Check if you can claim tax relief on work expenses
If you’re spending money on things because you have to for your job, you may be able to get tax relief in a few ways.
During the pandemic government allowed everyone working from home to claim tax relief on some of their costs, including business phone calls and energy bills.
This year the rules go back to normal and you won’t be able to claim unless your job requires you to live far away from your office or there is no office.
It is still worth checking if you can claim as you may be able to get 20% of your costs back.
Check the government website to see if you can claim for this and other work expenses including mileage, specialist equipment and more.
Things to check on your payslip
Look at whether you’ve been paid for the number of hours you’ve actually worked as well as for overtime, commission or bonus.
Check any entitlement to sick pay, holiday pay or maternity pay.
If you get paid per hour, your payslip has to show how many hours you’ve worked.
Also check your National Insurance number is correct.
Tax expert Jessica Middleton, from family business Middleton Professional Accounts Services, said: “If the number’s wrong, your state benefits, such as the pension or maternity pay, could be affected. It’s worth the effort to double-check.
“And don’t think this can’t happen – we have had clients using the wrong national insurance number for years and because various tax departments don’t talk to each other, they were none the wiser.”
Do you pay National Insurance?
If you are employed, you most likely pay National Insurance.
You pay the tax if you’re 16 or over and either:
- An employee earning above £242 a week
- Self-employed and making a profit of more than £12,570 a year
It is deducted from your wages each month.
How much tax could I get back?
The amount you could get back varies and depends on what tax code you were put on, your salary, and how much tax you should have been charged.
In some cases you could be owed hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of pounds.
When you don’t deal with this kind of thing everyday it can be confusing, but don’t worry there are organisations out there that can help you.
If you think you might be owed tax back, and are struggling to work out how much, you can contact Citizens Advice or TaxAid who will be able to help you.
