When do I claim back tax in the UK?

How can I claim back my tax in the UK?

• Ok so I think i can claim back some tax from last year as I was working for about 5 months in the UK and earned around £5300, which i believe is less than the tax threshold then i went to work on a cruise ship around the world continuously for the rest of the tax year. What should i do to go about claiming back the tax i paid? How easy will this be and how long will it take? I don't really want to go to an accountant though. Thanks

• Answer:

  Heather J: Fill in form R85 for your son at bank to get interest paid gross. MJ: You don't require a form R40 for this unless you want to reclaim tax from interest deductions. You don't need it for PAYE. As regards claiming your tax back, it will depend on what nationality your cruise ship is. It's a bit too complicated to detail on here, but if you are paid from the UK on the cruise ship, you may come under PAYE for that, especially if it is a British ship. Just because you have spent time out of the UK doesn't mean any foreign earnings is tax-free, and you may have to account to the country in which the ship is based. To be considered a non-resident, you have to go abroad permanently, or work abroad for at least 1 whole tax year, and visits to UK have to be less than 183 days in a tax year, and average less than 91 days a tax year over a period of 4 consecutive years. If you think that applies, download form P86 from http://www.hmrc.gov.uk , put "form P86" in search box. Complete form and send to tax office with form P45 that your employer gave you when you finished job. If it doesn't apply, and you are not now being paid from the UK, you will need to do a Tax Return, with an employment page, and a foreign income page. You get credit for tax deducted abroad against your tax bill, but it is not refundable by the UK. For more information, when on website quoted put "non-residents" in search box. If you are entitled to a repayment, HMRC have target of 28 days to answer, but there have been such drastic staff cuts, that targets aren't being met. You do not have to have an accountant, although if you have to fill in Tax Return, you may choose to. If you start with form P86, tax office will examine it, and come back to you if Tax Return needed.