Martin Lewis MSE says HMRC sending tax refund letters ‘by August’ | Personal Finance | Finance

Households across the UK will be getting tax refund letters from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by August.

According to Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert (MSE), the tax office is sending refund letters to around four million people between June and August. The tax calculation letters, also known as a P800, tell you what you have to do if you’re owed a tax refund. There are several reasons why households may be owed a tax refund, with job changes, work expenses, income fluctuations, redundancy payments and being placed on an emergency tax code being among the most common causes.

HMRC reviews your tax contributions at the end of every tax year and if you have paid more than you owe, it will send out a tax notice to let you know you are owed a refund.

These P800 refund letters start to be sent out from June and will tell you how to make a claim online, or if HMRC will send you a cheque.

If the letter says you can claim online you can claim using the online bank transfer service or request a cheque instead. You’ll simply need the reference number from your P800 letter and your National Insurance number to claim your refund.

HMRC says the money you’re owed will be sent to you within five working days if you’ve claimed online, or six weeks if you’ve requested to be sent a cheque.

In cases where the letter says you’ll be sent a cheque, you don’t need to contact HMRC to make a claim as your money will automatically be sent to you in the post within 14 days of the date on your letter. If you’re owed tax for more than one year, HMRC will send you a single cheque for the entire amount.

Before claiming your tax refund, it’s important to check that your letter is genuine and it is definitely HMRC that is contacting you, not fraudsters attempting to impersonate the tax office.

HMRC will never ask you to make a payment or ask for your personal bank details via email, text message or over the phone, it will only contact you via an official letter or in your GOV.UK online account.

A legitimate P800 will always include your full name, the tax year details and a clear breakdown of calculations, and you can log into your personal tax account on the government website to confirm any tax refunds you are owed.

To avoid falling victim to a tax refund scam, MSE says to always remember the following: “HMRC will always send a letter about any tax you’re owed – it’ll never text, email or call you unexpectedly and pressure you to take action.

“If you’re owed tax and HMRC says it’ll send a cheque, you don’t need to do anything. It’ll automatically send any cheque by post within 14 days of the date on your letter. If you’re owed tax from more than one year, you’ll get a single cheque for the entire amount.

“If HMRC says you must claim your tax refund online, use the correct website address. Be wary of following links in letters or messages as they could be scam sites replicating the original.”