The HM Revenue and Customs allows taxpayers to claim a tax refund if they have overpaid taxes. The UK citizens with tax liability need to tell the HMRC by 05 October 2025, and if submitting a paper check, they need to file it before 31 October 2025.
The taxpayers can file for the tax refund from now on if they believe they have paid too much, or they can check the HMRC account to see their processed tax returns. Taxpayers can identify the overpayment through the tax year tax documents or through HMRC tools.
HMRC presents tools for the taxpayers to easily navigate through their tax refund and claim it, whether you are a salaried employee, a retired senior, or a self-employed individual. The HMRC typically sends the tax refund in a week or eight weeks, depending on payment mode, and other factors, such as PAYE or self-assessment.
HMRC Tax Refund Check 2025
| Who qualifies? | UK taxpayers who made an overpayment on their taxes |
| Tax obligation | Above personal allowance £12,570 |
| Taxable Income under refund | Pension payments, Interest on investments, foreign income, self-assessment return, and others |
| 2024-25 tax year | 06 April 2024 to 05 April 2025 |
| Tax Return deadline to inform HMRC | 05 October 2025 |
| Paper return deadline | 31 October 2025 |
| Online return deadline | 31 January 2026 |
| Refund deadline | Four years |
| Refund Amount | Depend on overpayment |
| Official Website | https://www.gov.uk/ |
Tax Refund
When a taxpayer overpays taxes, HMRC processes the refund, which includes a refund on the following taxable income:
- You have paid from your previous or current job, both, which may lead to overpayment
- You have multiple employment in a year and are overpaid in taxes.
- You paid taxes on pension withdrawal more than expected.
- Your income from the pension annuity
- Foreign income when you live in the UK
- PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) Interest
- Living abroad and earning a UK income
- Income earned in the UK before you leave the UK
- Income reported in the self-assessment tax return
- Job expenses, like remote jobs, clothing, tools, etc.
Know if you owe a tax refund
The UK taxpayers can identify if they owe a tax refund or not through their tax information or HMRC Account. HMRC also sends the P800 letter (tax calculation) to the taxpayers when they are due a tax refund. Taxpayers who have not received the tax calculation letter and think they have paid too much tax can identify the tax refund in the following way:
- You can go to the official UK government services website and use the tax refund tool at https://www.gov.uk/claim-tax-refund.
- At the website, you can access the tool and click on the Start Now button, where you will have to answer some questions, which will help you identify if you owe a tax refund.
- Taxpayers need to create the government gateway ID if they do not have one and access the online services easily.
You can also check your tax refund eligibility via the HMRC mobile application and directly check your tax information for the 2024-25 tax year to see if the taxes were overpaid and you qualify for the refund.
Refund deadline
HMRC allows taxpayers to claim a tax refund up to four years, meaning the 2024-25 tax refund will be claimable till 2029. The opportunity to obtain the tax refund for the tax year may be lost if the taxpayers do not claim it within the four-year deadline.
Taxpayers can claim the HMRC tax refund for the following tax year based on the deadline:
- Tax year 2021-22 by 05 April 2026
- Tax year 2022-23 by 5 April 2027
- Tax year 2023-24 by 5 April 2028
- Tax year 2024-25 by 5 April 2029.
You can use the Extra Statutory Concession B41 rule to get your tax refund if you missed the deadline. This regulation states that you will only get your return if the government agency processed your taxes incorrectly, such as HMRC, DWP, etc.
How to claim?
The UK taxpayers can claim the tax refund online on the UK government website or through the HMRC mobile application. Taxpayer can follow the steps below to complete their HMRC refund claim:
- On the gov.uk website, go to the personal tax account, and click on the Start now button.
- Next, sign in to the personal tax account with your 12-character Government Gateway User ID and password created for the account.
- Once you sign in, you can look for the refund claim tab and submit your request, where you must choose your bank transfer or check with other tax filing details.
- Once you have entered all the details correctly, review your details and submit them to the HMRC to hear from them.
Important Note:
- If you are claiming a tax refund over pension withdrawals, you may have to use different forms, such as P55 (when full pension is not withdrawn), P50Z (when full pension is withdrawn), etc.
Once you claim the tax refund, the HMRC can respond back with the approval or other decisions, and if approved, you can expect the refund to be processed in a week for a bank account deposit or 8 weeks for a paper check.