Tax Refund Timeline UK: How Long Each Refund Route Takes

You've submitted a tax refund claim - now what? The honest answer is that HMRC publishes a fixed processing time for exactly one route, the P800, and for everything else it publishes a weekly estimate instead. This guide sets out what each route actually involves, what HMRC commits to, and where to look for the current wait.

To check whether the tax, NI and PAYE lines look right on your own slip, see How do I check my payslip is correct?.

The four refund routes and what HMRC publishes

An earlier version of this guide gave week ranges for the PTA, P87 and Self Assessment routes - 5 working days to 3 weeks, 6 to 12 weeks, 8 to 16 weeks, 4 to 6 weeks. HMRC does not publish those, so they have been removed. Our How long does an HMRC tax refund take? guide carries the same three published P800 timings, and our P800 guide explains the letter itself.

Personal Tax Account refund - what happens

The Personal Tax Account is where you claim a P800 refund online, and it is the fastest route there is. The published timing belongs to the P800, not to the PTA as such: once you claim online and choose a bank transfer, HMRC sends the money within 5 working days (HMRC).

The steps:

1. Sign in at gov.uk/personal-tax-account, or use the HMRC app. You need the reference number from your P800 letter and your National Insurance number.
2. Choose bank transfer (5 working days) or a cheque (up to 6 weeks).
3. Check the account details on screen before you confirm. Wrong details are the single most common cause of a refund going nowhere.

If the 5 working days have passed and nothing has arrived, ring HMRC on 0300 200 3300, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays (HMRC), with your National Insurance number and the reference from the letter.

If you have not had a P800 and think you have overpaid, use HMRC's claim a tax refund tool instead. That is a different claim, and it has no published processing time.

P87 expense claim - what happens

Used to claim tax relief on things you have to buy for your job and use only for work, where your employer has not paid you back: mileage, professional fees, uniforms, tools. HMRC requires evidence of what you spent (HMRC).

HMRC publishes no fixed processing time for a P87. What it publishes instead is a current estimate in Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC, under Income Tax, updated weekly. Check it on the day you submit and note the date it gives you; that is the date to chase from.

The sequence, rather than the schedule:

1. Submit. Online through your Personal Tax Account, or on paper. Online is the route HMRC asks you to use, and postal claims join a separate queue.
2. HMRC reviews the claim and may write to ask for the evidence.
3. The outcome. For the current tax year HMRC usually adjusts your tax code, so the relief arrives through your pay rather than as a lump sum. For previous years it either adjusts your code or pays a refund (HMRC).

Two things worth knowing before you claim. You cannot claim working-from-home relief for the 2026/27 tax year, though you can still claim for the 4 previous years if you qualified (HMRC). And if you complete a Self Assessment return, job expenses go on the return instead of on a P87.

Self Assessment repayment - what happens

Used by CIS subcontractors, multi-income earners, and anyone whose return shows an overpayment.

HMRC publishes no fixed processing time for a Self Assessment repayment either. The same reply-time tool carries a Self Assessment section, updated weekly, and that estimate is the one to work from.

The sequence:

1. File the return. The calculation shows your final position, including any overpayment, as soon as you submit.
2. Request the repayment. It is not always automatic - check the repayment section of the return and give bank details there.
3. HMRC may verify the return before paying. A first CIS claim, figures that do not match what contractors reported, or a large repayment are the usual reasons.

If the date the reply-time tool gave you has passed, ring the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays (HMRC). For CIS specifically, the CIS helpline is 0300 200 3210.

P800 (HMRC-initiated reconciliation) - when to expect

HMRC sends P800 letters between June and March after the tax year ends, not June to November (HMRC). For the 2025/26 tax year that means June 2026 to March 2027.

The letter tells you which of two things happens next, and each has a published time (HMRC):

• The letter says you can claim online. Claim by bank transfer and HMRC sends the money within 5 working days. Ask for a cheque instead and it takes up to 6 weeks.
• The letter says a cheque will be sent. You do nothing. It arrives within 14 days of the date on the letter. If you are owed for more than one year, you get a single cheque for the total.

There is no 60-day wait and no 4 to 6 week cheque: those figures appeared in an earlier version of this guide and HMRC does not publish them.

See our P800 guide for the full mechanics.

What slows down a refund

We have dropped the week penalties this section used to attach to each of these. HMRC does not publish them.

• Address out of date - HMRC posts cheques and coding notices to the address it holds. Update it in your Personal Tax Account.
• Bank details out of date or mistyped - check them on screen before you confirm.
• Verification - HMRC may check a claim before paying it, and will write if it needs evidence. A first claim, a large one, or figures that do not match what your employer or contractor reported are the usual triggers.
• Tax owed elsewhere - HMRC sets a repayment against an outstanding liability before paying anything out.
• Workload - this is what the reply-time tool is measuring, and it moves through the year.

What speeds up a refund

• Claim a P800 refund online by bank transfer. It is the only route with a published time, 5 working days, and it beats the 6-week cheque by a long way.
• Get the bank details right first time.
• Send the evidence HMRC asks for, in full, the first time. A second letter restarts the correspondence.
• Do not pay a refund company for a P800 claim. It takes a few minutes with the reference on the letter, and HMRC does not charge.

Tracking your refund

Your Personal Tax Account shows your PAYE income tax history and, if you are registered for it, your Self Assessment account. Sign in and look for the tax year in question and any refund activity recorded against it.

For a claim that is still with HMRC rather than paid, the thing to check is not a status bar but the reply-time tool: it gives the date HMRC currently expects to reply by, and it is updated weekly. We used to publish a "Submitted - Under review - Approved - Issued - Paid" status flow and chase-after windows of 2, 6 and 8 weeks. Neither is something HMRC publishes, so both are gone.

When to chase HMRC

Wait until the published time has passed. For a P800 bank transfer that is 5 working days; for a requested cheque 6 weeks; for an automatic cheque 14 days from the date on the letter. For any other claim, it is the date the reply-time tool gave you.

Then call. All three lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and closed on bank holidays:

• Income Tax, including PAYE refunds: 0300 200 3300 (HMRC)
• Self Assessment: 0300 200 3310 (HMRC)
• Construction Industry Scheme: 0300 200 3210 (HMRC)

Have your National Insurance number and any reference number from the letter or your account to hand. HMRC does not publish guidance on quiet times to call, so we no longer suggest any.

When a refund firm can help

For straightforward PAYE over-deduction or expense claims, you don't need a refund firm - the PTA route is free and fast. A regulated tax adviser earns their fee when:

• You have several years of CIS deductions to reconcile across multiple contractors.
• HMRC has opened an enquiry into a previous claim.
• The return itself is complex enough that you would want professional help filing it regardless of the refund.

Whatever the firm charges, it comes out of your refund. We do not publish a typical commission rate because there is no published figure to quote: get it in writing before you sign anything, and check whether the authority you are signing lets the firm receive the money on your behalf.

See our tax refund guide for the comparison.

Sources

All sources were opened and checked by PayslipIQ on 25 September 2026.

• HMRC (GOV.UK): If your tax calculation letter (P800) says you're due a refund. 5 working days for an online bank transfer, 6 weeks for a cheque requested online, 14 days from the letter's date for an automatic cheque.
• HMRC (GOV.UK): Tax overpayments and underpayments. P800 letters are sent between June and March after the tax year ends.
• HMRC (GOV.UK): Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC. Updated weekly; the only figure HMRC gives for a P87 or a Self Assessment repayment.
• HMRC (GOV.UK): Claim tax relief for your job expenses and working from home.
• HMRC (GOV.UK): Check how to claim a tax refund.
• HMRC (GOV.UK) contact pages: Income Tax, Self Assessment, Construction Industry Scheme. Numbers and opening hours.

Disclaimer

PayslipIQ provides automated educational guidance based on the figures you supply. It is not regulated tax advice. HMRC processing times vary with workload and the complexity of your record. For substantial overpayment disputes, contact HMRC directly via your Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account or use a CTA-qualified tax adviser for complex multi-year cases.