P800

A P800 is a letter that you may receive from HMRC to advise that you have paid the incorrect amount of tax. You’ll receive this by post.

A P800 can show you:

• If you paid too much tax: HMRC will tell you that you’ll get an income tax refund
• If you paid too little tax: don’t worry, HMRC will et you know about it and tell you how you can pay

There are several reasons why you may have paid the incorrect amount of tax through no fault of your own! These include circumstances such as:

• You received an emergency tax code upon starting a new job
• You worked for part of the year or had multiple jobs
• Your employer used the wrong tax code
• You have multiple sources of PAYE income – such as pensions
• There is a change in your circumstances
• You receive benefits

If you get a P800, you should check the details against HMRC with your P60, P45 and P11D forms, to make sure that there hasn’t been a mistake. If you have multiple P800s, don’t worry. HMRC takes into account previous years’ figures. This means you’ll only have to worry about the most recent P800 you received.

Whilst it can be terrific news to get a P800 (i.e. HMRC owing you money due to you overpaying tax), it can be alarming being told that you owe more tax. Don’t panic – the P800 is not an urgent tax demand. You have time to contact HMRC and double check on the amount owed and work out a realistic way of paying your tax.

What to do if:

• Your P800 is correct – you don’t need to do anything
• You overpaid tax – HMRC will refund you within 4 weeks
• You underpaid tax, but it’s less than £3,000 – HMRC will collect the tax directly through your tax code
• Your tax underpayment is more than £3,000 – HMRC will contact you about a special repayment schedule

Even if you haven’t received a P800, you can still claim a tax refund. You could still be owed tax from expenses that need to be declared to HMRC.