What is P50?
Claim a repayment of tax?
The HMRC P50 form is used to claim a repayment of tax for the year or for an initial unemployment repayment when you have stopped working. A repayment of tax will be made up to the date that the form is submitted along with a revised P45.

When can I use a P50 form?
A P50 can only be submitted after your 4th week of unemployment. The P50 covers a number of circumstances and all of these are taxable benefits:
- If you return to full-time education (college or university)
- If you do not think you will return to work (redundancy)
- If you retire
- Your unemployment exceeds a period of four weeks
- If you do not claim Jobseekers allowance
- If you do not claim taxable incapacity benefit
- If you do not claim carers allowance
- If you do not claim contribution-based employment & support allowance
What do I do if I can’t use a P50 form to claim a tax rebate?
There are several reasons why a P50 cannot be used to obtain tax refunds. If you have a small pension lump sum you will need to use a P53. There are 2 options if you receive an occupational pension:
- You can apply directly to HM Revenue & Customs for a tax rebate after April 5th
- You can apply to your pension provider for the payment.
If you claim one of the benefits that we have mentioned above, then it will be Jobcentre Plus who will deal with your claim. Your claim should be submitted after April 5th or when your current claim ends, whichever one comes first. If you start a new job, your employer will be the one to sort your repayments through the PAYE salary system when you give them parts 2 and 3 of your P45.
What does a P50 look like?

Submit Your Claim
Do you work in lots of different locations to do your job and think you may be due a tax rebate? Well, find out whether you’re entitled to make a Tax claim by answering a few simple Tax-related questions below.
How Far Back Can I Claim?
Current legislation in the UK says you can go back up to four Tax years when claiming a Tax rebate. This means at the current moment in time you can make a claim for the following periods:
- Year ended 5th April 2021
- Year ended 5th April 2022
- Year ended 5th April 2023
- Year ended 5th April 2024
Effectively this means you can claim Tax relief from 6th April 2020.
Over such a long period of time wage slips and p60s can be lost or misplaced. This isn’t a problem as you have lots of ways to obtain this information.


What Can I Claim Tax Back On?
You can claim tax back on most work-related expenses. Below is a list of items that you can request a tax rebate on:
- Vehicles for work use
- Fuel/Mileage costs
- Travel expenses
- Overnight expenses (food in certain circumstances)
- Rail Tickets (single & season tickets)
- Uniforms, work clothing and tools
- Cleaning costs for uniforms
- Professional fees, subscriptions & unions fees
This list is an example of what you could claim back; there may be expenses & items specific to the job role that you could claim back.
Customer Stories

Civil engineer Dean claimed back over £520
Hi, my name is Dean and I work as a civil engineer. Richard contacted me via Linkedin regarding a tax return that I might be owed he took me through step by step and was always at the end of the phone to get me my return. Now I’m £520 better off thanks to Rich, great work Swift Refunds!
Dean, Civil Engineer
Plant Operator Scott claimed back over £2,000
Hi there, my names Scott I’ve been using Swift for the last 2 years, I’ve just got over £2,000, all you need to do is fill out the easy forms and Swift do the rest it’s really that simple.
Scott, Plant Operator
Am I Due Any Tax Back?
Most workers, whether employed or self-employed may be due a tax rebate for work-related items, expenses or because they have paid too much tax. HMRC do not know everyone’s individual circumstances, and it is up to the taxpayer to contact HMRC to see if they are entitled to any tax relief.
Other reasons for a tax refund may include pension payments, redundancy payments, interest from a savings account, PPI, or UK income if you are living aboard.
All claims for tax refunds and rebates are reviewed on a case by case basis. Use our tax claim form and answer a few simple questions to see if you could be entitled to make a claim.
