MARTIN Lewis has urged all workers to do an easy tax check to avoid missing out on wages.
Major tax changes are being introduced this week so it’s important to work out what your take home pay should be.
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The MoneySavingExpert said you should check how changes to National Insurance will affect your salary.
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the National Insurance threshold will rise from July.
That means you can earn up to £12,500 before you have to pay the tax, up from the current £9,500 level.
It could save some workers hundreds of pounds.
However, the Government is also pushing ahead with its plans to hike National Insurance contributions by 1.25 percentage points in April.
This move will reduce your take-home pay, but the amount of extra tax you will pay depends on your salary.
“The rate rises in April mean you pay more, but then the threshold rises in July means you pay less,” Martin said in his MoneySavingExpert newsletter.
It comes as the cost of living has soared, with energy bills set to rise by nearly £700 a year for millions of households from this week.
To work out how these two major tax changes will balance out and affect your wages, you can use an online calculator.
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You can find out what your take home pay will be after the changes by selecting the 2022/23 year from the drop-down menu.
It will also ask for your age, pre-tax salary and how much you pay in pension contributions.
Remember that this isn’t a personalised tool, so your actual pay could be different depending on your specific circumstances.
For example, it won’t factor in any student-loan repayments you have to make.
To get an exact amount you should check your tax code, which you can find on your payslips.
You can then contact HMRC to find out what rate you will be paying.
The calculator also assumes you are employed, as self-employed National Insurance rates are different.
Self employed workers will get a tax cut of up to £165 this year, according to the Spring Statement documents.
Martin Lewis also urged married couples to see if they’re missing out on tax help of up to £1,200 a year.
Meanwhile, more than a million eligible parents aren’t claiming tax-free childcare that could be worth up to £2,000 annually.
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