Refunds

Which refund am I due, and which form gets it back?

Every route on this page is free and takes minutes on GOV.UK. Claims companies charge 30% to 50% of the refund for filling in the same forms. Tell us what happened and we will name the route, the time limit and what to have to hand.

Find your route

What happened?

HMRC sent a P800 saying I overpaidA tax calculation letter with a refund figure on it.I stopped working part way through the yearLeft a job, retired or went back to study.A pension withdrawal lost far too much taxA lump sum or first drawdown payment taxed on 1257L on a month 1 basis.I paid for work expensesUniform, tools, mileage, professional subscriptions, working from home.Tax was taken from savings or investment incomeIncluding the interest paid with a PPI payout.I have left, or am leaving, the UKWorked here for part of the year, then went abroad.I am on a week 1 / month 1 code at a new job1257L W1, M1 or X, or code BR, at a job that started recently.We never claimed Marriage AllowanceMarried or in a civil partnership, one of you earning under the Personal Allowance.My tax code was wrong all yearToo little allowance, or a deduction that should not be there.

Which tax year was the tax overpaid in?

Claims can go back four years from the end of the tax year.

Choose what happened to see the route.

Every route on one page

Situation	Route	Notes
HMRC sent a P800 saying I overpaid	Claim the P800 refund online	Claim online; bank in 5 working days; a cheque only if the letter says so.
I stopped working part way through the year	Form P50	Wait 4 weeks after your last pay. Not if you are claiming taxable benefits.
A pension withdrawal lost far too much tax	P55, P53Z, P50Z or P53	The lump sum tool picks the form and shows the refund.
I paid for work expenses	Form P87	Up to 4 years back; flat rate amounts need no receipts.
Tax was taken from savings or investment income	Form R40	Not in Self Assessment, savings and investment income under £10,000.
I have left, or am leaving, the UK	Form P85	Also stops HMRC issuing you a code for the job that ended.
I am on a week 1 / month 1 code at a new job	Wait for the cumulative code	Usually corrects itself once a cumulative code arrives.
We never claimed Marriage Allowance	Claim Marriage Allowance online	Backdate up to 4 years, online.
My tax code was wrong all year	Get the code corrected	Correct the code; the overpayment comes back through pay or a P800.

Common to every claim

The four-year time limit

A claim must reach HMRC by 5 April four years after the end of the tax year it relates to. After that, HMRC only reopens a year in exceptional circumstances, for example where the error was its own.

P800 and PA302

A P800 is HMRC’s end-of-year calculation, sent between June and November, showing a refund or an amount owed. A PA302 Simple Assessment is a bill. Neither needs a tax return.

Every route is free

HMRC never charges to process a refund and you never need a company to claim one. If you signed an assignment with a claims firm before 2023, HMRC had to pay them; assignments signed since are not valid, so ask for the refund to come to you.

Claim a tax refund (GOV.UK)

Refund scams

HMRC never sends a refund link by text or email, and never asks for bank details that way. A genuine refund is claimed by you, signed in on GOV.UK, or arrives as a letter. Report anything else.

Identify HMRC scam calls, emails and texts (GOV.UK)

The forms explained, step by step

What each form is for, who can use it, what to have ready, and what happens after you send it.

P800 refundClaiming a P800 refundRead the guide P50Form P50: claim back tax when you stop workingRead the guide P55Form P55: a pension payment that did not empty the potRead the guide P53ZForm P53Z: emptied the pot, with other incomeRead the guide P50ZForm P50Z: emptied the pot, no other incomeRead the guide P53Form P53: a small pot or trivial commutation lump sumRead the guide P87Form P87: tax relief for work expensesRead the guide R40Form R40: tax taken off savings and investment incomeRead the guide P85Form P85: leaving the UKRead the guide

Tax on a pension lump sumSee what the provider took off, what is really due, and which of the four forms claims it back.Open the lump sum tool HMRC says I owe tax insteadWhere an underpayment comes from, how HMRC collects it, and what you can do.Read the explainer