Post
by try-one » Fri Mar 14, 2008 6:14 pm
Running the risk of saying something that is not true, I will try to explain my interpretation:
When you work for a company, they take your gross salary and then they calculate your tax assuming the allowance during 12 months, that way your salary is the same all year long and not higher on the first months of the year and then goes up.
In my case, I started to work just two months before the april deadline for the tax year, so, the accountant calculated two months equivalent allowance (let's say £400 for arguments sake); that meant I didn't have to pay taxes on £800 of my income....so, when I got to my tax return I claimed some tax back because I had a £5000 allowance on the year, not only a £800 allowance as calculated by the average calculation.
Another example is, if you leave the country on month 5 of the fiscal year, then you could claim back the tax overpayment as you wouldn't have used all your £5000 allowance (exact figure can be found on the web), so when your employer calculated the salary during the first 5 months, they would have calculated an average allowance of £400 a month (£2000) and you would still have £3000 allowance left. In that case you can claim back the taxes you paid on those £3000 that you were entitled not to pay (let's say £600 is paid back).
So, if you leave the country in march, there is no tax to claim back, the sooner you leave on the fiscal year, the more money you can claim back.
From a tax perspective, you pay no taxes between £0 and £5K (I think), then 20% between £5K and £40K and 40% over the £40K mark, if you only earn £5K a year, then you shouldn't pay tax;....
back to your point, there is no option for you to claim taxes unless you leave the country for good...if you are planning to leave, then check the law and timming, it is better to leave in may than march.
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Life is a journey, not a destination (S. Tyler)
