Are you wondering how to claim a tax refund, but not sure where or how to start? This is what this article is all about.
According to a recent survey by Which?, about one in five people have been contacted by a tax refund company. Another survey by the Low-Income Tax Reform Group also found that some tax rebate companies have questionable ethics and are often not regulated by a professional body.
What does this mean for you? This means that these parasitic rebate companies will actually take between 25% and 48% of your tax refund!
To avoid the potential for any exploitation, hard-to-justify-fees, or potential mis-selling, it’s crucial to know what you can claim yourself and when you might need an accountant’s help. Here’s a guide to help you.
What to be careful of when dealing with a tax claim company
- Consider using a firm of accountants instead of a tax claim company!
- Beware of multi-year contracts. These companies often try to tie you into a multi-year contract where they take a share of refunds they didn’t even help secure. So always check the details before signing.
- HMRC will never write, call, text or email suggesting you are due a refund: – so if you get one of these, be careful, it’s spam!
| Don’t want to deal with a tax claim at all? Let us do it for you! Contact us at [email protected] |
What can you claim for a tax refund and how can you get it yourself?
Okay, so getting to the question of how to claim a tax refund. Here are thirteen ways you can do so:
- Mileage claims
As an employee, if your employer hasn’t reimbursed you for business mileage, you can learn how to claim a tax refund for these expenses. Here’s the gist:
- You can claim 45p per mile up to 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter.
- When claiming from HMRC, you’ll receive 20% or 40% of this amount, depending on your tax rate.
- You can claim up to 4 years worth of mileage.
- All you need is to send HMRC a letter with details of your mileage and your name & address details, NI number and bank details.
As a business, if you pay mileage claims to your employees, you can claim VAT relief. This process is a bit more complicated but still something you can do yourself.
- You’ll need to split your mileage claims into VAT quarters and calculate the VAT proportion of the approved mileage rate.
- This needs to be detailed per vehicle, as different vehicles can have different mileage rates.
- You can go back up to 4 years and submit the claim either as a standalone letter to HMRC or as part of your VAT return.
Want to know more about car allowances? Read Maximising Your Business Profits: Claiming NIC Refunds on Car Allowances.
Want to know more about company cars? Read Get an EV car and save on your tax.
- Marriage allowance claim
The Marriage Allowance allows you to transfer 10% (or £1,260) of one spouse’s tax-free allowance to the other, potentially reducing your tax bill by £252!
If you’re wondering how to claim a tax refund through this allowance, the process is straightforward.
- To qualify, one spouse needs to have an income of £12,570 or less, and your partner must earn below the 40% tax threshold of £50,270.
- Very importantly, you can claim for up to 4 years.
- You can apply online using the HMRC website or by telephoning or writing a letter to HMRC.
Want to know more? Read our blog Unlocking Tax Benefits Together: A Simple Guide to Marriage Allowance.
- Use of home claims
With more people working from home, this claim is more relevant than ever.
If your employer has required you to work from home, you can claim up to £6 per week, or up to four years’ worth of this relief. For a 20% taxpayer, this is worth £62.40 per year.
You can also potentially claim more (just ask us how!), but you’ll have to justify your costs. Claims can be made through your self-assessment tax return, HMRC’s website, or by writing a letter to HMRC.
- Uniform claim
If you wear a uniform for work, you should know how to claim a tax refund for this expense.
- There’s a flat rate allowance you can claim, either on your tax return or by writing to HMRC.
- HMRC has a list of occupations and how much they can claim.
- Note that you can back-claim for up to 4 years.
- Travel, food and overnight claims
If you travel for work and your employer doesn’t reimburse the costs, you can claim for:
- Travel expenses,
- Parking,
- Tolls,
- Food & drink, and;
- Overnight accommodation.
Note that ordinary commuting isn’t included, only business-related travelling.
When it comes to travelling expenses, the rules can get very complex, so if you’re claiming yourself, we highly recommend spending the time doing your research.
| Need help figuring out what you can and can’t claim for when you travel for business? Reach out to us for help at [email protected] |
- Professional fees and subscriptions claims
HMRC allows tax relief on subscriptions to professional bodies and unions, so make sure to check out the long list they have to see if any of yours makes the cut.
If they do, and you’ve paid the relevant subscription, you can claim tax relief for up to 4 years, either online via HMRC’s website or by writing to HMRC.
Want to reduce your expenses and get paid quicker? Read our blog Say goodbye to sky-high merchant fees with Fumopay.
- Job-related expenses claim
If you’ve spent money on job-related expenses without reimbursement by your employer, you can claim tax relief. For example, a hairdresser could claim the cost of work-related scissors.
Like many other tax claims, you can claim for up to 4 years’ worth of expenses, either online via HMRC’s website or by writing to HMRC.
- R&D tax credit claims
If you run a limited company and incur qualifying research and development costs, you can claim a tax reduction or refund. Whilst you can do this yourself – as claims are made on your online corporation tax return – the process is often complicated, and many companies use consultants for assistance.
If you want help with R&D credits, we can help you to claim this relief, but remember, there’s a 24 month window to make them.
- Capital allowances claims
Most businesses claim allowances for capital expenditure, but if you haven’t, you can go back 4 years and amend a tax return.
Special circumstances, such as purchasing a business property, might provide opportunities to claim additional allowances, so it’s always a good idea to involve an accountant to get this right.
Want to know more? Read Can I claim capital allowances on a leased car or equipment?
- DIY housebuilder VAT refund claims
If you have planning permission to build a residential property and are doing most of the work yourself, you can claim a VAT refund on your build costs.
There are deadlines for such a claim and the process is fairly straightforward if you want to make the claim yourself. However, it is something we can help with for those who need some extra assistance.
- SDLT refund claims
Overpaying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when purchasing property is not uncommon. For example, buying two properties on the same title deed or purchasing a main residence before selling your previous one could lead to overpayment.
If you’re looking into how to claim a tax refund for this overpayment, it’s essential to be aware of the time limits. With some research, you can make the claim yourself, but if you need help, we can assist.
- SEIS/EIS/VCT tax claims
If you’ve invested in SEIS, EIS, CITR or VCT, you can claim tax relief.
Most people who do this sort of investment are likely to also prepare a self-assessment tax return, so claims can be made using your self-assessment tax return or by writing to HMRC using the forms sent to you by your investment company.
- Patent Box relief
If you run a limited company and hold a patent, or if you’ve undertaking R&D and have something patentable, you might qualify for Patent Box tax relief. This could mean a substantial 60% reduction in your corporation tax bills – not quite a tax rebate, but definitely a tax reduction!
Want to know more about the Patent Box regime and how you can save on tax? Read our blog Want your share of a £1.36 billion reduction in your corporation tax bill?
Claim a tax refund from HMRC
While income tax refund claims for individuals can be made from HMRC’s website by following this link, or by logging into your online tax account with HMRC – other refund claims can be quite complicated.
For peace of mind, you might prefer the help of a reputable accountant to make your tax rebate claim, and that’s where we come in. As properly qualified and regulated accountants, we can help!
If you’d like help working out how much to claim or how to claim the tax refunds noted in this article, then please get in touch. Email us at [email protected], and let’s get some money back from the taxman!
** For past claims, we’ve charged either a fixed fee or a 10% commission.
