SACM12080 - Overpayment relief: Exclusions: Case B - Other relief available
See SACM12060 for how Case B applies to contract settlements.
If there are any other formal means of recovering an overpayment of tax or reducing an excessive assessment, the person must use that instead of overpayment relief.
For example, they may be able to obtain a repayment by making or amending an SA return.
Formal means of recovering overpayments: Before making a self-assessment return
In most cases where a person has overpaid income tax but has not yet made a self-assessment return, they will be able to recover the overpayment during the tax year, for example by
- objecting to their PAYE code (PAYE13075), or
- making a claim to amend their SA payments on account (SAM1001).
Formal means of recovering overpayments: By making a self-assessment return
After the tax year the person can recover the overpayment by making a self-assessment return.
Formal means of recovering overpayments: By amending a self-assessment return
If the person has made a self-assessment return for the year, they will not be entitled to overpayment relief if they can still amend their return to correct their tax liability.
Informal means of recovering overpayments: Without a formal claim
In practice, where a person has not submitted an SA return, we deal with many income tax overpayments through informal processes, such as form R40 for repayment of tax deducted from savings and investments, without asking for a formal SA claim or return, see SACM2010. A request of this type is
‘…a purely voluntary form. There is no requirement to fill it in and it does not form part of the machinery of tax collection. Secondly, it does not lead to an assessment of tax in the same way as a s 8 return does. If anything, it leads to a repayment of tax. Thirdly, it does not enable the Revenue to open an enquiry into matters disclosed on the form. If the Revenue wish to do so, their remedy is to require the submission of a return under s 8 and then to open an enquiry pursuant to s 9A.’
Henderson LJ Tomlinson v HMRC TCL 3807
Although they are informal, we only accept such requests if the person would otherwise be in time to make a self-assessment return or formal claim.