Home Home
  • Skip to content
  • Large text
  • Switch back to default page layout
  • Accessibility
  • Contact us
  • Site map
  • Home

Tax careers – your future?
Find out about exciting career opportunities in the world of tax and how to get started.

Tax for student money advisers
How you can help students with tax issues: guidance and training materials for advisers.

  • Tax essentials
  • Working
  • Volunteering and training
  • Tax credits and benefits
  • Tax refunds
  • Types of student
  • Going abroad
  • Other income
  • Student loans

May 2017 newsletter

Welcome to another newsletter from the Tax Guide for Students (TGFS) website. The purpose of the newsletter is to highlight any topical tax issues which may affect students, apprentices and student money advisers.

In this newsletter we discuss what tax information you may have received from your employer for the previous (2016/17) tax year and also what to do if you have not received or have misplaced your National Insurance number. We also link to recent news articles from the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG).

Tax information from your employer

If you are working part-time as well as studying or are an apprentice then you should receive a Form P60 from your employer by 31 May. This form is a summary of what you have earned in the 2016/17 tax year (which runs from 6 April 2016 to 5 April 2017) and what income tax and National Insurance contributions both you and your employer have made.

We recommend that you keep this form as a record of what you have earned and check it with your payslips, especially if your earnings fluctuate depending on the number of hours you work. There is more information on what PAYE (Pay As You Earn) forms your employer should give you on our First time workers page.

If you have received benefits in kind then your employer may also give you a Form P11D; you should receive this by 6 July. Benefits in kind are a part of your wages which are ‘paid’ not in cash but through a different medium such as private medical insurance or a voucher scheme. Not all benefits are taxable (for example, childcare vouchers for all eligible employees are non-taxable) and not all employers provide benefits in kind. If you do receive benefits then they may already be taxed through your payslip (this is called payrolled benefits), or if that is not the case then your employer should give you a Form P11D by 6 July after the tax year, so by 6 July 2017 for the 2016/17 tax year. The working section of our website explains about the different benefits in kind you may be provided with and how they are taxed.

National Insurance Numbers

Your National Insurance number (NINO) is a unique combination of letters and numbers and if you are aged over 16 years and you want to work in the UK then you must provide your NINO to your new employer. It is possible to start work without a NINO but you must apply for one straight away.

Never let anyone else use your NINO as it is a record of what National Insurance contributions you have made and what state benefits (including the state pension) you are entitled to.

If you are resident in the UK then you should receive your NINO in the post shortly before your 16th birthday, but sometimes this does not happen in which case you should contact HMRC to request your NINO. HMRC will never disclose this information on the phone but can send you correspondence confirming your NINO.

The contact details for HMRC to request a NINO if you have never received one and are under 20 years old are on GOV.UK. 

If you have misplaced your NINO then you should check any correspondence from HMRC, or old payslips and PAYE forms as these should state it. If you still cannot locate it then there are a number of different ways HMRC can confirm your NINO.

If you are an international student and your visa allows you to work in the UK then you will need to apply for a NINO. You may have already been allocated a NINO which is shown on the back of your biometric residence permit but if this is not the case you will need to contact HMRC to apply for one if you are living in England, Scotland or Wales. There is a different application process if you live in Northern Ireland.

The tax essentials section explains about what National Insurance is and how it is calculated; there is information for international students about what happens to their National Insurance contributions when they leave the UK.

News articles

LITRG website:

27 April – Shortened finance bill is passed by Parliament

4 May – Default ‘worker’ status is a smart move, says LITRG

10 May – New champion for taxpayers on low incomes calls for better tax guidance and support

15 May – Beware sophisticated phishing scams

(24-05-2017)

News

  • Any questions? I have almost finished repaying my student loan – how do I avoid overpaying?
  • Any questions? I’m a student moving home to start my new course – will I have to pay council tax?
  • Welsh income tax begins
  • Any questions? What is the personal allowance?
  • Any questions? Will my family still get tax credits if I am a student?
  • Any questions? National Minimum Wage for apprentices
  • Any questions? National Minimum Wage for apprentices
  • July 2017 newsletter
  • May 2017 newsletter
  • April 2017 newsletter
  • March 2017 newsletter
  • January 2017 newsletter
  • Postgraduate Doctoral Loans
  • December 2016 newsletter
  • November 2016 newsletter
  • Help design a new service for tax appeals
  • Students – how much tax are you paying?
  • I am a student – do I need to pay council tax?
  • Welcome - the National Living Wage!
  • HMRC to start sending out Scottish taxpayer notification letters
  • Autumn Statement – ‘security first’, but many low-income workers lose out
  • Do you live in Scotland? New Tax Guide for Students guidance available
  • Working during the summer – can you claim a repayment of tax?
  • NMW campaign – a chance for employers in the hair & beauty sector to ensure they comply with the law
  • Starting work for the first time? New Tax Guide for Students guidance available
  • Tax tips if you are working this summer
  • A mixed bag of a Summer Budget – but many low-income workers lose out
  • HM Revenue & Customs withdraw all 0845 numbers
  • Time is running out to claim your tax refund!
  • Are you a landlord? Happy that you have your tax affairs in order?
  • Finished working at your Christmas job? Make sure you have not paid too much tax.
  • Changes for the self-employed
  • Tax returns – do you need to complete one?
  • The Autumn Statement – how will the measures announced affect students and apprentices?
  • Celebrating Small Business Saturday, 6 December 2014
  • PAYE tax calculations – be sure to check yours
  • Claiming for repayment of tax when you have stopped working
  • Spending a year of your course abroad?
  • Increase in the National Minimum Wage
  • If you are disabled, make sure you claim all your benefits
  • Moving into new accommodation – what do you need to know about council tax?
  • Is something phishy going on?
  • Jobseeker’s Allowance – can you claim this summer?
  • Do you know when you start repaying your student loan and how much you repay?
  • Apply for your student loan now!
  • Are you being paid the National Minimum Wage?
  • Summer vacation work for students
  • Make sure you keep more of your wages
  • Claim your tax refund or lose it forever!
  • A Budget for earners and savers – but what of the lowest paid?
  • Press Release: Raise in threshold good but money could better help elsewhere, say charity
  • Tax scams can cost you – protect your cash
  • Follow us on Twittter
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • About this site
  • Contact us
  • Privacy and cookies
  • Legal
  • News
  • Links

© 2019 Low Incomes Tax Reform Group of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. Registered charity number 1037771
Web design by MID