Started new job

[Incognitomum11]

Hi all,,
I’ve been self employed and paying my own tax for years but two months ago (in may) I started a paid job.
first pay was fine.
Second pay a new payroll person had started.
she deducted no tax and refunded the tax for the previous month (she also wrongly deducted a sick day I hadn’t had but that’s not relevant)

I brought this up with her but she claims she had a new tax code from the HMRC and that my tax to date is correct but I earn over the free threshold so at some point she would have to start deducted the tax and then the amounts will be larger.
Surely this isn’t the way it’s normally done?

please advise

The HMRC should have told you if there was a new tax code.

What is the code on your pay slip and what is your gross and net pay and tax to date?

What tax code is on your payslip? What code was there last month?

@ReeseWitherfork 1257L and last months was the same but with the W1/M1 after

@AlisonDonut I hadn’t had a tax code before as I paid my own tax so the first one was a temporary one

What is the gross and net pay to date?

Your tax deductions are nothing to do with a new payroll person, they don’t calculate or decide anything themselves, it is all done by payroll software. In fact of all the things you mention, the one you crossed out (about sick days) is the only one that would be within their control.

It looks like your tax codes have gone from an emergency monthly tax code to a cumulative code, there would be a catch up as you would not have had the benefit of at least one months personal allowance, so it is very likely that you should have got a tax refund this time. The size of the refund would depend entirely upon your salary, but what you describe certainly sounds plausible. I would expect from next month you would see your tax deductions stabilise.

@Aprilx stabilise yes but now to date I have paid ZERO tax which doesn’t seem right at all. Surely they even out the tax free amount over the year so I don’t have a few months with no tax and then suddenly they tax me?
it totally seems to be her incompetence to me rather than a wrong tax code…
that’s why I’m asking, because I haven’t been PAYE since I was young

How much is your annual salary? If between now and end March you're not projected to earn over the threshold then that is correct.

It's not the payroll person at fault if there is a fault - she is just doing what HMRC have told her to do.

If you started in May but were Self Employed for April did you complete a P46? What may have happened is your payroll is showing gross pay and tax for April as Nil so the system has proportioned your tax allowance over 11 months instead of 12.

Use a gross to net calculator to work out what tax you owe and put that money aside. www.moneysavingexpert.com/tax-calculator/