Can I claim UK Tax Back without a National Insurance number?

You can make a UK tax back claim if you have left the UK and you’ve misplaced your National Insurance number.

It is always recommended to provide your NI number when making a claim but sometimes this just isn’t possible for lots of different reasons.

Claiming UK tax back from abroad

If you worked and paid income tax in the UK, then you have four full tax years to claim any tax back or tax relief, regardless of where you now live.

It is important to be mindful of the timescales HMRC give to claiming back tax to ensure you don’t miss out on what you are owed back.

I can’t find my National Insurance number…

It is still possible to make a successful tax relief claim without your National Insurance number. It just means that it may take a bit longer as HMRC seek verification of your identity and work history from other sources.

Top Tip
Your National Insurance number is often on other financial documents. Have you checked your P60s, P45s and old wage slips?

What UK tax reliefs can I claim from abroad?

There are many reclaimable tax reliefs, including (but not limited to):

• Non resident landlord of UK property.
• Personal Allowance; many people do not use their full Personal Allowance entitlement in the year they leave the UK.
• Non resident status.
• Taxable pension income from UK.
• You work in another country, but are a UK taxpayer.
• Work expenses, such as: membership fees to Trade Unions or professional bodies, using your own vehicle for work journeys, mileage, buying equipment and uniform, laundering your uniform. There are many more work expenses that may be applicable to your situation.
• You worked in the UK under a secondment within the last four tax years.

What paperwork do I need?

The more you have, the more it can speed up the claims process. P85, Self assessment tax returns and P45s are the main documents to start with alongside your basic financial information.

How much is a UK tax back claim from abroad actually worth?

Every claim is completely unique to that individual and a number of factors influence the outcome.

You can use our free UK tax back calculator to work out an estimation of what you may be owed for the tax year in which you leave the UK.