Check Your Tax Code - You May be due a Refund!

Many of you will be receiving your payslips today, but just how many of you actually pay attention to them?  You probably know roughly how much you take home each month, but when was the last time you checked your tax code?

747L 

The current “normal” tax code is 747L (which gives you a tax free annual allowance of £7,475).  Your tax code may differ from this for a number of reasons:

• You have more than one job.
• You receive employee benefits from your employer (or had done so from a previous employer) such as a company car or healthcare insurance for example.
• You have outstanding tax from previous tax years.
• You have started a new job and haven’t handed in a P45 or completed a P46 form.
• Your P45 from your previous job had the wrong code.
• You receive a pension along with your salary.

If you tax code does differ to the “normal” code but you don’t know why, get in touch with HMRC and tell them that you think your tax code may be wrong.  You can phone the Employee Helpline on 0845 300 0627.  They will be able to explain what has affected your code or be able to investigate.

Another thing to look out for is if your tax code has an "X" , “Month 1” or “Week 1” suffix after it.  This means that your previous earnings and tax paid in this tax year are not being taken into account.  This could be for a number of reasons.

Often, the suffix arises after you start a new job and you’ve completed a P46 form.  747L X is most commonly used in this situation as it’s the “emergency tax code”.  If it’s still on your payslip phone HMRC as ask them if a cumulative code can be issued as soon as possible. 

It is possible there is an error with your code and you have over paid tax.

If this is the case, ask HMRC to issue a P6 notice with the correct coding immediately to your Employer.  If they receive it before your payroll is run in March, you could have a nice tax refund in you March payslip!


Alternatively, if you think there is a problem with your tax code you can send a copy of your P60  when you receive it in April or May (or P45 if you leave your job before April 6th) to HMRC along with a covering letter to ask them to check your tax code and amount you have paid this year.  


Send it to the address on your most recent correspondence for HMRC or to:

HM Revenue & Customs

Pay As You Earn

PO Box 1970

Liverpool

L75 1WX

For more information about checking your tax code and a handy tax code checker, visit the Money Saving Expert site. 

You can also find useful info on the HMRC website.

Zest Payroll Solutions - Claire Meredith

A while ago I wrote this piece for another blog: www.joannedewberry.co.uk so I thought I'd share it with you.  It's about a typical day here at Pennies 4 Parents and Zest Payroll HQ and the juggling act of running a business with 2 teeny "helpers".  I hope you enjoy it.

A Day in the Life of Zest Payroll Solutions

I don’t need to set an alarm clock anymore. 

I have one of 3 wake up calls:

●  Teeny Man (15 months) crying for his morning milk

●  Little Man (4) jumping on the bed

●  Little Man shouting “I’ve done a poo poo” at the top of his voice from the

    bathroom (this is not my preferred way to start the morning!)

So, with that it’s up and at it, desperately trying to get all 3 of us dressed and fed by 8.30.  For some reason the 20 minutes from then is always put on fast forward in a jumble of shoes, coats, choosing today’s must have cuddly companion and a suitable random object for today’s colour table at Pre-School.

With little man safely deposited, Teeny Man and I head home for a play.  If I’m really lucky, he will start to show his “I’d actually quite like a little nap please, Mummy” signs and I’ll swiftly settle him down and head to the Zest Payroll Solutions’ “office”.  I love that term!  My “office” consists of the computer desk and a multitude of shelves tucked away in the corner of the dining room.  I long for the day the boys can share a room so I can claim the spare room as my own.

I may have an hour to get my head into work mode.  With running payrolls for small/medium sized businesses and parents employing nannies, I am lucky in that the main bulk of work comes in during the last 2 weeks of the month as pay days are usually at the end.  There’s always other things to be working on though, be it marketing, making phone calls or doing the accounts and I’ve just started a new blog for parents too (www.pennies4parents.blogspot.com) so writing for that takes up lots of time.

 

After the Pre-School pick up and feeding the hungry monkeys, I sometimes have a little time after lunch to “pop back to the office” if I need to, while Little Man plays and the Teeny Man naps again (I am lucky having a very energetic baby who wears himself out a lot!).  If it’s something major I need to do, I’ll set Little Man up with some Play Dough or other dining table top friendly activity so that I can keep an eye on him and it’s actually rather nice to have someone to talk to.  Being a WAHM can be pretty lonely.

More feeding, bathing and story telling and it’s back to work for the evening.  This is when I most enjoy working – a couple of hours to really get stuck into it without any distractions (Daddy’s in charge then!). 

Life as a Work At Home Mum is hectic, but I love being around for my boys and wouldn’t want it any other way!

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