Management Information Sheet

Please make sure your school staff are aware of this tax refund issue that could potentially affect everyone on the Norfolk County Council payroll system.

Briefly, technical difficulties involving a corrupt file in one of the council's monthly payment returns to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has ultimately led to HMRC working on the basis that your earnings for the 14/15 year reflect your earnings for 11 months, not 12. This makes it appear that you have overpaid tax for 14/15 and, as a result, HMRC are issuing refunds.

As soon as this is sorted out, you will owe tax and the underpayment will be taken from your salary, so our strong advice to you is not to spend it.

If your taxable pay influences any state benefits you get, please be cautious if you get an unexpected increase, as it could also be down to this problem and you may be liable to repay it. If you think you are or may be in this situation you can call the DWP general advice line on 0800 731 78998 or a specific advice line for people with queries about tax credits on 0345 300 3900. You can also phone HMRC direct about the refund you've received on 0300 200 3300

If your pay situation is complicated - or you have a question about the issue not covered by the information above - you can still call HR Direct on 01603 222 212, but as they are dealing with many calls at the moment, please don't ring just to let them know you have received a rebate, or to let them know you haven't.

If you received an unexpected tax refund this week, we have now received clarification from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about steps you can take

• If you want to send the cheque back - you can do so with a copy of your current P60, and with a covering letter. Send to:
  Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment,
  HM Revenue and Customs,
  BX9 1AS,
  United Kingdom
• If you have already cashed your cheque, you can either:
  • Wait to the next tax year to pay it back - by means of an adjustment in your 2016-17 code, unless the refund exceeds £3000, in which case, you will be required to make a direct repayment.
  • Or send a cheque for the amount now to the tax office (see address above). You will need to send it with a covering letter.
• If you have not cashed your cheque you can destroy it but you must advise HMRC - you can ring or write using the contact details on the link below - but please be aware if using the phone it can take some time to get through.

HRMC contact details for phone and textphone, including opening times, are available here.

Please make sure you quote your National insurance number in any correspondence or if you are making a phone call.

For more information you can go to the HMRC website . The relevant section is income tax - Tax overpayments and underpayments.

If your query is not answered in the information above you can still contact HR Direct by phone 01603 222 212, or by email.