How do I claim the tax deducted from my earnings?

Question

I am an international student studying in London. I work part-time in a chain of stores. From my earnings, 25% of it gets deducted as Tax(P.A.Y.E). I have heard that students can claim the tax back from the Inland Revenue and Customs. I visited the website but couldnt really find the eligibility criteria for the claims. I am a bit alien to how this system works in the UK. It would be great if you help me out with this. I am willing to further share details if required.

I am from India

Answer 1

It depends where you're from. Not everyone is entitled to a UK Personal Allowance. If you are an EEA resident (EU plus Switzerland and Norway) you get the allowance. Other countries may have it in their tax treaties.

If you do not qualify for the allowance you will pay tax on all your earnings. However, if they are taking 25%, that is actually a bit high.

The best thing to do (since as a student you probably don't have money to burn) is to go to an Inland Revenue walk-in centre. Take your payslips and your passport. Contrary to popular belief, the Inland Revenue staff can be quite nice (but then I'm biased because I used to be one myself).