Tell us which letter you got and we take you to the right place

What it is: HMRC’s end-of-year check of the tax taken through PAYE. It lists your pay, pensions and the tax deducted for the year and says whether you paid too much or too little. It usually arrives between June and November.

What to do: If it says you overpaid, claim the refund online or wait for the cheque. If it says you underpaid, check the figures against your P60s and see how HMRC will collect it, usually through next year’s tax code.

What it is: A bill for tax that could not be collected through a tax code, most often for pensioners whose State Pension is more than their Personal Allowance. It shows a calculation and an amount to pay by a date.

What to do: Rebuild the bill line by line to see where every pound comes from, then pay by the date on the letter, or query it within 60 days if a figure is wrong.

What it is: The letter that explains a new tax code: your Personal Allowance, anything added to it, and everything taken away (State Pension, benefits, untaxed interest, underpayments). The figures are allowances, not money.

What to do: Type the lines in and we show what each one means, what tax it really collects, and whether the code at the bottom adds up.

What it is: From each employer or pension provider by 31 May: your total pay, the tax taken off, National Insurance and your final tax code for the year to 5 April. Not a bill and not a refund.

What to do: Keep it. It is the figure for the employment page of a tax return and the check for any P800 you receive; the payslip checker shows whether the tax on it was right.

What it is: Given when a job ends: your leaving date, tax code, and the pay and tax so far this year, in parts 1A, 2 and 3.

What to do: Give parts 2 and 3 to a new employer so the cumulative code carries on. If you have stopped working for the rest of the year, form P50 claims the tax back now instead of waiting for a P800.

What it is: From your employer by 6 July: the cash value of each benefit in kind you had (company car, fuel, medical insurance, loans), in sections A to N. It is what HMRC puts in your tax code or on your return.

What to do: Type the sections in to see the tax on each benefit, how it appears on a P2, and whether your code already includes it.

What it is: The Pension Service writes when your State Pension is awarded and every April when it goes up, showing the weekly amount. The State Pension is paid without tax taken off, so HMRC collects the tax through your other pension or job, or by Simple Assessment.

What to do: Check the yearly figure against the State Pension line in your tax code. If the pension is your only income and it is above your Personal Allowance, expect a Simple Assessment.

What it is: HMRC writes when someone in your household gets Child Benefit and the higher earner’s income is over £60,000: some or all of it has to be paid back through the charge.

What to do: Run the check to see how much the charge is, and whether it can go through your tax code or needs a tax return.

What it is: Confirms a transfer of £1,260 of Personal Allowance between spouses or civil partners. The giver’s code ends in N and their allowance shows as £11,310; the receiver’s code ends in M.

What to do: Read how the transfer works, what each partner’s letters show, and whether it still pays.

What it is: ‘You are due a repayment’, a payable order, or ‘claim your refund online’. HMRC never texts or emails a refund link.

What to do: Claim it through your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, or wait for the cheque; the P800 guide walks you through it.

What it is: Pensioners with income over £35,000 have the Winter Fuel Payment taken back through tax: through the tax code or a Simple Assessment if you are on PAYE, through the return if you file one.

What to do: Check where your income sits, and expect the recovery on your code or Simple Assessment for the year.

What it is: Sent when you register: your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You need it to file, and every time you ring HMRC about Self Assessment.

What to do: Keep it safe, set up your online account, and follow the walkthrough when the return opens.

What it is: ‘You need to send a tax return for the year ended 5 April’. Once it is issued you must file, even if you think there is nothing to declare, unless HMRC agrees to withdraw it.

What to do: File by 31 January online (31 October on paper). If you no longer need to file, ask HMRC to withdraw the notice before the deadline.

What it is: Produced after your return is filed: income, allowances, the tax due, and the payments on account for next year. Lenders ask for it as proof of income.

What to do: Check it against the calculation the walkthrough predicted; if a figure differs, the reasons list explains the usual causes.

What it is: A running statement: tax due, payments made, payments on account and interest, usually sent in December or January and in June or July before each payment date.

What to do: Match each line to the planner: balancing payment plus first payment on account by 31 January, second payment on account by 31 July.

What it is: £100 the day after the filing deadline, whether or not you owed tax; daily penalties of £10 a day after three months; and 5% of the tax or £300 at six and twelve months.

What to do: File the return first, then appeal within 30 days if you had a reasonable excuse (illness, bereavement, a system failure). If you should not have been in Self Assessment at all, ask for the notice to be withdrawn and the penalty cancelled.

What it is: 5% of the tax still unpaid 30 days after the deadline, another 5% at six months and again at twelve, plus interest from the due date. Payments on account carry interest but no penalty.

What to do: Pay what you can now to stop the next 5%, set up a Time to Pay plan online if you cannot pay in full, and appeal if you had a reasonable excuse.

What it is: Sent before 31 January and 31 July: the balancing payment and payments on account that are due, with your payment reference (your UTR followed by K).

What to do: Check the amount against the planner, reduce the payments on account if next year’s bill will be lower, and pay by the date to avoid interest.

What it is: Tells you that from April 2026, 2027 or 2028 you must keep digital records and send quarterly updates through software, because your self-employment and property income is over the threshold.

What to do: Confirm the date that applies to you, choose software, and sign up before your first quarter.

What it is: ‘We are checking your tax return’ or ‘we need to see your records’. HMRC has a year from filing to open one. It is a request for information, not an accusation, and most end with no change.

What to do: Reply by the date given with what is asked and nothing extra, ask in writing for more time if you need it, keep copies, and if you disagree with the outcome you can ask for a review or appeal to the tribunal within 30 days.

What it is: A nudge letter: HMRC has data (from letting agents, banks, online platforms or overseas) suggesting income you have not reported, and invites you to check and either disclose or sign a certificate.

What to do: Do not ignore it, and do not sign the certificate unless you are sure. Check what you received; if something was missed, use the disclosure route on the letter. The checker shows what should have been reported.

What it is: From HMRC Debt Management: ‘you have not paid’, ‘final reminder’, ‘we may take enforcement action’. It comes after a bill went unpaid, not out of the blue.

What to do: Check what the debt is for, pay it or set up Time to Pay online, and if you have already paid, ring the number on the letter with the payment date and reference.

What it is: About the flat-rate National Insurance for the self-employed: a gap in your record, an option to pay voluntarily, or Class 2 shown on your tax calculation.

What to do: If your profits are over £7,105 it is treated as paid. Below that, paying voluntarily protects your State Pension record.

What it is: After a lump sum or flexible withdrawal, the provider sends a payslip or a P45 showing tax taken on code 1257L on a month 1 basis, which usually takes far too much.

What to do: Work out the tax really due and claim the difference now with P55, P53Z, P50Z or P53, rather than waiting for the P800.

What it is: A code for a private or workplace pension. A second pension is often on BR (all at 20%) because your allowance is used on the first, and a P2 for a pension lists the State Pension as a deduction.

What to do: Check the allowance sits on the pension that can use it, and that the State Pension figure matches DWP’s letter.

What it is: HMRC tells you a letter is waiting in your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app: usually a P800, a new tax code, or a reminder.

What to do: Sign in through GOV.UK or the app you already have, never through a link in a text or email, and read the letter there.

What it is: HMRC does not text or email refund links, does not threaten arrest, and does not ask for card details by phone. Callers quoting a case number and asking for gift cards or transfers are criminals.

What to do: Do not reply or click. Forward texts to 60599 and emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk, then check any real refund yourself through your Personal Tax Account.

What it is: Look for the form number in a corner and the tax year in the heading. Most letters are one of the ones above; if yours is not, the number on the letter goes through to the team that sent it.

What to do: Start with the checker to see where you stand, and use the Ask us button to tell us which letter it was so we can add it.