Tax return help! Very basic question

[Thehistorygirls]

I am filling in a tax return for the first time ever and I have no idea why - I earn nothing expect through my main job which is PAYE. But I've been asked to fill one in, so am doing so. I've entered all the information - which is basically just my salary tax, plus a tiny amount of interest on my savings account - and on the final sheet before I file it, it says 'total amount due' and a sum in the region of £5k. It says this will add this to my statement of account. What does this mean? Does it mean I owe them this money, or they owe it to me? And if so why?

If you already pay tax through PAYE and have no other income then you don't need to do a tax return surely

I suspect there is a tick box somewhere you have missed, or you've put a number in the wrong box, and it hasnt accounted for the fact you are PAYE.
I cant help with where it will be, as mine had to be done through a weird system, but I had to do several iterations each year it make it tell me I owed no tax (which I knew to be correct).

Good luck. Tax doesn't have to be taxing (aparently!!!)

Do you claim child benefit and do you/your dh earn over £50k? I don't see another reason for filling one in

If all your income is taxed at source, ie PAYE you shouldn't have an amount due. Have you filled in the box for tax already paid? This is the tax deducted on your P60.

Are you a higher earner? Sometimes if you earn over £50k your other sources of income may not be fully taxed, or you may have received child benefit to which you're not entitled. Or do you have a company car or other benefit like private health insurance. Do any of those apply?

If you have your P60s for the last few tax years you can check if the tax you paid was the correct amount on a site like www.listentotaxman.com

I do earn significantly over 50k - I'm a high earner (approx £150k) and a recent one, so I assumed that was the reason for the tax return. But literally everything I earn is PAYE.

@Thehistorygirls

I do earn significantly over 50k - I'm a high earner (approx £150k) and a recent one, so I assumed that was the reason for the tax return. But literally everything I earn is PAYE.

But do you claim child benefit?

Nope, don't claim child benefit or any benefits. No private health insurance through work at the moment.

Check with your payroll dept.

I work for a big established company, they do something weird with my company car that meant I had put it on my tax return and I didn't need to.

But yes, why a tax return if you are PAYE?! Who's asked you to do it? Check that out first - are/were you claiming child benefit or anything?

I just got sent a form by the tax office - no idea why. I assumed it was due to a significant increase in income...

tbh, with a salary that high, you could afford to pay someone to do your taxes. Especially as there are only 2 items to enter.

Once you reach the higher tax bands the likelihood of getting asked to do a form shoots up

I would be happy to pay someone to do my taxes but my understanding is that you still have to gather the information to give to an accountant. The issue I have isn't with complex sums - there aren't any - but actually understanding what is being asked of me. But an accountant may be my only hope, thank you!

I would just get an accountant to do this. And you can probably claim the cost of this against tax. With your income no way would I bother with these forms.

If you earn over £100k then you have to self assess and there’s an extra tax on earnings over this.

@Thehistorygirls

I do earn significantly over 50k - I'm a high earner (approx £150k) and a recent one, so I assumed that was the reason for the tax return. But literally everything I earn is PAYE.

If you earn over £100k annually before tax then HMRC may require you to complete a self assessment to ensure that you are paying the correct amount of tax. This will be the case even if your entire salary is on a PAYE basis. If your employer awards bonuses that alone can lead to an employee under paying income tax.

At that salary you have to do a tax return.
And yes that wording means you owe them that amount. I suspect you have been on the wrong PAYE tax code through work and so you owe the difference. Has happened to me more than once, generally because my work have messed up the value of some of my benefits in kind (like medical insurance) and so under taxed me through the year. Very annoying!

To add, you will likely have lost your personal allowance too at that salary and often this is done incorrectly, so if any of your personal allowance has been included in your tax code for the year you may have been wrongly taxed on this basis. Do you have details of the tax code that your work have applied through the year, this may help.

@Thehistorygirls

I do earn significantly over 50k - I'm a high earner (approx £150k) and a recent one, so I assumed that was the reason for the tax return. But literally everything I earn is PAYE.

Seconding/thirding/ the previous posters who have said that at the sort of salary level you are quoting filling in an annual return is almost inevitable, even if you are on a payroll and paying your dues through PAYE.

You have to complete a return because your salary is over £100k. I suspect you had a PAYE code like 1257L, which gives you a personal allowance that you're not due any more because once your income goes over £100K the allowance is withdrawn gradually. Therefore I think the tax is probably due.
If you can't pay it all at once, ring the helpline and ask if they can agree a payment plan - make suggestions yourself, as you have to stick to it.

I wouldn't recommend you get it included in your code even if they would agree, as it's complicated & H M Revenue & Customs staff often make mistakes, so you never catch up.

Have you tried listen to taxman website to do a tough check

Salary for year, and then is i on t £5k more due than your March payslip shows as deductions via paye?

Losing the personal allowance over £100k accounts for £2.5k extra due -if you are in tax code 1250 for example.

Did you receive a letter asking you to complete a tax return. If so, what year did it ask you to complete and when did you start earning around £150k

If you have made pension contributions, then you need the tax return to claim your tax relief that is due to you above 20%.
Also, as mentioned, if your salary has increased recently you may be or may have been on the wrong tax code.

Maybe things have changed but when I did self assessment tax return for HMRC I just left the tax due blank. HMRC processed my tax return, did the calculations, and then sent me a letter stating how much was owed them or due to be refunded back to me.

Everyone who earns over £100k has to do one even if fully PAYE.