TAXPAYERS are strapped for cash right now, but you could get thousands of pounds back.
These simple checks could help you claim some much needed cash back from the tax man.
These simple checks could help you to save cash
Household budget are taking a battering lately, with bills stacking up on the doorstep as everything from energy to food costs rise.
But you could help put cash back into your wallet with thousands of pounds that you may be owed from HMRC.
Some of the tax relief you may be entitled to is work related, while others are related to your personal circumstances.
We explain eight checks to make – and you could get up to £23,024 in rebates if you’re entitled to them all.
Here’s what to look out for if you’re in need of the cash boost.
Claim for uniform costs – up to £1,022
If you wear a uniform to work, you should be able to to claim some money back, as long as your employer doesn’t pay for your uniform.
How much you can get depends on the type of work you do.
For instance, pilots and uniformed flight desk crews can claim back up to £1,022 a year. Cabin crew can claim up to £720 a year.
People in the Army, RAF or Royal Marines can claim back up to £100 a year.
Nurses and midwives can claim back up to £125 a year for their uniform and may also get an allowance for shoes and stockings or tights.
To find out if your job is eligible, check the Government’s website.
Even if your occupation isn’t listed, you may still be able to claim tax relief for the upkeep, cleaning or replacement of specialist or protective equipment, such as overalls, safety boots or hard hats. You can claim up to £60 a year.
The cost of small tools, such as scissors or drills, can be recovered too, although you can’t claim for the initial cost of buying them.
Instead, you can claim back against any repairs or replacements.
Taxpayers who have to fund the cleaning, repairing or replacement of uniforms or safety clothing out of their own pocket should be eligible to make a claim.
Claim for travel costs – up to 45p a mile
It’s not just clothing either, people who use a vehicle for their job may also be able to make a claim.
You won’t get money back on your daily commute (unless it’s to a temporary workplace) but you can get relief on your fuel costs when driving for work.
If your employer reimburses you for some of the money you spend, you can still get relief on the difference.
If you’re using your own car or van, you get 45p a mile for the first 10,000 miles in the tax year and 25p a mile for any additional miles that year.
People who travel for work may also be able to claim for food or overnight expenses.
This isn’t just available for people who drive – anyone who travels for work can claim.
This includes money spent on things such as public transport (not your commute), hotel accommodation, food and drink, congestion charges and tolls, parking fees and business phone calls and printing costs.
Working from home tax relief – up to £500
Even if you only worked from home for a day because of the Covid crisis, you could be due a whole years tax relief.
HMRC will, in fact, accept backdated claims for up to four years which means in total you could claim up to £500.
Under the scheme, your tax code is adjusted so you’re not paying as much tax.
The scheme is designed to help people cover the extra costs of working from home, like energy bills and internet connections.
See our explainer on who qualifies for the relief – crucially, your employer MUST have required or asked you to work from home.
HMRC has an online tool to help you submit a claim.
Make sure you have important documents to hand including something to prove your identity like a passport, a recent payslip and National Insurance number.
Claim for other business expenses
There are other work things you may be able to claim for if you pay out of your own pocket.
For instance, you can claim on fees and subscriptions to approved professional organisations if you need to be a member or it relates to your job.
This includes organisations such as the National Union of Teachers, the British Association of Critical Care Nurses and the Institute of Fire Prevention Officers.
Check the full list of organisations here.
In most cases, you can claim tax relief on the full cost of substantial equipment, for example computers or machinery, that you have to buy for work.
This is because they qualify for a type of capital allowance called annual investment allowance.
Check your tax code – £9,400
If your code is wrong you may be paying thousands more than you need to and you’ll likely be owed money back.
Your tax code determines how much income tax you pay on your earnings – so it’s important you’re on the right one.
You can earn £12,570 between April 2022 and April 2023 before paying tax. This is called your personal allowance.
Most people pay the basic-rate of income tax (20%) and the standard tax code for this is 1257L.
Your tax code will be displayed on your payslip, usually listed near your National Insurance number.
You can also use the government’s online tax checker tool to view your tax code.
To check, use a tax code calculator – there’s one on MoneySavingExpert – to see if your code is correct.
If it’s wrong, contact HMRC to let it know on 0300 200 3300. If it’s right, you don’t need to do anything.
Marriage tax allowance – £1,242
If you’re married – or in a civil partnership – you could be missing out on a £1,242 windfall if you haven’t claimed marriage tax allowance.
The relief allows married couples or people in civil partnerships to share their personal tax allowances.
You can transfer 10% of your tax-free allowance to your partner, reducing the tax you pay by up to £252 a year if you’re eligible.
You can apply at any time and, in some cases, could backdate your claim for up to four previous tax years.
This means you could potentially receive tax relief worth up to £1,242.
To be eligible, the lower earner in a couple must normally have an income below their personal tax-free allowance.
And the other half of the couple must be a basic-rate taxpayer – so earning under £50,000 – but check out the full eligibility criteria here.
It’s free to apply for Marriage Allowance – you can do it on the government website and the person who earns the least needs to make the claim.
Council tax refund – £6,160
Thousands of households could be in line for council tax refunds, a Sun investigation recently found.
A whopping £33.7million is sitting in closed or dormant council tax accounts, according to data analysed by HOAR.
That means millions of pounds is waiting to be claimed.
We also found that £52million in refunds had been dished out last year by 50 local authorities, with the average payout standing at £6,160.
There are a number of reasons why you could have overpaid – you could have been placed in the wrong band, or be eligible for a council tax reduction.
If you think you have overpaid on council tax and could be due a refund, then you should get in touch with your council.
You can find a council by using the council finder tool on the Gov.uk website.
Many authorities have different procedures when it comes to dishing out refunds.
While some give them out automatically usually, in some cases you have to apply for a refund.
In most cases, councils have online claim forms you can fill out if you think you are due a refund.
Pension tax – £4,700
If you’ve recently retired and you’ve dipped into your pension pot for the first time, you’ve probably overpaid on pension tax.
You can start dipping into your personal or workplace pension pot from the age of 55 onwards.
If you have recently withdrawn cash from your pension pot for the first time and you took more than 25% of the value of your savings, it is likely that HMRC owes you money.
The first 25% of your pension that you withdraw is tax-free, while the remainder is taxed like any other income.
You can start taking money from your pension in a number of ways – including as a lump sum.
But when taking a lump sum, you might be taxed at an emergency rate and end up paying more than you have to.
The tax code error often happens when HMRC has wrongly applied an emergency tax on the first 25% of withdrawals thinking it’s additional earnings.
It’s why you shouldn’t take out your pension in one lump sum unless you really need to.
Figures from HMRC show that around 7,000 savers overpaid pension tax in the last three months – totalling around £33million.
That means you could be in line for an average payout of over £4,600.
If you’ve paid more in tax than you should, HMRC should pay it back automatically.
To get your cash back quicker, you can apply for a refund instead.
To do this, claim your cash back from HMRC via a from either online or with a paper one sent by post.
Here’s nine ways you could be owed thousands in compensation.
While we explain six freebies people on Universal Credit could be entitled to this month.
