HM Revenue & Customs is urging forecourt retailers to remind students that they may not have to pay tax on the money they make from summer jobs.

 

To earn extra cash, many undergraduates take summer jobs. But large numbers are unaware that, provided their total earnings for the tax year are less than the personal allowance of £7,475, they will not have to pay any tax on the money they make.

 

To ensure their employers don’t deduct tax they don’t owe, students need to fill in a form P38(S), which they can download from the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/p38s.pdf.

 

Students who fail to fill in the form will not lose out, however, as they can reclaim any tax paid by sending HMRC a form P50, available online at www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/p50.pdf.

 

Stephen Banyard, Director General of Personal Tax at HMRC said:

 

“We don’t want students to pay tax when they don’t owe any, so we’re encouraging them to fill in a P38(S) and send it back to us. That way they can keep all the money they’re earning for student life’s essentials.”