Estimate your PAYE tax refund if you stopped working mid-year — plus a checklist of rebates people commonly miss.
Source: GOV.UK — Claim a tax refund
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Founder, Calks.uk
Last updated: · Verified against HMRC and GOV.UK 2026/27 rates
Rates verified: 6 July 2026
Quick Answer
PAYE spreads your tax-free allowance across 12 months, assuming you work all year. Stop working mid-year — redundancy, career break, study, retirement — and you have usually overpaid: tax deducted so far exceeds tax due on what the year will actually total. Claim with form P50 after 4 weeks out of work, or wait for HMRC's automatic P800 reconciliation after 5 April. Refunds are claimable for this year plus 4 previous tax years.
"Total pay to date" on your P45 or last payslip
"Total tax to date" on the same document
0 if you've stopped working for the rest of the tax year
Estimated Tax Refund
£1,114.00
Tax due on a full-year income of £18,000.00: £1,086.00 · deducted so far: £2,200.00
How to claim
Stopped working and not claiming benefits? Use form P50 after 4 weeks out of work. Otherwise HMRC reconciles automatically after 5 April and sends a P800 letter — claim the refund to your bank via your Personal Tax Account, or a cheque follows. Refunds can be claimed for the current year plus the previous 4 tax years.
Also commonly owed — check these:
- Uniform / work clothing flat-rate allowance — £60–£140/year depending on trade — claim 4 back years
- Business mileage paid below 55p/mile — Claim relief on the shortfall vs HMRC approved rates
- Working-from-home relief — £6/week if required to work from home
- Marriage Allowance not claimed — Up to £252/year, backdatable 4 years
- Professional fees & subscriptions — HMRC-approved bodies (e.g. NMC, UNISON sections)
- Emergency tax on a pension withdrawal — Month-1 code over-taxes one-off withdrawals
Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or tax advice. All calculations are performed locally in your browser — no personal data is collected or sent to our servers. Rates and thresholds are sourced from HMRC and GOV.UK and are updated for the current tax year. Always verify results with HMRC or consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
How It Works
Cumulative PAYE deducts tax each payday on the assumption that your current pay rate continues to 5 April. Each month you receive 1/12 of the Personal Allowance and 1/12 of each tax band. If your income stops part-way through the year, the allowance for the remaining months never gets used against your earlier pay — so the tax already deducted is too high.
Enter the "total pay to date" and "total tax to date" figures from your P45 (parts 1A) or your last payslip, plus any further taxable income you expect before 5 April (a new job, taxable benefits, pension income). The calculator works out the tax due on your true annual total — using Scottish bands if you select Scotland — and compares it with what has already been deducted.
How you claim depends on your situation. Out of work for 4+ weeks and not claiming taxable benefits: form P50 gets the refund now. Claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or ESA: the refund comes through the benefit office at the year end or when you stop claiming. Started a new job: give your new employer the P45 and the cumulative code refunds the overpayment automatically in your first payslip. Otherwise HMRC's automatic reconciliation sends a P800 letter between June and November — claim online to your bank, or a cheque follows.
Beyond stopped-work refunds, several reliefs are commonly left unclaimed and can be backdated four years: flat-rate expenses for uniforms and tools (£60–£140/year by trade), business mileage paid below the 55p/25p approved rates, the £6/week working-from-home allowance where your contract requires it, Marriage Allowance (up to £252/year), and professional fees or subscriptions to HMRC-approved bodies. The checklist below the result links to the dedicated calculators.
Watch out for refund agencies charging 25–50% commission for filing these free forms. Every claim here can be made directly through your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK at no cost.
Example: made redundant in September after earning £18,000
- P45 shows: taxable pay to date £18,000, tax deducted £2,200
- No further work planned before 5 April → annual total stays £18,000
- Tax due on £18,000: (£18,000 − £12,570) × 20% = £1,086
- Refund: £2,200 − £1,086 = £1,114
- Out of work 4+ weeks, no benefits claimed → file P50 now instead of waiting for the P800
Source: GOV.UK — Claim a tax refund
Frequently Asked Questions
- Am I due a tax refund if I stopped working part-way through the year?
- Very likely, if you paid tax while working. PAYE assumes your pay continues to 5 April, granting 1/12 of the £12,570 Personal Allowance each month. Stop earning mid-year and the unused months of allowance never get set against your earlier pay. Example: earn £18,000 by September with £2,200 deducted, then nothing — tax actually due on £18,000 for the whole year is £1,086, so £1,114 comes back. The same logic applies to students who worked only over the summer, people taking career breaks, new parents leaving work, and anyone retiring mid-year. Source: GOV.UK.
- How do I actually claim a PAYE refund?
- Four routes, depending on your situation. (1) Out of work 4+ weeks and not claiming taxable benefits: file form P50 online now, with parts 2 and 3 of your P45. (2) Claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related ESA: the benefit office repays through the benefit system at year end or when your claim ends. (3) Starting a new job: hand over your P45 — the cumulative tax code refunds the overpayment automatically in your first payslip. (4) Do nothing: HMRC reconciles every PAYE record after 5 April and sends a P800 letter (typically June–November) — claim to your bank via your Personal Tax Account, or a cheque is posted. Never pay a refund agency 25–50% commission for these free forms. Source: GOV.UK.
- How far back can I claim overpaid tax?
- Four tax years, plus the current one. In 2026/27 you can still claim refunds for 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 — the 2022/23 window closes on 5 April 2027. This applies to overpaid PAYE and to backdatable reliefs: uniform and tool flat-rate expenses (£60–£140/year depending on trade), business mileage paid below the approved 55p/25p rates, working-from-home relief where required by your employer, Marriage Allowance (worth up to £252/year), and professional subscriptions to HMRC-approved bodies. A four-year uniform claim alone is commonly worth £48–£112 in repaid tax at basic rate. Claims go through your Personal Tax Account or form P87. Source: HMRC.
- What is a P800 and when does it arrive?
- A P800 is HMRC's automatic end-of-year reconciliation letter, sent when their records show you paid the wrong amount of PAYE tax — either too much or too little. They are issued in batches between June and November following the tax year end on 5 April. If you are owed money, the letter explains how to claim the refund online to your bank account within about 5 working days; if you do not claim online within 21 days, HMRC posts a cheque (allow up to 6 weeks). If you underpaid, HMRC usually collects by adjusting next year's tax code rather than demanding a lump sum. Not everyone gets a P800 — Self Assessment filers reconcile through their return instead. Source: GOV.UK.