Brits urged to look out for tax refund letters hitting doormats NOW – are you owed cash?
HOUSEHOLDS are being warned to look out for tax refund letters landing on their doormats in the coming months.
You could be entitled to a cash refund if you paid too much to the taxman in previous years.
HMRC usually tries to update its customers’ records within 12 months of the tax year ending in April.
That means it goes through each person’s account to see if they have overpaid or underpaid.
And if there has been an error and you’ve paid too much, it will send you a tax refund letter in the post.
Bear in mind though, you might have paid too little and owe money.
Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, previously told The Sun any tax refund letters should land through your letterbox between June and September.
So if you haven’t received one already, you should do in the next few months if you are owed money back.
There should be a link on the letter to the Government’s website where you can claim a refund via an online form.
It should then be around five working days until you receive your payment.
If you don’t do this, you’ll get a cheque sent out to you instead, but this process takes longer and means you’ll receive your money later.
If you’ve received a letter but don’t have access to a computer or phone with internet to go on the link, you can contact HMRC via phone or post.
The phone number to call is 0300 200 3300 while any post should be addressed to:
- Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
- HM Revenue and Customs
- BX9 1AS
- United Kingdom
Remember, you don’t have to wait for HMRC to contact you by post if you think you’re owed tax.
You can sign up for a Personal Tax Account and check if you are eligible for a repayment.
You could get your payment earlier this way, rather than waiting for a letter through the door.
If you’ve got a smartphone, you can track your tax via the HMRC app too.
You should also be regularly checking your payslip to ensure you’re on the right tax code, and therefore having the right amount deducted.
It’s your responsibility to check and let HMRC know if it’s wrong, otherwise you could end up paying out too much.
Each tax code tells you how much you should be paying to HMRC every month.
For example, the letter “L” on your tax code means you’re entitled to the standard tax-free Personal Allowance.
Meanwhile, “M” means you’ve received a transfer of 10% of your partner’s Personal Allowance (£1,260).
Beware of scammers
If you do receive a letter through the post between now and September beware of any scams.
Tricksters will often bank on households expecting refund letters in the post and try to con people out of money.
Rachael said: “Because there is this window, we often see an increase in fraudulent activities.
“Be vigilant of what’s being asked of you.
“If you’re being asked to make a payment and you’re not sure it’s real you can call HMRC to check if its genuine.”
Two giant red flags to watch out for are if your letter comes in a non-brown envelope, or the HMRC address on it doesn’t match up.
Another warning sign is if you receive an email pretending to be from HMRC about a tax refund.
The Government department has previously said it would never do this, so if you get one make sure you ignore it.
Customers have also been urged to watch out for dodgy texts, which ask people to follow a link to claim their tax refund.
In other news, more than four million low-income households are facing a stealth tax rise next year.
Plus, thousands could be hit with huge tax bills after late payment fees were hiked following the Bank of England’s base rate rise.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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