PAYE Tax Refund Calculator (UK) — 2026-27
One in three UK employees may be due a tax refund at some point — usually because of a wrong tax code, a mid-year job change, or expenses your employer never repaid. This estimator compares the income tax you paid (box on your P60) against what the year's rates say you should have paid on employment income.
The estimate is an honest approximation: it cannot see benefits in kind, other jobs, or HMRC's own reconciliations. What it always shows is the exact arithmetic, and the free HMRC route to check for real.
Who commonly gets a PAYE tax refund
- You changed jobs and the p45 or starter process left you on an overlapping or emergency tax code.
- You stopped work part-way through the tax year and never earned the rest of your Personal Allowance.
- Your code included expenses, benefits or an old underpayment that no longer applies.
- You had more than one job at once and each was taxed as if it were your only income.
- You were taxed even though your total income stayed under the £12,570 Personal Allowance.
- You paid for work costs — uniform, mileage, fees — that no one ever claimed relief on.
What you need before you start
Grab the P60 from each employer you had in the tax year (or the final payslip if the year is still running), plus any P45 from a job you left. The two figures that power this estimator are the 'total pay' and 'total tax deducted' boxes. If you had several employers in one year, add their figures together before entering them — PAYE reconciles your whole year, not each job separately.
Can't find your P60? Your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK (or the HMRC app) shows pay and tax as reported by every employer — the same data HMRC uses.
How PAYE refunds actually happen
PAYE is a running estimate, not a final bill. Every payday your employer taxes you as if the rest of the year will look exactly like that pay period. Change the pattern — a new job, a gap, a bonus, a code change — and the running estimate drifts from the annual truth. HMRC's end-of-year reconciliation (the process that sends P800 letters) closes that gap months later; this calculator lets you run the same comparison today.
If the estimate shows a refund, remember the golden rule: claiming is free. HMRC's own service repays by bank transfer in days. Third-party 'refund agents' take 25–48% for filling in the same form.
What this estimate can't tell you
- Employment income only — savings, dividends, rental and self-employment income are excluded.
- National Insurance is not part of income tax and is not refunded by this route.
- HMRC's own records (including benefits in kind) decide the actual refund.
The free HMRC route
Everything this calculator estimates can be claimed directly from HMRC at no cost — usually online in a few minutes or via a short form. Refund companies charge a percentage of money that is already yours. We never handle claims and are not affiliated with HMRC.
Read the guides
UK tax codes explained in plain English
Every common UK tax code decoded — 1257L, BR, D0, D1, K codes, S and C prefixes, W1/M1 emergencies — and the warning signs that a wrong code is costing you money.
P800 tax refunds explained — and how to check first
What a P800 really is, when HMRC sends them, what triggers over and underpayments, how to spot fakes, and the free way to claim what a P800 shows.
How to claim a UK tax refund free from HMRC
Every legitimate UK tax refund can be claimed free from HMRC — online, by phone or by post. Exactly how, what you need, timings, and how refund companies really work.