Students that work may need to pay Income Tax and National Insurance. Employers are required to calculate the amount of tax they need to pay on the basis that the students would be working for the rest of the tax year.
This means that an overpayment of income tax can often occur when a student or temporary worker earns more than their monthly tax-free allowance of £1,048 but over the course of the tax year earn less than their annual allowance. For example, a student only working over the summer and / or Christmas period and earning more than £1,048 a month may not have exceeded the current £12,570 tax free personal allowance. Students (and other temporary workers) are not required to pay any Income Tax if their earnings are below the tax-free personal allowance, currently £12,570.
A refund of overpaid tax can be requested online or using form P50 entitled Claim for repayment of tax. You can check your eligibility to make a claim for current or past tax years at https://www.gov.uk/claim-tax-refund/y
A refund claim for the current tax year can only be made if you meet the necessary conditions. Any students that are continuing to work for the rest of the tax year in part-time jobs should consider waiting until the end of the tax year in order to make a claim.
