What has the government said about today’s NI cut?
Brits will see their National Insurance cut by 2p today, saving a worker paid £25,000 per year around £248.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Hard work is one of my core values, and the progress we have made on the economy means we can reward work with a tax cut worth £900 for the average earner.
“This marks the next step in our plan to end the unfairness of double taxation of work by abolishing national insurance in the long term.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the cuts show “we stand behind those who work hard and fire the starting gun on our long-term ambition to end the unfair double tax on work”.
How to contact HMRC to check your code?
You can contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300 or by sending a letter to the following address, Pay as You Earn and Self Assessment, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS, United Kingdom.
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.”
