A number of colleagues have contacted payroll as they believe they have been allocated the wrong income tax code in April, resulting in them paying more tax than expected. We appreciate this is frustrating for affected colleagues. This briefing explains what happens each year, and what you need to do if you (or your member of staff) believe you (they) are affected.

Background:

Each financial year, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) set income tax codes for all our employees, which they send to us electronically.

Our payroll team are legally bound to apply these tax codes. The team won’t know if the code is correct or not as it has been worked out by HMRC, and payroll don’t receive notification as to why it has changed.

What to do if you believe your code is wrong

The only way to resolve this is for individual colleagues to call HMRC directly (0300 200 3300), as our payroll team cannot alter tax codes and are not able to contact HMRC on behalf of individuals.