Overpaid PAYE Tax: How Can Employers Claim a Refund

07/01/2025 - 7 minutes read
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You can get a refund if you’ve made an overpayment on your PAYE bill for the current or a previous tax year.

Who Can Make a Claim for a Refund on Overpaid PAYE bill?

You can claim for a refund if you:

  • – have credit in your business tax account — HMRC may send you a letter to tell you about a credit
  • – don’t have credit in your business tax account but think you have overpaid
Overpaid PAYE Tax: How Can Employers Claim a Refund?

Overpaid PAYE Tax: How Can Employers Claim a Refund

Work Out Why You Overpaid

If you think you’ve made an overpayment, you must work out why you overpaid before you can claim for a refund.

To work out why you overpaid, compare what you’ve paid HMRC with what you owed in your tax account. You may have overpaid if your payments did not take into account:

  • – an overpayment carried over from a previous tax year
  • – statutory pay for parents that you were entitled to reclaim
  • – any repayments made to employees, for example because you used the wrong tax code
  • – any corrections to your reports
  • – student loan deductions
  • – employees who left, for example because you did not report them correctly to HMRC
  • – any incentive payments from HMRC to send reports online
  • – any Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions, or if you made deductions incorrectly

You also may have overpaid if you paid HMRC:

  • – for the wrong tax year
  • – more than once for the same bill
  • – an estimated amount in advance

For duplicated or estimated payments, tell HMRC what you paid, what you should have paid and why you paid the additional amount.

What You’ll Need to Claim a Refund on Overpaid PAYE Bill

To make a claim, you’ll need to give your:

  • – business name, telephone number and address
  • – business bank account details for the repayment
  • – PAYE reference number
  • – estimated overpayment amount

You’ll also need to tell HMRC:

  • – the tax year you’re claiming for
  • – why you overpaid

You’ll need to provide details of amounts owed or becoming due if you want us to deduct your repayment from:

  • – Corporation Tax — include your Corporation Tax unique tax reference
  • – VAT — include your registration number
  • – other liabilities — include type of charge and any reference numbers you have

HMRC will offset the amount against your PAYE bill in the current tax year. If you do not owe anything, they will offset the amount:

  • – against a PAYE bill from a previous tax year
  • – against other taxes you owe, for example Corporation Tax

You’ll only get a refund if you do not owe HMRC any tax.

We will request further details if your claim relates to a director. This may include:

  • – business bank statements
  • – personal bank statements
  • – shareholder minutes

You need to submit your claim with a completed form R38 or signed authority if you want HMRC to pay an agent or other nominated representative.

Claiming a Refund on Overpaid PAYE Online

You will only be able to claim for one tax year at a time.

To claim online you’ll need to sign in with your Government Gateway User ID and password (if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you first try to sign in).

If you’re an agent, you will need to use the Government Gateway user ID you use to sign in to your agent services account.

You can create an agent services account if you do not have one.

Claim now

Claiming a Refund on Overpaid PAYE by Post

If you’re unable to claim online you can claim by post.

To claim by post you’ll need to gather your information and send it to HMRC in a written request marked as ‘Employers PAYE Overpayment’.

Where to send your written claim for Refund on Overpaid PAYE bill

PT Operations North East England
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1BX
United Kingdom

What Happens After Submitting a Claim for Overpaid PAYE Refund

HMRC will check the details you submitted and contact you to confirm if your claim has been accepted, or to ask for any further information or supporting evidence.

If your claim is accepted, HMRC will send you details about:

  • – when to expect your refund
  • – any changes to your refund amount
  • – any liability payments we make with the refund

If you claimed by post or phone, find out when to expect a reply from HMRC.

Contact HMRC by post or through the employer helpline if you’ve been waiting more than 40 working days to receive your refund.

How MCL Accountants Can Assist with Overpaid PAYE Refunds

Contact MCL Accountants on 01702 593 029 if you would like us to answer your queries on on a Refund on Overpaid PAYE bill or if you need any assistance with the preparation and submission of your business accounts or self-assessment tax returns to HMRC.