How do I claim a tax refund from HMRC?
Answered 11 March 2026
The question "How do I claim a tax refund from HMRC?" is broad and the answer depends on the type of tax involved. Based on the available HMRC guidance, here is a summary by tax type:
HMRC Guidance / Practice
The method for claiming a tax refund from HMRC depends on the type of tax overpaid:
1. Income Tax / PAYE Refunds
The correct form or route depends on your circumstances:
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If you have stopped work or a pension and at least 4 weeks have passed, you can use form P50 to claim a repayment. You will need your National Insurance number, employer PAYE reference, and parts 2 and 3 of your P45. Only send the form once 4 weeks have passed since you stopped work or finished your pension.
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P50 should NOT be used if you:
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Received a Pension Flexibility payment → use form P55
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Are unemployed and expect a new job within 4 weeks → your new employer will repay via salary
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Receive an occupational pension → contact your pension provider
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Received a small pension lump sum → use form P53 or P53z
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If you are on Self Assessment, any overpayment is calculated through your tax return. You should include any repayment received on your next Self Assessment return. You can also ask HMRC to use your repayment to reduce your payments on account.
2. VAT Refunds
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If you have overpaid VAT on a return, you can report the error to HMRC online. You must provide details of how the error arose, the VAT period, whether it was input or output tax, and the amounts involved. HMRC can only accept a refund claim if all required information is provided.
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If you were wrongly charged VAT by a supplier, this is primarily a commercial matter — you should seek a refund from your supplier. The supplier can then make a claim to HMRC. Such claims are limited to a 4-year period.
3. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Refunds
- If you paid the higher rates of SDLT and believe you have overpaid (e.g. because you have since sold a previous main residence), you can claim a refund from HMRC via GOV.UK. Time limits apply:
- Where the sale occurred on or after 29 October 2018: claim within 12 months of the sale, or 12 months of the SDLT return filing date (whichever is later).
- Where the sale occurred on or before 28 October 2018: claim within 3 months of the sale, or 12 months of the SDLT return filing date (whichever is later).
⚠️ Important note on SDLT refunds: HMRC may process a refund quickly without first checking eligibility. This does not mean the refund has been agreed. HMRC reserves the right to make a compliance check for up to 9 months, and if the refund was not due, it must be repaid with interest.
Claiming on Behalf of Someone Else
If you are claiming on behalf of another person, you must apply by post. You can start the claim online to obtain a postal form, complete it with their details, and sign your own name in the declaration.
Note: The available sources do not cover all tax refund types (e.g. Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax). For those, you may wish to consult HMRC's GOV.UK guidance pages directly or speak to a tax adviser.
Citation sources
If you think you’ve been wrongly charged an amount as VAT by your supplier, this is a commercial matter. You should seek a refund from your supplier. If you overpaid your supplier and your supplier accounted to HMRC for a corresponding amount, they can make a refund claim to HMRC in order to reimburse you. Claims to HMRC by suppliers for amounts overpaid as VAT are limited to a 4-year period. Read section 4.7 for more information on the time limit for correcting errors.
If you fill in a tax return: do not include any estimated Self Assessment income in this claim, unless you want us to include this in calculating your repayment you’ll still need to pay any balancing payments owed and payments on account when due — you can ask us to use your repayment to lower your payments on account include any repayment you’ve received on your next Self Assessment tax return you must let us know when you no longer need to complete a Self Assessment tax return If you’ve got Pa
Only send this form when 4 weeks have passed since you stopped work or finished your pension. If you’re not a UK resident for tax purposes, you do not need to fill in this form. You can check how to make a claim under a double taxation agreement.
If a purchaser has paid the higher rates of SDLT and, as a result of Condition D, believes they have overpaid, they can claim a refund from HMRC. Guidance on how to claim a refund is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-duty-land-tax-online-returns. Where the sale of the previous main residence takes place on or after 29 October 2018, a refund must be claimed: within 12 months of the sale of the previous main residence, or within 12 months of the filing date of the SDLT retu
You must apply by post to claim on someone else’s behalf. Start your claim online and you’ll get a link to the postal form. Complete the form with their details and sign your own name in the declaration. If you want the repayment to be paid to you, find out how to receive tax repayments on behalf of others.
You’ll need: your National Insurance number your employer PAYE reference number — if you have it parts 2 and 3 of your P45 — if you do not have this, tell us why (for example, you may be retired, or a UK crown servant employed abroad) You’ll also need to confirm: the amount of pension flexibility payment and amount of tax deducted from it details of any income you’ve received since you stopped working and any tax paid details of any state benefits you have received since the start of the tax yea
You can report errors to HMRC online. You’ll need to include the following information: how each error arose the VAT accounting period in which it occurred if it was an input tax or output tax error the VAT underdeclared or overdeclared in each VAT period how you worked out the VAT underdeclared or overdeclared whether any of the errors resulted in you paying us an amount that was not due the total amount to be adjusted If you’re making a refund claim, we can only accept it if you provide all th
hinks fit.” 63. The reference to “before then” (which we have italicised) is a reference to para.6(1), sched.11A which is the provision requiring HMRC to give “final effect” to the claim. 64. By opening an enquiry into the claim, “final effect” to the claim could only be given once a closure notice was issued as per para.6(2)(a), sched.11A. 65. Ms Lutzuver acknowledged in her witness evidence that refunding an overpayment claim before determining whether the refund was actually due might appear
You do not need to claim on P50 if you: have received a Pension Flexibility payment and would like to claim a refund of overpaid tax — claim back a flexibly accessed pension overpayment on form P55 are unemployed, and expect to start a new job within 4 weeks — your new employer will make any repayment due to you through your salary claim one of the taxable state benefits — check the taxable state benefits you’re receiving an occupational pension — contact your pension provider who’ll make any re