Apply for financial help for an employee tax refund

You can ask HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for financial help if you need to give an employee a tax refund and cannot pay for it yourself.

You need a Government Gateway user ID and password to apply. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you apply.

If you’re an agent use the email form instead.

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You normally take the amount of the refund off your next payment to HMRC. You can reduce your payment of tax, National Insurance, Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions or student loan deductions.

Apply for help if reducing your payment to HMRC does not cover the tax refund.

You should get the refund within 3 weeks if your application is successful. Most refunds are made within 7 to 10 days. You’ll get refunded faster if you provide your bank details.

If you need to give more than one employee a tax refund, send a separate application for each.

HMRC may reject your application if your payments are not up to date.

Through your agent

An agent can apply for you, but HMRC can only contact them about your application if you’ve used Form 64-8 to authorise them.