Ways to Qualify For a UK Income Tax Refund

How does a resident of the United Kingdom qualify for a fast online tax return? One third of Pay As You Earn employees are owed a repayment on their income taxes. There are many reasons why this may occur, but the main one is that the system is far from perfect.

Consider some of the following scenarios. Anyone who has been employed for under a year are often due for cheap tax returns. This is because their payments often include personal allowances that haven't yet been used.

Currently the tax allowance is £6,475, so if you have earned less than that, you are eligible for online tax return service. Those who work in construction and have taxes taken via the CIS scheme may also qualify for a CIS tax refund. Trade purchases and similar expenses, such as motor running, may be applicable for business deductions that allow you to effectively reduce your liability to taxes.

An incorrect tax code may also have caused you to give away too much in taxes. Computer code numbers crossed with human error make this a very likely possibility, and it is a common occurrence, as well.

Other ways that you may wish to consider a cheap online tax return is because you incurred unpaid expenses or were reimbursed a lesser rate than what you were owed. For example, you cared for a handicapped person or the elderly that required using a vehicle.

If business expenses have not been reimbursed, you may be able to make a claim based on the cost of running your vehicle, effectively allowing you to deduct it as a business expense. In some occurrences, you can carry this as far back as six years in the past.

Ask yourself a few simple questions to determine whether or not you qualify for a tax refund:

Have you ever needed to use your own car for visiting clients or otherwise accumulated a similar mileage for business?

Were the expenses never refunded? Were the expenses refunded at a lesser rate than that of 40p for each mile?

Make sure your claim can be justified. Work sheets or time sheets can help verify this. Many circumstances may arise in which you may be able to claim an income tax refund, so it is definitely something worth looking into. After all, you may be able to get back anywhere between £1,000 or £1,300. In fact, there have been cases that resulted in a much more substantial amount being returned.

Felicity is a part-time columnist, writing intermittent articles in the UK. If you need to do a online self assessment tax return and don't know where to start, then try our self assessment online tax return. For CIS tax refunds and more information please visit the Tax Returns Direct website.