HM Revenue & Customs received more than 460,000 refund requests from taxpayers who overpaid income tax, according to a freedom of information (FOI) request by mutual insurer Royal London.
The firm is now urging people to double-check their tax payments to determine whether or not they are due money back.
HMRC said someone changing jobs during the financial year or being subject to changes on their taxable benefits were among the reasons for overcharging income tax.
Becky O’Connor, personal finance specialist at Royal London, said: “Nearly half a million people tried to get overpaid income tax back from HMRC in the last tax year.
“This goes to show it’s a good idea not to assume the taxman is always right about what he says you owe.”
She added that clients should always check their tax statement for the year and keep a note of any unusual changes to income that might indicate an overpayment.
Submit a claim
Royal London said anyone who thinks they have overpaid income tax on their savings and investments can fill in a ‘R40’ form on the taxman’s website, and claims can be made for up to four previous years.
There are many circumstances people can apply for a refund of overpaid tax from HMRC, and these include:
- pay from a current or previous job
- pension payments
- income from a life or pension annuity
- a redundancy payment
- a self-assessment tax return
- interest from savings or PPI, and
- UK income, if resident abroad.
The total sum for all types of tax repayments during the 2018-19 tax year exceeded £7bn ($9.2bn, €8.3bn), Royal London said.
