A taxpayer contacted HMRC as they were due to be issued a payment
HMRC has explained the timeframes for refunds going out to taxpayers. A person contacted the tax authority as they had been told they were owed a National Insurance refund and that this would be sent out by bank transfer.
They said the payment was still “not received after 2 weeks”, and asked what the timescales would be for their cash to arrive. HMRC responded to state: “The likely time scale for these refunds are usually between 8 to 12 week.”
The Government websites explains that “you can claim back any overpaid National Insurance”. You may have overpaid due to having paid too much through your employment, or because too much National Insurance was deducted from your pension.
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Having received the response, the taxpayer asked for more clarity on the timeframes for getting their refund. They asked: “Is this after confirmation of refund rather than from the start of the claim process (which was 3 months ago).”
HMRC responded to state that “the standard 8 to 12 weeks is from when you receive the confirmation”. The Government website has a tool you can use to claim a National Insurance refund.
When using the tool, HMRC advises that “the fastest way of claiming a refund of overpaid Class 1 National Insurance is through your current employer, or previous employer if you’ve left that job”. Another thing to consider when thinking about your National Insurance is your state pension entitlement.
Paying National Insurance contributions builds up your entitlement to the state pension. You need at least 10 years of contributions to get any state pension, and you typically need 35 years of contributions to get the full new state pension, which currently pays £230.25 a week.
The state pension is expected to increase 4.8 percent next April, increasing the full new state pension to £241.30 a week. If you are missing contributions, you can voluntarily pay these, which may increase your state pension entitlement.
Under the current rules, you can claim your state pension once your turn 66. However, this is set to gradually increase to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028.
