Tax Deductions on UK Pensions

[Desley Revell]

I promised to follow up and write on the process of obtaining a Tax Refund on Pension Tax Deductions in the UK.

I would also like to thank Paul Swain for his incredible help in guiding me through some of the processes.

Also a thank you to Valerie Young who went through a similar process and highlighted a couple of good points that assisted me.

My husband passed away in May 2023 and this saga has been going on since that time.

I have just received advice that a cheque has finally been issued by the HMRC for tax that had been deducted in 2023.

Let me explain some details which may help other Australian residents the process in getting this refund.

Once the communications was going backwards and forwards to the HRMC, it came to light that it was not tax deducted from my UK Pension (although this income was taken into account with Total Income received from the UK), but instead the Widows Pension I was receiving as my husband served in the RAF for more than 21 years.  The RAF Widows Pension (Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS)) is paid via Equiniti.

I will detail all of the communication that I had to go through as perhaps there are other people out there, who in the future, may find they have the similar scenario as myself.

I had written to Equinti in May 2023 about may husband’s death and then in August 2023 I first noticed the deduction of tax.

When I Wrote to Equinti, they advised that I would have to take it up with HRMC.  Equinti’s letter stated:

“This was due to the tax code sent to this office by HMRC after informing them that we were to commence payment to your widows pension. With regard to this tax deduction, it is a matter you will need to take up with them.”

Equiniti sent me a “P60 End of Year Certificate” detailing that tax had been deducted from my pension.  It showed the full amount of Pension for the Tax Year to 5 April 2024 and Tax Deducted.  This was the tax that I was trying to claim back as a refund.

In July 2024 I received a communication from HMRC advising me that my tax calculation for the year 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024, that I had paid too much tax and that the HMRC owed me a certain amount.

I was advised to get the Australian Taxation Office to complete a certificate of overseas tax release form and when this was sent to the ATO, they advised me that they could not complete this form and that I would have to fill out “Certificate of Residency and Certification of Overseas Tax Relief for individuals” form.

This was finally returned to me on 17 January 2025 duly certified by the Australian Taxation Office.

I sent this to the HRMC at Benton Park View, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE98 1ZZ  (the exact and correct address always seems elusive) with the following notation.

"FURTHER TO HMRC CORRESPONDENCE DATING BACK TO 4TH JULY 2024 ADVISING THAT THE HMRC OWES ME A REFUND, PLEASE FIND ATTACHED A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE “APPLICATION FOR RELIEF AT SOURCE FROM UK INCOME TAX AND CLAIM FOR REPAYMENT OF UK INCOME TAX” FINALLY APPROVED BY THE AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE ON 17TH JANUARY 2025.

 

AS I CURRENTLY DON’T HAVE A UK BANK ACCOUNT AND OVERSEAS CHEQUES ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE HERE IN AUSTRALIA, I AM NOMINATING MY SON, ……..., TO RECEIVE THE AMOUNT (£ …...) ON MY BEHALF.

 

HIS ADDRESS, AS NOTED ON PAGE 4 OF THE APPLICATION FORM, IS AS FOLLOWS.

 

…….

LONDON

ENGLAND

 

I LOOK FORWARD TO A SPEEDY RESOLUTION AND TRUST THAT MY FILE WITH THE HRMC IS UPDATED AND NOTED THAT I DECLARE AND PAY INCOME TAX TO THE AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE HERE IN AUSTRALIA."

The cheque has finally been received by my son in April 2025 and he will make the necessary arrangements to have it credited to my bank account here in Australia.

I do apologise for such a long post but maybe down the track, it might help another person in trying to claim a tax refund from the HRMC when they already pay tax in Australia.

Desley 

[JO ODDIE]

Hallo Desley

Thank you so much for posting this. My husband receives an Equiniti pension, so I will be keeping your email in case I should survive him. 

What a nightmare you must have had. I feel so sorry for you. Neither country seems to have been very helpful. 

Yours

Jo

Sent from my iPhone

On 18 May 2025, at 12:31, Desley Revell <desley...@gmail.com> wrote:

I promised to follow up and write on the process of obtaining a Tax Refund on Pension Tax Deductions in the UK.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "BAPA" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bapanews+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/570225C7-D369-4313-832F-88E173FAFBB1%40gmail.com.

[valerie...@bigpond.com]

Good morning Desley,

 

I have seen your comments on the site and I am pleased that you were eventually able to sort out the problems regarding Tax Refund from the UK Tax Office.   I am sure that all your comments will be helpful for anyone else being in a similar position to us.  Thank you for your mention in your email I am so pleased that I was able to be of some help as to what to expect.

 

Regards,

 

Valerie Young

--

[Roma Buddery]

the bad news is the uk pension is taxed in australia should you be over the threshhold

regards

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/008101dbcd08%2418d6e2d0%244a84a870%24%40bigpond.com.

[Michael Goodall]

Don't forget to remind your accountant that you are entitled to a Tax reduction, as many AU accountants have never heard of this.

Best regards,

Mike Goodall

Tel:-     +61 8 6364 0859

Mob:- +61 403 909 865

We are a word of mouth referral business. We appreciate you recommending our services to people you know.

---

From: 'Roma Buddery' via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, 25 May 2025 4:43 PM
To: valerie.young7 via BAPA <bapa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [bapanews] Tax Deductions on UK Pensions

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/6aec4eca-6852-4067-9009-36fee55c4f86%40bigpond.net.au.

[Marcus Wigan]

delay

I’ve been using OFX to do these sorts of payments from UK for years and they have solved a range of headaches with US banks as well. I’m sure your son will have plenty of options but this is just a suggestion as they operate well in uk and might even be a lot cheaper!

Marcus Wigan

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bapanews/PR1PR07MB505081D0E7FFD0BFE055DEA8D69AA%40PR1PR07MB5050.eurprd07.prod.outlook.com.