Help & Advice - RIFT Tax Refunds

It takes a few weeks to put together a really comprehensive tax refund claim.  As soon as you're happy to go forward, we'll send your claim to HMRC for approval.  It can take 8-10 weeks for the taxman to check your details and confirm your refund total, so the sooner you get us the information we need the sooner you'll have your money.

The best way to speed up your RIFT Tax Refund is to get your Authorising your agent (64-8) form back to us fast.  This is the form that lets us tackle the taxman on your behalf.  Without 2 physical copies of your 64-8 document, HMRC won't even speak to us about your claim.  It's annoying, but it's all about protecting you.

As soon as your refund's paid out, we'll either send you a cheque or pay it into your bank account if you prefer.  The choice is yours.

Have a look at our 'How Long Does A Tax Refund Take' page for more information about how long it takes to get your tax refund done and some pointers for how to make things happen as fast as possible.

Remember that you can claim for the last 4 tax years and you can make your claim at any time.

In HMRC's language, a tax rebate is "a refund on taxes when the tax liability is less than the taxes paid".  What it's definitely not is a prize or a dodgy way of ''cheating the system''.  When you're owed a HMRC tax refund, it's because you've already paid too much tax.

When you're paying your own way to temporary workplaces, the odds are good that you're owed some tax back for your expenses.  ''Temporary'' here just means it's somewhere you're working for less than 24 months on the trot.  It's worth making sure you get back what you're owed, too.  You can claim a tax rebate for up to 4 years, with an average 4-year rebate with RIFT coming to £3,000. This is based on average total claims data for a 4-year period. Refunds are subject to fees of 36%. Exclusions apply.

A lot of the time, people don't even realise how many of their day-to-day expenses qualify for tax relief.  Unless you prove to HMRC what you're owed, though, the taxman won't have the information he needs to settle up.  The tax rebate system's a little clunky in places, but RIFT's on-demand, 1-on-1 service means you'll never get lost or lose out. 

Just answer a few simple questions and we can tell you whether it looks like the expenses you've had to pay out in the course of your work meant that you may have paid more tax than you should.

You can also use our tax refund calculator to see an estimate of how much you could be due if you make a claim.

Our standard charges are:

• Tax refund if you're employed under PAYE: 36% of refund claimed (including VAT) Minimum fee £60 (including VAT)
• CIS Tax Refund including tax return: £330 (including VAT)

Don't worry if you had a mixture of self-employed and PAYE (employed by a company) work during the period you want to claim for. We can work out if you would be due a refund and let you know what the fee would be.

See our full list of services with prices and options.

When we receive your refund from HMRC we take out our fee and then pay it the refund to you. There are no up front charges to pay for anything. If you are not due a refund then there is no charge.

Before we send your claim to HMRC we sent a copy to you with a full breakdown of all the fees so you can clearly see:

• The total refund
• The cost of our service
• The VAT due (VAT goes to the government, it's charged on almost all goods and services)
• The amount you will receive
  
  

You will need to sign and send this back to us to say you have read, understood and agreed with it, along with a declaration that all the information you have provided about your claim is true. This means you will never be charged any fees you have not agreed to.

There are no further fees to pay, and no hidden charges.

All aftercare is included (if you need us to call HMRC on your behalf, if you have a problem you would like us to resolve with them, if your tax code needs correcting etc).

Your refund is covered by the unique RIFT Guarantee which means that whatever happens, your refund stays in your own pocket and will never go back to HMRC. If we fight any HMRC enquiries for you (which is included free of charge) and if they did demand any money back, we would pay back the refund to HMRC ourselves.

We will also send you a reminder when it's time to see if you have a claim next year.

You can reach us on the phone or Livechat   

• Mon-Thurs: 8:30am – 8:30pm
• Fri: 8.30am – 6:00pm
• Sat: 9:00 – 1:00pm

You can email us or send us a question or feedback through our contact page at any time and you can leave us a private message through our Facebook page.

A tax return is a form you use to tell HMRC about your earnings and expenses. It's a complete overview of the taxable income you've made and the costs of doing business you've faced.

A tax refund is money HMRC gives back when you've paid too much tax. There are several reasons why you might overpay, and you often have to file a claim and prove you did.

There’s basically no acceptable excuse for missing self assessment tax return deadlines, even if you don't owe HMRC anything. If you miss the deadline there are a number of self assessment tax return penalties that you could be hit with:

• £100 automatic fine for filing even a single day late,
• £900 in penalties can stack up over the next three months
• £3,000 for each year you can’t provide the necessary records

We’re here to take care of everything - from completing your tax return, through calculating any refunds due, to speaking to HMRC on your behalf. You can also get more self assessment tax return tips and advice here with some clear ''dos'' and ''dont's''.

Find out more about self assessment deadlines and penalties.