What is the point in emergency tax?

I was on emergency tax for over a year and I never noticed.. ended up with a £2600 rebate (took about 6 months to sort out once i noticed)
 
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/emergency-code.htm

Emergency tax, as I said, is basically your personal allowance. It's essentially the same code most people who are not on emergency tax get, unless they have a lot of benefits or extra allowances.

If you're on BR... then either you ticked the box on the P46 saying you currently still have another job. Or you didn't fill in a P46 or hand in a P45. I think I'm right in saying that even if you don't yet have your P45, you should still fill in a P46.
 
BS, if it was up to the employee to look after taxes then the company should not automatically take and pay the taxes but should let the employee file the tax returns themselves

But .. since the company is doing it then it is up to them to get stuff right

It is not bull****. I said your tax code information, p45's and any resultant problems from your tax affairs in that respect, ie split tax codes for dual employments, losing forms etc. This has nothing at all to do with your employer. It has everything to do with you.

If you shove your P45 up your **** and don't bother to get a new one it is very much your fault and nothing what so ever in the slightest to do with your new employer. You can't then blame your employer for BR tax code. It has nothing to do with your employer, they are just the facilitator between you and the department for your tax affairs. Do you think they want to do this?

"But .. since the company is doing it then it is up to them to get stuff right"

The only thing your company can get wrong is incorrectly keying a tax code change notification that is sent for you to them by HMRC, or wrong yearly totals on your p45 if they still write them manually. But for this to happen is very rare. Any problems tend to come from HMRC.

Other than that, they have very little 'to get right'. They follow instructions from the department, and require the employee to submit their own tax forms as in p45 etc.

Companies are required by law to collect income taxes on behalf on the state.

This is coming from an ex payroll administrator and a hmrc officer.

So, I know who to listen too.

And that isn't you.
 
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No, its out of order when you've been taxed correctly all year apart from one month where they decide for no reason to change your tax code to temporary just to get some more money off you

If your payrol deparment changed your tax code without proper authorisation from HMRC then they are in the wrong.

Anything other than that, it has absolutely didly squat to do with your 'company'.
 
Nope - it is your responsibility. In 99% of cases, the company does everything for you, but it is your income, your tax and you have to sort it out for time to time. Every employed higher rate tax payer has to do this every year, along with every self-employed person.

If the company automatically pays tax to the government our of your salary then it is their responsibility to get stuff right

If you shove your P45 up your **** and don't bother to get a new one it is very much your fault and nothing what so ever in the slightest to do with your new employer.

It is their (the employers) responsibility to have all the correct information before they act (take money from you).

Equally they are breaking the DPA by not holding up-to date and correct information on you
 
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If the company automatically pays tax to the government our of your salary then it is their responsibility to get stuff right
They do it based on a fairly strict rulebook. The only people who can change what tax is deducted are:

- HMRC through P9 coding notices
- You, by handing in your P45 or fililng in a P46.
 
I think I may have a similar situation. Expecting 5 weeks pay (£1250), as I am earning very little and fall under the tax threshold for my 6 month contract - they said I won't be taxed. However the payroll system can't not tax so I would be taxed a very small amount (didn't state what) and it would be rebated after the six months. I got paid £950, 24% seems a little more than 'a little'. My guess is they only paid me 4 weeks pay (the 'little' tax been the £50 knocked off the £1k) otherwise I am being taxed 24% :(. The threshold is a little over £6k right (or is it £10k now)? Either way, earning £6k over six months means I shouldn't get taxed?
 
I think I may have a similar situation. Expecting 5 weeks pay (£1250), as I am earning very little and fall under the tax threshold for my 6 month contract - they said I won't be taxed. However the payroll system can't not tax so I would be taxed a very small amount (didn't state what) and it would be rebated after the six months. I got paid £950, 24% seems a little more than 'a little'. My guess is they only paid me 4 weeks pay (the 'little' tax been the £50 knocked off the £1k) otherwise I am being taxed 24% :(. The threshold is a little over £6k right (or is it £10k now)? Either way, earning £6k over six months means I shouldn't get taxed?
They're sort of correct. PAYE works on the basis you earn the approximately the same amount each month for the rest of the year - you don't get your £6,475 allowance allocated to one month.

You will also have to pay national insurance if you're over the Earnings Threshold for the pay period - you ain't getting that back.
 
Despite repeatedly sending off the correct forms for a change of tax code I have been given one which is miles lower than it should be, meaning I'm being taxed fairly heavily despite earning nowhere near the 6k a year. Wargh. PAYE is screwing me over massively over the summer as I am earning much more than I normally do due to not being at sixth form all the bloody time!
 
. PAYE works on the basis you earn the approximately the same amount each month for the rest of the year

BS, my current work seem to be perfectly capable of working around the fact that some months I work just 9 days, other months I work nearly every day.
 
BS, my current work seem to be perfectly capable of working around the fact that some months I work just 9 days, other months I work nearly every day.
That's because that how it works. It's not built to employ someone for 6 months. It's built to allocate all of your allowance over a 12 month period. If you earn more some months than others, this will even out to the right amount of tax at the end of month 12.

If you work for 6 months and then quit, it will likely over tax you - unless you're employed again in the year and hand in your P45.
 
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Perhaps someone in HR/your manager made an error or just doesn't like you. My old manager at Currys used to do it every month to annoy people. What a charmer he was.
 
It amazes me how many people do not understand their own Tax and NI, and the documents associated with employment.

You joined a new employer with no details but said a P45 will be produced so they start you on 647W1/M1 which is the "emergency tax code"; you then hand in your P45 which states on it your tax code is BR which means Basic Rate, this rate is usually used if you have more than one job, one job will have your tax calculated tax code such as 647L then any other job will have tax code BR.

What you should have done is looked at your P45 and thought "hmmmmm BR is the wrong tax code for me" instead of handing in your P45 which doesn't seem to be right, tell your employer you have lost the P45 and they will give you a P46 to fill in which will make HMRC produce a tax code for you.
 
It is their (the employers) responsibility to have all the correct information before they act (take money from you).

Equally they are breaking the DPA by not holding up-to date and correct information on you

Rubbish. Utter crap.

They can have new starts, if new start loses P45 (which is arranged after confirmation of their appointment) they are enrolled on the payrol system with BR after signing a p46 until they get another copy from previous employer.

DPA.. LOL.

Keep trying.
 
Looks like I have all this to look forward to.

Student, technically have 4 jobs on atm. At the student's Union I work in the shop and Reception, but since theyre the same company I just get 1 wage slip so didnt need to worry about splitting tax codes etc.

Just started two other seperate jobs, obviously didnt have a P45 so filled in P46s but left the tax code for the employer to fill, but obviously ticked that I currently have another job.

I know I need to phone up HM Revenue and Customs, but I was told to wait untill they had received the paperwork saying I was newly employed somewhere so they would have the details and I can split my tax allowance between the jobs.

Does this sound right?
 
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