Getting an income tax repayment when you are leaving the UK
Many international students fail to claim a repayment of tax to which they are entitled when leaving the UK (for example, returning home when they have finished their studies).
Many students when they work in the UK do so for only part of the year or they work part-time in several jobs. When this happens our Pay as You Earn (PAYE) system in the UK finds it difficult to deduct the right amount of tax and normally deducts too much.
Shortly before you leave the UK you should complete a form P85 which tells HMRC that you are leaving the UK and makes a claim for repayment of taxes overpaid.
If you may have overpaid taxes in more than one year of your stay in the UK this is the time to tell HMRC and ask them to repay you for all the years involved.
Beware various companies (often advertising online) which offer to claim back these taxes on your behalf - many are not reputable and others may charge you high fees for a service that you can easily do for yourself.
National Insurance Contributions (NIC) paid in the UK
Our section on Working while studying provided guidance as to what happens if you have paid UK NIC and then need to claim benefits when you return home. You will not usually be able to get a refund of NIC you have paid while you were here, but might be able to have them taken into account on your contributions record in your home country.
VAT
Read our earlier guidance on getting VAT refunded on things you buy if you do not come from an European Community (EC) country.
What happens to my student loan when I return home to work after I finish my course?
Only limited categories of student are eligible for UK student loans (e.g. British citizens and people with settled status, EEA migrant workers, refugees etc, who may also have to meet additional requirements. These further conditions may involve being ordinarily resident in the UK or EEA for 3 years). Most international students therefore cannot get a student loan. You can find out more about your eligibility for UK student support by looking at the British Council Student Support information.
If you are eligible to take out a UK student loan, you will have to make repayments in the same way as any other UK borrower if you come within the UK tax system after you finish your course (for example if you find a job in the UK after leaving your studies). More details can be found in our student loans section.
But if you leave the UK after you finish your course, you must inform the Student Loans Company – again, more details can be found via the Going abroad section of our student loans material.
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