Help me understand tax!

[Bridezilla2be]

My OH started a new job recently, never receiving a final payslip or P45 from old employer.

Now he’s received a letter telling him he owes £200 of tax. Spoke to HMRC and they said it’s because he didn’t have a P45 and didn’t pay enough tax in his first month at the new job.

What neither of us can understand is how this is the case when he was charged tax in his first month and it’s nearly as much as in the months since (it wasn’t a full month)? But the HMRC just kept repeating that same line.

He doesn’t mind paying (as much as anyone likes paying tax!) if it’s correct but can someone please explain in very simple terms why this would be the case?

The hmrc have given the answer..it could go up and down for a while. My OHs tax is never right he always owes something on paye and he's not changed his job for 15 years.. unless you have paperwork to back up an argument the tax man comes out on top.

Speak to the payroll department: it's their numbers, they should be able to explain it.

I wonder ...

Did he have payslips from old and new employers in the same tax month, so both employers gave him the tax-free allowance for the month.

Tax code 1150L gives £958 tax-free per month.
£958 x basic rate tax = £191.67

Ask the old employer for a copy of the P45, that will help solve the query.

It's probably wrong. I've had a tax rebate for every year I've changed jobs. Best thing to do is wait until the end of the tax year so you can look at it as a whole and figure out how much you've earned and paid in tax.