Claiming Tax Back As A Student

If you are a student, you may have a part time job to supplement your income whilst you are at university or college. Whilst students are not automatically exempt from paying income tax, if you only work a limited number of hours you may find that you do not earn enough in each tax year to generate a tax liability.

Our guide looks at the thresholds for paying tax and how you go about reclaiming any tax that you are due.

Personal allowances and paying tax

Everyone in the UK has a ‘personal allowance’. This is the amount of money you are permitted to earn each tax year without paying tax. In the 2010/11 tax year, this amount is £7,475.

If you are under 65 and you earn less than this amount every year, the chances are that you will not have to pay any tax. If you earn more than this amount, either through employed or self-employed income or from other income such as savings, investments or property, you may have a tax liability.

The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website has a ‘tax checker’ where you can provide details of your earnings in order to determine whether a tax rebate is due.

Reclaiming overpaid tax on wages

As a student, if you have paid tax on your earnings you can claim it back if you earn less than your personal or other allowances in a tax year.

If you think you have paid too much tax on your wages you can ask your Tax Office for a repayment claim form P50. Alternatively, you can ask your Tax Office to review your tax position at the end of the tax year to see if a repayment may be due to you.

Reclaiming overpaid tax on savings

To reclaim tax paid on savings you should complete a form R40 and return it to your Tax Office. Claims will be accepted during the tax year if, after providing your bank or building society with a R85 form (the form to register for tax free interest) they have not paid back the tax already deducted in that tax year.

Time limits for tax repayment claims

The time limit for making a repayment claim is five years and ten months from the end of the tax year. For example, you must make a claim for repayment of tax paid in the tax year that ended in April 2004 by 31 January 2010.