Browsing Tag

tax refund

Taxes

Claiming A Tax Refund: Agency or HMRC?

If you are – or were – an expat living in a foreign country, it’s not uncommon for you to feel overwhelmed by an entirely new tax system. Many expats who have lived and worked in the UK don’t know that they could be due a tax refund, let alone how to claim it. Here we explain the two ways to claim back your UK tax refund.

What is a tax refund?

A tax refund is a repayment of PAYE tax that you have overpaid during the tax year. You might be eligible for a tax refund if:

You’ve only worked for part of a tax year
You’ve worked for more than one employer in a tax year
You’ve had two or more jobs at the same time
You’ve been taxed on a basic rate tax code
You’ve left the UK before the end of the tax year (6 April – 5 April the following year)
You’ve been on an incorrect tax code at any point in the last five years

In order to get your tax refund, you need to claim through an agency or take the solo route by claiming through HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The route you choose to claim your refund depends completely on your personal preference and what works best for you.

May 12, 2014

Taxes

Just In Time For The Holidays – HST Cheques

Ontario residents can expect the second installment of the HST transitional benefit within days. Starting Friday, December 10th the Ontario government will begin to distribute the second installment of the HST transitional benefit. The HST Transitional Benefit is a short term series of payments meant to offset the cost of the Harmonized Sales Tax that was introduced on July 1st.

Single people earning less than $80,000 per year receive $100. Families and couples earning less than $160,000 will receive $335. Ontarians earning more than the thresholds will have their benefits clawed back accordingly. In June, a survey by HarrisDecima showed more than 80 per cent of Ontarians didn’t expect to receive the HST benefit.

December 9, 2010

Taxes

What Will You Do With Your Tax Refund?

It’s tax refund season again and it’s always nice to get some extra money back from the government. We got a refund this year because we both contributed to an RRSP. If we had not contributed to an RRSP, we would likely have had to pay taxes this year as our employers only take off the bare minimum required from our paychecks to cover taxes.

Getting a tax refund due to overpaying on taxes throughout the year is a bad thing. It means the government has owed you money all year long and rather than it being in your bank account, the government has benefited from it. One way to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you is to make sure your employer only takes off the minimum required taxes. Some people opt for the maximum taxes to be taken off in order to ensure a tax refund at the end of the year. I wouldn’t recommend this option unless you know that you are a horrible saver and this is the only way you can save.

April 28, 2010

General

8 Things You Can Do With Your Tax Refund

1. Pay down high interest debt such as your outstanding credit card debt. As unappealing as this may sound, you will be much farther ahead financially the sooner you can get rid of your credit card debt or other high interest debt.

2. Put it toward your retirement savings, or if you haven’t started saving for retirement, start now with your refund money.

3. Build up your emergency fund. It is wise to have at minimum 3 months worth of monthly living costs saved up for a rainy day. Ideally, you should save 6 months worth.

4. Buy insurance that you would otherwise not be able to afford to protect your family in the event of illness or emergency. By using your tax refund, you don’t have to factor the expensive premiums into your monthly budget, making it much easier to keep your family protected without financial stress.

5. Service your vehicle. You may have neglected your car recently because you were strapped for cash. Now that you have the funds, take care of your car.

6. Do some home renovations that will increase the value of your home.

7. Put some extra money towards your mortgage. It’s always a great feeling when you can pay down your debt and think about how much interest you won’t have to pay!

8. If you have been really disciplined all year and already have an emergency fund and retirement savings plan in place, spend some of your tax refund on yourself! Enjoy a day at the spa or a meal at your favorite restaurant. Do something that you normally wouldn’t do and create a nice memory. Think of it as a reward for all of your hard work throughout the year.

April 29, 2009