Tax Guides
Am I Due a Tax Rebate? 10 Signs You Have Overpaid HMRC
Ten specific situations that quietly cause overpaid tax, what each one is typically worth, and how to check every claimable year in under a minute. No letter required.
12 min read
Tax Guides
Longer explainers on UK income tax, National Insurance and Self Assessment for the self-employed and landlords.
- 20 articles
Tax Guides articles
Tax Guides
CIS Tax Rebate: Why Subcontractors Are Nearly Always Owed Money
20% comes off your labour before you have deducted a single expense. Here is how a CIS refund is calculated, a full worked example for 2026/27, and how to claim it.
11 min read
Tax Guides
Do HMRC Automatically Refund Overpaid Tax? Sometimes, and Here Is When They Do Not
HMRC refunds automatically only when its own records disagree with themselves. Six situations where the money never comes back on its own, and what to do about each.
11 min read
Tax Guides
Emergency Tax Refund: How to Get Back What W1, M1 and 0T Took
Emergency codes tax each payday in isolation, which is why a mid-year job start hurts most. How to get the code fixed, and how to reclaim earlier years that never got corrected.
11 min read
Tax Guides
How Long Does a Tax Rebate Take? Timelines by Claim Route
Five working days or six weeks, and the difference is one choice you make when you claim. Published HMRC timings for every refund route, plus what actually causes a delay.
11 min read
Tax Guides
How to Claim a Tax Refund From HMRC: Every Route, Step by Step
There is no single "claim my refund" button at HMRC. There are six routes, and picking the wrong one is why claims stall. Find yours, and claim back up to four tax years free.
16 min read
Tax Guides
Leaving the UK Tax Refund: The P85, and Why Leavers Are Almost Always Owed
PAYE spreads your Personal Allowance over twelve months. Leave in month five and you have paid tax on seven months of income that never happened. How to claim it back.
10 min read
Tax Guides
P60 Tax Refund: How to Read Your P60 and Spot an Overpayment in 3 Minutes
Your P60 has five numbers on it. Three of them tell you whether you overpaid tax last year. A worked example of a P60 showing a refund, and what to do next.
10 min read
Tax Guides
P800 Tax Refund Explained: How to Read the Letter and What to Do Next
A P800 is HMRC checking its own arithmetic, not a verdict. Here is what every line on the letter means, how to claim in 5 working days, and the four ways a P800 gets it wrong.
14 min read
Tax Guides
How to Reclaim Overpaid Tax: P800 Letters, Tax Codes and the 4-Year Window
Overpaid income tax? Read your P800 line by line, fix your tax code in your Personal Tax Account, and claim back up to four tax years without handing 36% to a refund company.
22 min read
Tax Guides
Tax Rebate Calculators: What They Actually Work Out, and Why the Numbers Differ
Every tax rebate calculator gives a different answer. Here is the arithmetic underneath, the four inputs that change everything, and how to tell a useful estimate from a lead magnet.
11 min read
Tax Guides
Tax Refund Companies and Their Fees: What 36% Actually Costs You
RIFT publishes 36% including VAT with a £60 minimum. Here is what refund companies do, what the 2023 rule change gave you back, and the free route to the same money.
11 min read
Tax Guides
Tools and Professional Fees Tax Rebate: What Trades and Members Can Claim
Flat rate relief for replacing your own tools runs from £60 to £140 by trade. Professional subscriptions are relieved on what you actually paid. Both backdate four years.
11 min read
Tax Guides
Uniform Tax Rebate: The Flat Rate for Your Trade, and How to Backdate 4 Years
HMRC pays an agreed flat rate for washing and replacing a work uniform, from £60 to £1,022 depending on your job. What yours is, what you cannot claim, and how to claim free.
13 min read
Tax Guides
Working From Home Tax Relief: The Claim Window Is Closing
HMRC has stopped working from home tax relief for 2026/27, but the four previous years are still claimable. Who qualifies, what it is worth, and how to backdate before each year expires.
13 min read
Tax Guides
How Long Does a Tax Refund Take From HMRC?
Five working days for a P800 claimed online. Weeks, months or more than a year for everything else. Live HMRC processing times for every refund route, and how to get yours sooner.
14 min read
Tax Guides
Corporation Tax UK: Complete Guide for Limited Companies in 2026/27
Corporation tax rates, marginal relief, CT600 deadlines, director salary vs dividends, R&D relief.
23 min read
Tax Guides
Dividend vs Salary: How UK Directors Should Pay Themselves in 2026/27
The optimal salary and dividend mix for UK limited company directors in 2026/27, with worked examples at £80,000 profit and current NI thresholds.
25 min read
Tax Guides
IR35 Inside vs Outside: The Complete Contractor Guide for 2026
Understand IR35 inside vs outside status, the three HMRC tests, a fully modelled take-home comparison on £100,000 gross, day rate negotiation and the SDS process.
25 min read
Tax Guides
HMRC Self Assessment Late Filing Penalties: What You Owe and How to Fix It
Missed the Self Assessment deadline? See exactly what HMRC charges at 1 day, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months late.
22 min read
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