Nurse's Accidental Discovery Leads to £2,863 HMRC Refund
A district nurse from Wales has issued an urgent warning for all workers to scrutinise their payslips after she accidentally discovered she had been overpaying income tax by nearly £3,000. Gemma Belby, a mother of four, found out she was being taxed "nearly double" the amount of her colleagues during a casual conversation.
"I Was Tearful All the Time"
Gemma explained her distress to the BBC, stating, "My colleagues had a bigger amount than me and I was like, why haven't I got that much?" She added, "I was tearful all the time. I was entitled to that money, I wanted to spend that money on my children at Christmas and I couldn't do that."
Initially, on 19 January, HMRC informed Gemma she was owed a refund of £8,194.96 for the 2024-25 tax year. However, after a recalculation, the actual refund was adjusted to £2,863.04, which she received at the end of January.
Delayed Refund and Public Warning
Gemma expressed frustration over the delay, noting, "When I rang up in October, I gave them my P60 figures and they could have just calculated the refund, and given it to me in October." Her clear message to the public is: "Make sure you check your tax code. Make sure it's right because if it's happened to me I can guarantee it's happening to more people."
Expert Insights on Tax Code Errors
Martin Lewis, the prominent financial expert from BBC and ITV, highlighted the scale of the issue, stating, "Millions of them are wrong each year. Legally it's the individual's responsibility to ensure their tax code is correct." He warned that incorrect codes can lead to overpaying tax or facing unexpected large bills, describing the latter as "a nightmare."
Lucy Cohen, co-founder of online accounting firm Mazuma, provided further context, explaining, "But sometimes they just go wrong. Sometimes it's a genuine admin error or a code gets issued incorrectly."
This case underscores the importance of regular payslip checks to prevent financial losses due to tax code inaccuracies.
