Self assessment tax return - calculation must surely be wrong?

[christmaspies]

I am PAYE but did a self assessment this time because I earned extra from some freelance work which I needed to declare. The calculation on the tax return shows me qualifying for a refund for several hundred pounds which I'm sure is wrong but it's now been credited to my bank account. Should I just ignore it and wait until the taxman realises the mistake (if it is a mistake?)

Not necessarily a mistake. PAYE can be a little hit and miss, especially if your profile is anything different to the standard 'one job 12 months of the year'. Was your contract work taxed on an emergency code? Do you earn enough to pay 40% tax?

How are you sure it is wrong? It is very unlikely to be wrong unless you have entered something incorrectly or if your affairs are highly complex. I would probably just do a quick check to make sure you hadn't made a mistake when filling the form in, but as long as nothing is amiss I would just enjoy the money! Similar has happened to me when I had a FT PAYE job and earned a small amount from freelance as well.

Cogito you may be right. I was simultaneously on 2 different PAYE contracts (part time work). I did write in the self assessment comments box that I was submitting the self assessment because i had earned £x in excess of my PAYE salary and so believed I owed tax rather than the other way around. I don't think I could be fined for getting the self assessment wrong, could I?

I would phone them to talk through the figures and make sure you've got it right. However, I suspect it is correct - don't spend the money just yet though!

If your PAYE jobs were not high paying and you were BR on one and partial code on the other, chances are you paid too much tax - in fact more than you owed even allowing for the self employed income as well

tax codings on PAYE are still a disaster zone for lots of people

I know I was BR on one; can't remember what the other one was. I don't think I would have earned enough to pay 40%.

Tribpot - yes I'll talk it through with them. I was going to do that to start with but heard that they were inundated with calls and that it wan't easy to get through.

I make it a rule with the tax people not to offer more information than they ask for. :) If you've completed the forms accurately and truthfully and the calculation is that you were owed money then I would let sleeping dogs lie. If you've underpaid, wait for the adjustment to the tax code. Otherwise have faith.