HMRC are changing the way that tax refunds are made to the majority of taxpayers who make a multi-year P800 tax refund claim. Claims must usually be made no later than four years from the end of the tax year to which the claim relates.

Employees making a claim for a multi-year tax refund will need to request their repayment using HMRC’s digital services. They will no longer receive the repayment automatically by cheque. This change brings multi-year refunds in line with the wider P800 repayment process under which taxpayers must take action in order to receive money that they are owed by HMRC.

Once a multi-year claim has been processed, the taxpayer will receive a P800 tax calculation letter which will ask them to request their repayment. The quickest way to do this is through their HMRC personal account or via the HMRC app.

However, the taxpayer does not need to be fully set up for HMRC’s online service in order to request their repayment as they can request their refund using the online service on the Gov.uk website at www.gov.uk/tax-overpayments-and-underpayments rather than signing in through the Government Gateway. To do this, they will need the unique reference number in their P800 letter and their National Insurance number.

Taxpayers who are digitally excluded or who prefer a cheque can still get one, although they will need to wait longer for their money.