How Do I Claim UK Tax Back from Overseas?

How Do I Claim UK Tax Back from Overseas?

Have you overpaid tax and want to claim it back from abroad? If you leave the UK to either work or live abroad, you may be entitled to a tax refund. As ever, the outcome of your tax refund claims depends on your individual circumstances and current tax status.

Today, we will discuss how you can claim your tax rebate after leaving the country, including the amount and how you will receive your refund claim.

Before You Start Your Claim

Here are a few things you must know before claiming your tax back from abroad.

• If you are already completing a Self Assessment tax return, you do not need to make a separate claim.

• As a UK non resident, you can claim back personal allowances and tax from abroad on any UK income received in the last four tax years or the current tax year.

• Ensure you have the necessary documents and information before starting the claim process.

• Depending on your income sources, you may need to complete a Self Assessment or use other specific claim forms. This includes incomes from profession, trades and rental property.

• Self-assessment forms that include the SA109 (Residence pages) cannot be submitted from the HMRC website directly, so you have to submit it online from an HMRC-approved commercial software, like Taxd.

• Determine if your country has a double taxation agreement with the UK for potential relief.

How to Claim a Tax Refund From Abroad?

HMRC will repay your overpaid taxes once you claim a refund, whether you complete your tax return or not. However, the process will be different in both cases.

If you do not complete a tax return

• You need to fill out the P85 form, detailing your departure details, and submit it along with the P45 form.
• If you are claiming tax refund for employment expenses, you may also need to submit P87 form.
• You have to submit these forms to the HMRC portal. HMRC may contact you if they have any query regarding your P87 form.

If you do complete a tax return

• If you complete a self-assessment tax return, you do not have to separately submit any form for repayment.
• No additional forms are required once you complete your tax return.
• HMRC will initiate your refund once your tax returns are processed. However, you have to wait for the tax year to end to claim for the tax return (5th April).

How Much Refund Amount Can You Acquire?

The amount of your refund claim depends on your unique circumstances, it would be based on how much you had earned and how much tax you had paid already.

There are some other factors that decide the amount of refund you may receive from HMRC. These include your income bracket, if you have paid any expenses related to your employment, or whether you were working from home.

How Will You Receive Your Refund Amount?

The tax office will make the required calculation on your overpaid taxes and set up a P800 form, mentioning the amount of refund you will receive. The details of your tax refund will be updated on your tax account.

You have to choose your preferred payment option. This could be a direct deposit to your bank account or a cheque sent to your address. In case you don’t own a UK bank account, you can nominate someone in the country to receive your refund amount on your behalf.

Also read: Everything You Need to Know About UK Non-Resident Tax

The Bottom Line

If you have overpaid your tax and want to claim a refund from a foreign country, you can submit it by filling out P85 along with supplementary forms. However, if you are already using a self assessment to complete tax returns, there is no need for a separate claim.

Let Taxd handle all your tax return obligations in a simplified and efficient manner. As HMRC recognised software, we will help you file your self assessment and submit it to HMRC with ease and confidence that you are compliant.