How can you find out if you are due money back from employment in the UK?

Practical guide for employees: how to check your P60, tax code and whether you paid too much tax

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Many Romanians in the UK work as employees and receive their salary through PAYE.

Tax is deducted automatically from wages.

For this reason, many people believe:

“If I am employed, my tax must definitely be calculated correctly.”

In most cases, PAYE works well.

But not always.

You can end up paying too much tax if you had the wrong tax code, changed jobs, had two jobs, were placed on emergency tax, received benefits from your employer, made pension contributions or had work expenses that you did not claim.

At the end of the tax year, the most important document for checking your position is the P60.

Your P60 shows how much you earned from employment and how much Income Tax was deducted in that tax year.

If you know how to read it, you can do a simple check and see whether there is a chance you may be due money back from HMRC.

This article explains, step by step, how you can check whether you paid too much tax from employment.

1. What is a P60 and why is it important?

A P60 is the document you receive from your employer at the end of the tax year.

The UK tax year is not the same as the calendar year.

The tax year starts on 6 April and ends on 5 April the following year.

For example:

The 2025/26 tax year starts on 6 April 2025 and ends on 5 April 2026.

If you are working for an employer on 5 April, the employer must give you a P60 by 31 May.

The P60 usually shows:

• your name
• National Insurance Number
• employer name
• tax code used
• total pay for tax purposes
• tax deducted
• sometimes National Insurance details
• sometimes pay and tax from previous employment, if the figures were included in payroll

The P60 is important because it shows how much tax you paid through employment in that tax year.

If you had more than one job in the same tax year, you may have more than one P60 or P45.

In this case, you need to add together all income and all tax paid to check the position correctly.

2. What does an employment tax refund mean?

An employment tax refund happens when you paid more Income Tax than you should have paid.

Important: here we are mainly talking about Income Tax, not National Insurance.

Income Tax and National Insurance are two different things.

An Income Tax refund may arise if:

• you were on an emergency tax code
• you started a new job and your employer did not have your P45
• you had two jobs and your Personal Allowance was allocated incorrectly
• you worked for only part of the year
• you had periods with no income
• you had the wrong tax code
• you had employer benefits estimated incorrectly
• you had deductible expenses that were not claimed
• you had pension contributions that were not treated correctly
• you had professional subscriptions or uniform expenses
• you had work mileage that was not claimed
• HMRC estimated your income too high
• income was incorrectly included in your tax code

A tax refund does not mean you get back all the tax you paid.

It simply means HMRC compares how much tax you should have paid with how much you actually paid.

If you paid too much, the difference may be recoverable.

3. What are the basic figures for 2025/26 and 2026/27?

For most employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the standard Personal Allowance is £12,570.

This means that, normally, the first £12,570 of annual income is tax-free.

After the Personal Allowance, tax applies in bands.

For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in simple terms:

• 20% applies to taxable income in the basic rate band
• 40% applies to taxable income in the higher rate band
• 45% applies to income above the additional rate threshold

For someone with the standard Personal Allowance, the basic rate band applies up to total income of £50,270.

The higher rate usually starts from £50,271.

The additional rate applies above £125,140.

Important: if your income is above £100,000, your Personal Allowance starts to reduce.

For every £2 over £100,000, you lose £1 of Personal Allowance.

At £125,140, your Personal Allowance may be reduced to zero.

If you live in Scotland, Income Tax rates are different, so the calculation must be done separately.

4. Where should you start the check?

For a simple check, you need:

• the P60 for the relevant tax year
• P45, if you changed jobs during the year
• the last payslip of the tax year
• the tax code used
• details of other jobs or pensions
• P11D, if you received benefits from your employer
• details of pension contributions
• details of work expenses you paid personally
• HMRC Personal Tax Account, if you have online access

The most important point is not to check only one isolated payslip.

One payslip can show high or low tax in a particular month, but the final calculation is based on the whole tax year.

The P60 is more useful for the annual check.

5. How do you read a P60?

On the P60, you need to look for two important figures:

Total pay for tax purposes

Tax deducted

Total pay for tax purposes is your taxable employment income for that year.

Tax deducted is the Income Tax deducted through PAYE.

Simple example:

Total pay for tax purposes: £30,000

Tax deducted: £4,000

The question is:

Should that person have paid £4,000 Income Tax?

Or should they have paid less?

To answer this, you do an approximate calculation.

6. The simple checking formula

For an employee with one job, no complicated benefits and no other income, the simplified calculation is:

Total taxable income from P60 minus Personal Allowance = taxable income

Then you apply the tax rate.

Example:

Income from P60: £30,000

Personal Allowance: £12,570

Taxable income:

£30,000 - £12,570 = £17,430

Tax at 20%:

£17,430 × 20% = £3,486

If the P60 shows tax deducted of £4,000, the person may have overpaid approximately:

£4,000 - £3,486 = £514

In this simplified example, the person may be due approximately £514 back.

However, you still need to check whether there is other income, benefits, pension adjustments or tax code adjustments.

7. Practical example: you worked only part of the year

One of the most common situations where a refund arises is when you worked only part of the tax year.

Example:

You started your job in October.

Before that, you did not work or did not have taxable income.

At the end of the year, the P60 shows:

Total pay: £18,000

Tax deducted: £2,500

Simplified calculation:

£18,000 - £12,570 = £5,430 taxable income

Tax at 20%:

£5,430 × 20% = £1,086

If tax deducted is £2,500, the possible difference is:

£2,500 - £1,086 = £1,414

In this situation, you may have paid too much tax, especially if you were on emergency tax at the beginning.

8. Emergency tax: one of the most common causes

Emergency tax often happens when you start a new job and your employer does not have all the information about your previous income.

You may see codes on your payslip or P60 such as:

• 1257L M1
• 1257L W1
• 1257L X
• BR
• 0T
• NONCUM

These codes can lead to tax being calculated incorrectly, especially in the first few months.

An M1 or W1 code means the tax is calculated only based on the current period, not the whole tax year.

A BR code means all income from that job is taxed at the basic rate.

A 0T code may mean that no Personal Allowance has been given for that job.

Sometimes these codes are correct.

For example, if you have two jobs, one may have 1257L and the second may have BR.

But if you have only one job and you are on BR or 0T, this should be checked.

This can lead to a refund.

9. Did you have two jobs? Check your Personal Allowance

If you had two jobs in the same tax year, HMRC must split the tax codes correctly.

Usually, the Personal Allowance applies to the main job.

The second job may have a code such as BR, D0 or another code.

Problems arise when:

• two jobs use the Personal Allowance at the same time
• no job uses the Personal Allowance
• the second job is taxed at 40% even though total income does not justify it
• HMRC has the wrong estimated income
• an old job still appears as active in your HMRC account

In this case, you need to add together all income and all tax paid.

It is not enough to check only one P60.

If you have two P60s, add:

• total pay from P60 1 + total pay from P60 2
• tax deducted from P60 1 + tax deducted from P60 2

Then compare the total with the estimated tax for the tax year.

10. Did you change jobs during the year?

If you changed jobs, you should receive a P45 from your old employer.

The P45 shows:

• income from that employer
• tax paid
• tax code
• leaving date

If the new employer did not receive your P45 in time, you may have been placed temporarily on emergency tax.

This can lead to too much tax being paid.

Sometimes the issue corrects automatically in the following payslips.

Other times, it is corrected only after the end of the tax year, when HMRC performs the reconciliation.

This is why it is important to keep your P45 and P60.

11. Be careful with P11D and employer benefits

If you receive benefits from your employer, they can affect your tax.

Examples of benefits include:

• company car
• fuel benefit
• private medical insurance
• accommodation
• interest-free loan
• gym membership paid by the employer
• other personal benefits

Some benefits may be included through payroll.

Others may appear on a P11D after the end of the tax year.

If HMRC does not have the correct information, your tax code may be wrong.

This can lead either to too much tax being paid or to tax being owed.

Therefore, if you have a P11D, do not calculate the refund based only on the P60.

The impact of the benefits must also be included.

12. Pension contributions: check that you are not losing relief

Pension contributions can affect tax.

But the treatment depends on the type of scheme.

Some workplace pension contributions are made through a net pay arrangement.

In this case, contributions are usually deducted before tax is calculated, and the P60 already reflects the reduced taxable income.

Other contributions are made through relief at source.

In this case, the contribution is paid from net income, and the pension provider adds basic rate relief.

If you are a higher rate taxpayer, you may be able to claim extra tax relief.

Important: do not deduct pension contributions twice.

One of the biggest mistakes is seeing pension contributions on the payslip and deducting them again, even though they have already been treated through payroll.

If your income is above £50,270 or above £100,000, pension contributions can have an important impact on the final tax position.

13. Work expenses: can you recover tax through employment expenses?

Yes, in certain situations.

As an employee, you may be entitled to tax relief for certain costs paid personally, if they are necessary for your job and were not reimbursed by your employer.

Examples include:

• uniform or specialist clothing
• cleaning your uniform
• small tools required for work
• professional subscriptions
• mileage with your personal car for business journeys
• travel and overnight expenses
• equipment needed for work
• working from home, in certain conditions

Important: not every personal expense is deductible.

You cannot claim just because you spent money connected to your job.

It must be an eligible expense under HMRC rules.

If your employer reimbursed the cost, you usually cannot claim tax relief again.

If the claim is correct, you do not receive the full cost back.

You receive tax relief.

Example:

You have a uniform flat rate expense of £60.

If you are a basic rate taxpayer, the tax saving is:

£60 × 20% = £12

If you are a higher rate taxpayer, the tax saving may be:

£60 × 40% = £24

14. Mileage with your personal car

If you use your personal car for work, you may be entitled to mileage tax relief.

But normal commuting from home to your usual workplace is not usually deductible.

Mileage relief generally applies to business journeys.

Possible examples include:

• travelling to clients
• travelling to different sites
• travelling to temporary training
• travelling between work locations

If your employer paid you less than the approved mileage rate, you can claim tax relief on the difference.

For cars and vans, the approved mileage rate is usually 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p per mile after that.

Example:

You drove 2,000 business miles.

Your employer paid you 20p per mile.

HMRC approved rate: 45p per mile.

The difference is:

25p per mile

2,000 miles × 25p = £500

If you are a basic rate taxpayer, the tax relief may be:

£500 × 20% = £100

If you are a higher rate taxpayer:

£500 × 40% = £200

15. Working from home

Working from home relief has been widely discussed in recent years.

But not everyone can claim it.

In general, there must be a requirement to work from home, not just a personal choice to work from home.

If your employer provides an office but you choose to work from home for convenience, it may not be eligible.

If your job requires you to work from home and you incur additional costs, there may be a possible claim.

This area must be checked carefully, because HMRC has become stricter.

16. Professional subscriptions

If you personally pay a fee to a professional body that is required for your job, you may be entitled to tax relief.

Examples include:

• professional membership required for your job
• professional licences
• HMRC-approved subscriptions

Not every membership is eligible.

You need to check whether the organisation is approved and whether the subscription is relevant to your employment.

If your employer paid the subscription for you, you usually have nothing to claim personally.

17. How do you do a simplified calculation at home?

You can follow these steps:

Step 1: Take your P60

Look for total pay for tax purposes.

Step 2: Look for tax deducted

This is the amount of Income Tax deducted through PAYE.

Step 3: Check the tax code

If you had 1257L and only one job, the calculation is simpler.

If you had BR, 0T, D0, M1, W1 or a K code, it needs to be reviewed more carefully.

Step 4: Deduct the Personal Allowance

For most people, the Personal Allowance is £12,570.

Step 5: Apply the tax rate

For income remaining in the basic rate band, apply 20%.

For income above the higher rate threshold, apply 40%.

For income above the additional rate threshold, apply 45%.

Step 6: Compare the result with tax deducted on the P60

If the calculated tax is lower than the tax paid, you may have a refund.

If the calculated tax is higher, you may have tax to pay.

Step 7: Check for adjustments

Adjustments may include:

• other jobs
• pension income
• P11D benefits
• company car
• medical insurance
• pension contributions
• Gift Aid
• employment expenses
• Marriage Allowance
• High Income Child Benefit Charge
• rental income
• self-employed income
• dividends
• bank interest

18. Full example: simple P60 check

Let’s assume you have one job.

The P60 shows:

Total pay: £35,000

Tax deducted: £5,200

Tax code: 1257L

You have no other income.

You have no benefits.

You have no special pension adjustments.

Calculation:

Total income: £35,000

Personal Allowance: £12,570

Taxable income:

£35,000 - £12,570 = £22,430

Estimated tax at 20%:

£22,430 × 20% = £4,486

Tax paid according to the P60:

£5,200

Possible difference:

£5,200 - £4,486 = £714

In this example, the person may be due approximately £714 back.

But before making a claim, you need to check whether the tax code includes other adjustments or whether there is other income.

19. Example: when you do not have a refund, even if you paid a lot of tax

Let’s assume the P60 shows:

Total pay: £65,000

Tax deducted: £13,432

The person believes they paid too much because the amount seems high.

Simplified calculation:

Personal Allowance: £12,570

Taxable income:

£65,000 - £12,570 = £52,430

First £37,700 taxed at 20%:

£37,700 × 20% = £7,540

Remaining amount:

£52,430 - £37,700 = £14,730

Tax at 40%:

£14,730 × 40% = £5,892

Estimated total tax:

£7,540 + £5,892 = £13,432

In this example, the tax is correct.

There is no refund just because the amount paid seems high.

A refund arises only if you paid more than you should have paid.

20. What should you check in your HMRC Personal Tax Account?

Your HMRC Personal Tax Account is very useful.

There you can check:

• current tax code
• active employments
• estimated income
• estimated tax
• P800 or tax calculation
• whether you paid too much or too little
• whether an old job still appears as active
• whether HMRC has incorrect income information
• whether benefits such as company car or medical insurance are included correctly

If you see an old job still showing as active, HMRC may estimate additional income and unnecessarily reduce your Personal Allowance.

This can lead to the wrong tax code and too much tax being paid.

21. P800: the letter from HMRC

After the end of the tax year, HMRC reconciles the position for many people.

If you paid too much or too little tax, HMRC may issue a P800.

A P800 is a tax calculation letter.

If you have a refund, HMRC tells you how to claim it.

Sometimes you can receive the money directly into your bank account.

Other times you may receive a cheque.

If you have tax to pay, HMRC may adjust your tax code or ask you to make a payment.

Important: be careful with scam messages.

HMRC does not ask for bank details through suspicious messages or unusual links.

Go directly into your HMRC account or use official GOV.UK services.

22. If you are in Self Assessment

If you are already in Self Assessment, the situation is different.

For example, you may be employed but also have:

• self-employed income
• rental income
• dividends
• foreign income
• High Income Child Benefit Charge
• director income
• capital gains
• other income not reported through PAYE

In this case, the refund or tax payable is calculated through Self Assessment.

The P60 is only one piece of information in the tax return.

If you paid too much PAYE, this may appear as a refund in Self Assessment.

But if you have other income, that refund may be reduced or offset against the tax owed.

23. When is it worth asking for professional help?

You can do a simple check yourself if you have:

• one job
• a clear P60
• tax code 1257L
• no benefits
• no other income
• no pension complications

But it is worth asking for help if:

• you had several jobs
• you had emergency tax
• you had BR, 0T, D0 or K code
• you had a company car
• you received a P11D
• you had private medical insurance
• you had large pension contributions
• you had income above £50,270
• you had income above £100,000
• you received Child Benefit and your income was above the threshold
• you received a P800 and do not understand it
• you are in Self Assessment
• you think you have a large refund
• you received a letter from HMRC

Sometimes a 15–30 minute review can quickly identify whether you are due money back or whether, on the contrary, you have tax to pay.

24. Common mistakes when people check their P60

Mistake 1: Comparing monthly tax, not annual tax

PAYE adjusts during the year, but the correct check is done annually.

Mistake 2: Forgetting previous jobs

If you changed jobs, previous income must also be included.

Mistake 3: Ignoring the P45

The P45 can explain why you were placed on emergency tax.

Mistake 4: Deducting pension contributions twice

Some contributions are already reflected in taxable pay.

Mistake 5: Believing all work expenses are deductible

Only certain expenses are eligible.

Mistake 6: Believing National Insurance is refunded in the same way as Income Tax

National Insurance has different rules and cannot be checked as simply as Income Tax.

Mistake 7: Not checking the tax code

The tax code is the key to the PAYE calculation.

Mistake 8: Not checking the HMRC Personal Tax Account

Old jobs, wrong estimates or incorrect benefits may appear there.

25. Quick checklist: you may have a refund if…

• You worked only part of the tax year.
• You were on emergency tax.
• You started a new job without a P45.
• You changed jobs during the year.
• You had two jobs and the tax codes look wrong.
• You had BR or 0T on one single job.
• You had tax code M1, W1 or X.
• You had unclaimed work expenses.
• You paid professional subscriptions.
• You used your personal car for business journeys.
• You had pension contributions and you are a higher rate taxpayer.
• HMRC estimated your income too high.
• An old job still appears active in your HMRC account.
• You received a P800 from HMRC.
• You were employed and had Self Assessment with PAYE tax overpaid.

26. Conclusion

If you are employed in the UK, do not automatically assume your tax is correct.

PAYE is a good system, but it can produce incorrect results when tax code information is incomplete or wrong.

The P60 is the starting point.

With the P60, you can check:

• how much you earned
• how much Income Tax you paid
• what tax code you had
• whether the tax looks correct
• whether you may have a refund

For a simple check, compare the tax paid with the estimated tax based on the Personal Allowance and tax bands.

But do not forget to check other elements too:

• P45
• other jobs
• P11D benefits
• pension contributions
• work expenses
• mileage
• professional subscriptions
• HMRC Personal Tax Account
• Self Assessment, if applicable

If you paid too much, you may have money to recover.

If you paid too little, it is better to find out early than receive an unpleasant surprise later.

How DCTaxAgent can help

At DCTaxAgent, we can check your P60, tax code and PAYE position to see whether you paid too much Income Tax.

We can help with:

• P60 review
• tax code review
• correct tax calculation
• P45 / P60 / P11D analysis
• employment expenses
• mileage claims
• professional subscriptions
• PAYE refund
• Self Assessment, if you also have other income
• communication with HMRC, if required

Do you have your P60 and are unsure whether you are due money back?

Send us a message on WhatsApp: 07587 532646.

DCTaxAgent
Accounting | Tax | Advisory

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and does not represent personalised tax advice.

A tax refund depends on your exact situation, including total income, tax code, number of jobs, benefits received, pension contributions, eligible expenses, other income and whether you are in Self Assessment.

Before making a claim, check the information correctly or seek professional advice.

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