It’s a common misconception to think, “I’m on PAYE, so my employer sorts out my tax and it’s always right.” In fact, over one in three tax reviews we carry out result in a refund for our customers. It’s clear that every taxpayer should take the time to check their tax code.

Your employer deducts tax from your wages using the tax code issued by HMRC. They’re legally required to use this code exactly as provided—they don’t check whether it’s correct.

If your tax code is wrong and you don’t spot it or tell HMRC, the wrong code will keep being used. HMRC also doesn’t automatically check that your tax code is correct.

The result? If you’ve been issued an incorrect tax code, your employer will deduct the wrong amount of tax from your pay and more often than not, it will be too much!