A taxpayer contacted HMRC as they were owed some cash
HMRC has shared an update on the timeframes for paying out tax refunds. The tax authority outlined its rules for when payments should arrive in people’s bank accounts.
The clarification came after a query from a taxpayer who contacted the department. They asked how they could provide their bank details to receive an income tax refund they were due.
They said: “I was told I can do that on the personal tax account page, but can’t find any way.” HMRC responded by first asking the person for some more details.
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They asked in which tax year the overpayment was made, and whether they had received a letter from HMRC inviting them to claim online. The person confirmed the overpayment related to the 2006/2007 tax year and that they had been posted a cheque to their current address in Japan.
They explained they were unable to cash the cheque locally and requested the money be transferred to either their personal tax account or their Wise bank account. Wise is an international banking service that enables customers to manage multiple currencies within one account.
HMRC went on to advise the person to write to the department, providing their foreign bank details. The taxpayer was instructed to include some specific details in their letter, such as the bank’s name, their account name and number, along with the relevant sort code / IBAN / SWIFT / BIC / BSB code / routing number.
The person then queried whether they would need to return the cheque. HMRC clarified that this wasn’t necessary, as they simply needed to deposit the cheque at their bank, for the amount to be credited to their account.
In a follow-up message this week (November 5), the person said that they had indeed returned the cheque and that HMRC appeared to have received it on October 14. They mentioned seeing an online message indicating ‘completed’.
They also asked when the funds would be transferred into their account. In response, HMRC said: “Usually this should be actioned within 8 weeks from the date we received the request.”
If the request was received on October 14, adhering to the 8-week rule, this would mean the sum would be deposited into the person’s bank account by December 9. If HRMC received such a request today (November 6), this implies you would receive the amount by New Year’s Day (January 1, 2025).