Hi, have just received a form P91 regarding my recent application for tax rebate for past tax year.?

Question

P91 is asking what I have been doing since 4th of May 2007 to 18th of September - the date when I started my new job (options - employed, self-employed, jobseeker, not earning). I have spent 4 months abroad on holiday not earning any money. If I tell them so, will this affect my application in negative way? What options would you suggest as the best? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

This is a common action by HMRC when you are due a repayment, and there is a gap in your employment history. What you should do is put on the form P91 for the period mentioned that you were travelling abroad on holiday, and not earning (if you earned any money that would be classed as foreign earnings, and you would be taxed on it, although you would get credit for any foreign tax deducted). This will only affect your repayment claim in a positive way, as without that information, tax office won't make refund, as they don't know what you were doing then.

Answer 2

The best advice is to be honest as anything else is fraud.

They are determining your income for the last tax period, in case you had a job in that period they didn't know about. If you tell them you were abroad and unwaged they can then calculate your entitlement, this will not have a negative affect on your rebate