Your Tax Calculation
Posted on 12th July 2021 at 11:22
If you’re employed or get a pension, your employer or pension provider uses your tax code to work out how much tax to take from you. However, you could still be paying too much or too little tax. For example, if you got a company benefit or pay rise that HMRC did not know about, and so they did not update your tax code.
If you have not paid the right amount at the end of the tax year, HMRC will send you a P800 or a Simple Assessment tax calculation. Your P800 or Simple Assessment will tell you how to get a refund or any pay tax you owe.
You will not get a P800 or Simple Assessment if you’re registered for Self-Assessment. Your bill will be adjusted automatically if you’ve underpaid or overpaid tax.
When might you get a P800?
You might get a P800 if you:
finished one job, started a new one and were paid by both in the same month
started receiving a pension at work
received Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance
P800s are sent out after the tax year ends on 5 April. You’ll normally get yours by the end of November.
When might you get a Simple Assessment letter?
You might get a Simple Assessment letter if you:
owe tax that cannot be automatically taken out of your income
owe HMRC more than £3,000
have to pay tax on the State Pension
you can pay your Simple Assessment bill online
Checking your tax calculation
Your letter will show the income you should have paid tax on. This includes any income from pay, pensions, state benefits, savings interest, and employee benefits.
Compare the figures with your records, for example, your P60, bank statements or letters from the Department for Work and Pensions. If your state benefit was paid every 4 weeks, work out the total paid in a year by multiplying your regular payment by 13 (not 12).
You may be able to use the HMRC tax checker to work out how much tax you should have paid.
What to do if you think your tax calculation is wrong
Contact HMRC if you think the amounts used in your letter are wrong, or HMRC did not act on the information you gave them.
You have 60 days to query your simple assessment in writing or by telephone. The details of how to do that will be mentioned in your Simple Assessment letter.
Share this post: