Tax advice?

[Fiddlersgreen]

Started a new job last month.
Just received a letter from HMRC saying they are changing my tax code for year 2020-2021 to pay back tax I owe.
It says I owe £76 from a previous tax year (it also says they previously told me this but they haven’t!) but until this tax year I’ve never earned enough to pay tax (was working part time!)
My p45 states I got paid £12459 from previous job. My new job pays weekly and I’ve received £490 (before tax) so far.
They say they’ve reduced my personal allowance by £380 to cover the £76!!!
Can’t I just pay £76?! I’m really confused

They’ve changed it by £380 as 20% of £380 is £76 so that is correct - you’ll be paying it off over the 2020/21 year so probably easier/ more convenient than paying it off in one go.

If you’re not sure when the underpayment comes from though worth giving them a call - they’re usually reasonably helpful.

Thank you, that makes sense now.
In my final pay from previous job I got £49 of tax paid back to me. I’ve kept it aside ready to pay back when they asked for it so I guess that’ll be where the majority comes from. I would rather pay the £76 than have my tax code reduced for a whole year, do you think they would let me do this?

I think the best thing to do is give them a call - I’ve never tried to pay off in one go but doesn’t seem crazy that they would let you. Someone might be along who knows better!