How to Use HM Revenue & Customs Form R40 to Claim Back Tax

By Paul Geraghty, eHow UK

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If you think you’ve paid too much tax, you can use HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) form R40 to reclaim it.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Decide whether you’re going to reclaim tax for one year only or for multiple years. You need one R40 form for each year in which you plan to ask for repayment.

Step2

Get as many copies of the R40 form as you need. You can download it as a PDF file from the HMRC website (see Resources). If you don’t have access to a printer, you can request that the R40 be posted to you using a web form on the same site.

Step3

Get a copy of the R40 Guidance Notes. These will help you fill out the form by explaining what exactly each field means. These, too, are available for download from the HMRC site.

Step4

Fill in all the fields in the form which are applicable to you. Almost all of them relate to your sources of income during the year. Certain forms of income, such as scholarship income for students or the Winter Fuel payment for retirees, for example, are exempt from tax and do not need to be included. You can consult the Guidance Notes if you’re not sure whether one form of income should be included or not.

Step5

Submit the form together with all the required proofs of income. There is no annual deadline for this. Requests for repayment will be accepted for up to five years after the Jan. 31 which follows the April 6 end of the tax year.

Step6

Await repayment. HMRC say the standard wait time is around two weeks. They do ask that you wait at least four weeks before making a follow-up inquiry.

Tips & Warnings

You might need use an R40 form to claim back tax if you are an elderly person on a low income who has a significant stock of savings. Normally, income tax is deducted in advance on the interest you earn from savings. The assumption is that you will earn enough during the year to cross the income threshold at which you are liable to pay income tax. If your overall income is low, however, this may not be true, so you will have paid tax inappropriately and can claim it back with an R40.
Use form R40 only if you are a UK resident. Non-residents should contact HMRC for advice.