed.

It's easier for you to let us put our 12 years of experience filing tax returns to good use by doing all the work for you. It makes sense to use an expert.

Use our FREE online refund calculator to see how much tax you could get back.

Can you guarantee that I'll receive the refund amount you estimated for me?

No, but we do guarantee to get you the most money back that we legally can.

Our estimate will be based on your documents and our experience in filing thousands of tax returns every week since 1996. Naturally, the UK tax authority has the final decision in your tax refund based on their systems and tax codes.

When our tax technicians prepare and file your return, they check for any benefits you could get and ensure we apply for the maximum rebate possible.

What's the difference between filing my tax return and getting my tax refund?

We will file your UK tax return in order to organise your tax refund.

A tax return is the annual submission of tax forms documenting your earnings, taxes paid, deductable expenses and benefits that you send to the tax office for review. They review it according to the information submitted by your employer and the current laws that apply to your case.

If you get a tax refund, this means the tax office review found you have overpaid UK tax and are due some back.

Our estimate of your refund is based on our prediction of what the tax office will decide when they review your tax return - providing they have the same information as us.

Use our FREE online refund estimator to see how much tax you could get back.

I've worked abroad in other countries - can you help me to claim refunds from these countries?

Absolutely! We've been organising tax refunds for people working all over the world since 1996. If you've worked in any of the following countries click on them to apply for your refund!

Australia tax refund	Austria tax refund	Belgium tax refund
Canada tax refund	Denmark tax refund	Germany tax refund
Gibraltar tax refund	Guernsey tax refund	Holland tax refund
Ireland tax refund	Japan tax refund	Luxembourg tax refund
New Zealand tax refund	Norway tax refund	US tax refund

Our research team is constantly developing tax return services for new markets so if you've worked in a country not mentioned above, email our team on newtaxes@taxback.com to see what we can do for you.