Have you been taxed for your summer job?

Taking on a summer job as a student not only looks great on your CV after you’ve graduated – it gives you real work experience in your chosen field and gives you a feel of what your dream job is really like day-to-day.

One of the things it might also introduce you is one of the realities of being an adult – tax.

However, if you have taken a summer job and feel a sinking feeling when you receive your first pay cheque, don’t worry – you’ll more than likely to be able to claim that tax back.

The way that Pay As You Earn (PAYE) works is by giving you a personal tax-free allowance of £11,500 for a tax year – so you can earn up to £11,500 without being taxed. An amount of this allowance gets used every time you get paid. So if you earn £1,000 for a month’s work in the summer, your employer will calculate the amount of tax you should pay each month as if you were going to work for the remainder of the Tax Year.

However as your earnings are only from a short term job, perhaps a month or two, and you have probably not earned over £11,500 you are entitled to all your tax back.

The easiest way to claim back the tax which you have paid is by accessing your Personal Tax Account – our version of online banking for tax – and applying for an Income Tax refund via an automated P50 form.

Two important things to note though:

1. If you’re working part time as student all year round, you might earn over £11,500 which would mean that you are liable to pay tax.
2. Any summer work will not count towards your student loan repayments as you are still doing a course.

You might also find this video on our YouTube channel useful when starting your first job 

Remember – if you earn under the personal allowance, you have the right to claim back the money. 

It’ll make the memory of your summer job even sweeter.