You cannot ask your employer to pay you tax free at any time unless you work during holidays only and your income for the tax year will be less than your tax allowances so that you can complete form P38(s). We covered this in the section on working during your holidays.

If you work during term-time your employer will operate the Pay As You Earn system for you in the same way as for other employees.

This means that your employer will operate what is called a code number on your wages to make sure you get your annual tax free personal allowance. Click on the link for information about how Coding Notices & code numbers work.

When you started the job - if you did not have a form P45 to hand in, then your employer should have asked you to complete and sign a form P46. He will then use this to ensure you get the correct code number to operate on your wages.

Use the link to find out more information on how to complete form P46.

From 6 April 2009 if your employer has more than 50 employees or from 6 April 2011 if he has less than 50 - the way the P46 information is filed with HMRC is changing. You will no longer be required to complete the pre-printed form P46 but you will have to supply your employer with the same information that used to be on the form. They must get this information directly from you (not e.g. third hand via your manager) and they must keep a record of the facts and how they got them.

In the meantime your employer will use what is called an emergency code. This will ensure that you will get a proportion of your tax free personal allowance each payday so that you will only pay tax on the balance. However an emergency code does not take into account any surplus allowances you may have from earlier weeks when you did not work nor does it take into account any tax you have already paid.

Everyone is entitled to receive £6,035 of income for 2008/09 without paying any tax - your tax free personal allowance - you the pay 20% basic rate tax on the remainder of your wages.

If this is not your only job your employer will by law be obliged to take basic rate tax at 20% from the wages he pays to you.

Once your code number is corrected - this will then look at the whole of the 2008/09 not just each week or month in isolation and you may automatically get a refund of the tax you have already had deducted.

To find out about getting a repayment have a look here and there is more information on the Revenue student website - this explains what to do and you can also download repayment claim forms from there.

You might also find it useful to read our article on student employment - Some crumbs of comfort for students, but tax is still a problem.