Self Assessment - don't understand the figures

[PositiveLife]

Can anyone help me?

I'm PAYE but as I earned over £50k, I've had to do a self assessment this year. I've had advice from hmrc but I don't understand the output. They told me to phone back once it's on their system, but they've already paid back my "overpaid tax" into my account.

Example (not actual) figures but demonstrates the issue:
Taxable pay: £56k
Student loan payments: £2400
Pension contributions (my bit, not the company bit): £6k
Claimed the £310 for wfh

So, going on that I was expecting the pension contributions to make my net adjusted income £50k i.e. No child benefit to repay
Tax should be correct as I'm PAYE
So I expected it to say they owed me the £310 wfh allowance.

However they say they owe me £1200.

Does anyone understand where the £900 extra has come from?

Is it the tax you overpaid (40% instead of 20%) on the £6k over the £50k limit which you now don’t need to pay now that your allowances have taken your taxable income back down.

err maybe. I just assumed that the paye software sorted it out but it does seem to be the right sort of amount for that

The PAYE software won’t know about the allowances you are claiming. It will automatically start to tax you at the higher rate when you reach that threshold It might know about your pension payments depending on whether they are deducted pre or post tax.

I believe they're deducted pre-tax. I think this is where I'm really confused. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

If I wasn't claiming child benefit, I could have claimed the £310 directly and everything else would have just been done via paye.

Did you detail your pension paymets in your self assessment? I don;t think you are supposed to if it goes out and is recorded on your payslip pre-tax. You are only supposed to details additional voluntary pension contributions either into the same pension or a separate private one.

Hence the refund as HMRC think you are making double the pension contribution?

Hmrc told me they needed to go on. When I take them out, it starts saying that I owe loads of tax.

I don't think it helps that I have no P60 or P45 due to changing jobs

That wouldn't help at all. It's a legal requirement for them to give you a P45/60 (although the deadline for getting a P60 from your current employer for 20-21 tax year to you isn't until 31st May.

Did you not get a P45 when you left your last job?

I left employment on March 31st so employer said I wouldn't get a P60 (not with them on the 5th April) although it might get sent (they're really unhelpful).

They then paid my outstanding holiday pay in April cos they messed up my leaving process so issued the P45 for April 21

Tbh I think they've messed up

Yes, they messed up.

I'm just thinking what I would have done.

If the P45 is dated after April 6 then they HAVE to issue a P60 for 5th April surely. That's what I'd have done anyway.

I guess you took your figures from your last payslip instead?

@Comefromaway

I guess you took your figures from your last payslip instead?

Yeah, I did that and also from the personal tax section on the hmrc site.

I'm assuming I've done something wrong with the figures. Just hoping now that they send a P60 (different people have given different info on whether I'll get one)

I have to say that in my many dealings with HMRC over the last 20 years both from being self-employed and working in Payroll they are not the most efficient organisation and often give out incorrect information!"

Yeah, that's what I'm finding.

I've removed the pension contributions from my SA and now it says I owe the amount that I expected....but if I'm reading that right, I should possibly now owe some child benefit too as the numbers from my payslips aren't what I thought they were.

Why do you need to do a self-assessment? £100k is the limit not £50k

Yes, £6,000 at 20% would give you a £1,200 repayment.

I suspect (although obviously can't say for certain) that the taxable amount on your payslip is already net of the pension contributions so by including them separately they are being double counted.

But you are correct, everything else being equal you should have some child benefit to repay. What tax code were you on? And do you have the breakdown of this?

@FizzyPink

Why do you need to do a self-assessment? £100k is the limit not £50k

Not if you get child benefit

All I know is that that our pensions are deducted at source pre tax so the figures on someone's P60/payslip is their actual taxable pay except for one worker who has a private pension as well.

Looking at the s/a form Question 1 asks for payments made into a private pension and question 3 asks for payments made into an employers pension scheme only where the payments were not deducted pre-tax (this is unusual) so I think you have done that bit wrongly.

He makes sure that his private pension payments keep him just under the child benefit threshold and does his s/a each year. The others don't put their pension payments on their s/a as they have already been accounted for.

The cash equivalent values of peoples company cars is reported via the P11D each year and that is added to the income shown on their payslip.

We've never had anyone with a student loan and dh and I are too old for them so I don't know how they affect tax.

Yep @Comefromaway I think you're right. I've corrected it but now think I should have some child benefit to repay.

Think the calculation is now right.

Not sure how to pay back what they transferred this morning

In fact, looking at it, I think it will be corrected in 3 days when it fully logs onto their main system

Oh they will tell you how to pay, don't worry!!!!