How to get a P85 tax refund when you leave the UK

What is form P85?

For most people who have come from overseas to work in the UK on a short-term basis, for example seasonal workers, form P85 is the form they need to get any tax refund they are due.

You can find the form P85 ‘Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK’ on GOV.UK.

There is a lot of confusion over the methods available to get a P85 refund. This seems to come from the fact that old versions of the P85 form requested bank details, so people naturally assumed that HMRC made bank transfers. However, this was because HMRC used to be able to post refund cheques direct to the bank to be cashed. They no longer do this.

And while HMRC make bank transfers for some refunds, it is still not currently possible for P85 refunds. They will only issue the refund by cheque.

There is also the added complexity that you might be overseas by the time HMRC issue your cheque refund – yet the cheque will usually need to be paid into a UK bank account…

Having discussed the situation with HMRC, here we set out our understanding of the options, and tell you about some changes to the refund process that will hopefully be coming in soon, and might make things easier.

Why you might be due a refund upon your departure

If you have been taxed under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system in the tax year in which you leave the UK, then you might be due a tax refund when you leave the UK.

This is because the personal allowance (£12,570 in 2024/25) - which is automatically given under the PAYE system - is usually divided throughout the year so you receive a proportion each time you are paid. If you only work for part of the tax year or leave the UK part way through a tax year, you may not have received your entire tax-free allowance and may have paid too much tax.

You cannot get a refund of National Insurance contributions.

  If you are only in the UK for a short period of time and don’t have any real connections here, you will likely be treated as ‘non-UK resident’ for tax purposes. We cover the rules around when non-residents are entitled to UK personal allowances, and cover what you might need to do to prove your entitlement to HMRC, on our website. 

Current form P85 process

There is a digital version or postal version available.

You can complete the form before or after you have left the UK, but it is probably easier to do it before you leave the UK if possible. If you do it before you leave the UK, HMRC say you must use the postal version. With the postal version, you complete the form onscreen, but then print it out and post it to HMRC. You can find some information about the questions form P85 contains, on our website.

You should send it to HMRC with parts 2 and 3 of your P45 from your employer (if you have them).

You should use tracked or signed-for post if possible. On the form, you will need to provide HMRC with your overseas address. If you come from a country that uses a different alphabet, for example the Cyrillic alphabet, you should write your address in the Latin alphabet on the form if you can.

  Keep a copy of the completed form P85 and all documents related to your tax refund.

How HMRC will send your refund

HMRC will send a cheque in British pounds (GBP).

As you may have returned to your home country by the time HMRC processes the form P85, you will probably want HMRC to send your cheque to you at your overseas address. You will then need to find a way of cashing your GBP cheque. Occasionally you might find an overseas bank that will cash a GBP cheque but usually you will need to find a way of getting your GBP cheque back to your UK bank. Unfortunately, as stated above, HMRC will not post your cheque directly to the UK bank for you.

  You will need to keep your UK bank account open after you leave the UK, so that you can pay your tax refund cheque into your account. 

Some UK banks allow you to send an image of smaller value cheques via an app. This means you can pay your tax refund cheque into your account digitally. If your UK bank does not offer this service or the cheque is high in value, you will probably need to post the cheque back to your UK bank to be paid in. Again, you should use tracked or signed-for post, if possible.

What if my cheque goes missing?

If the cheque goes missing in the post, you can ask HMRC to reissue it. You can do this via webchat, so that you can use a translation tool to help you if necessary.

You can find HMRC’s webchat facility (Ask HMRC online) on GOV.UK.

Future developments

From the 2025/26 tax year, HMRC want to introduce a UK bank transfer option for form P85 tax refunds. Under this option, once HMRC have processed your form P85, they will send you a letter with a special reference to your overseas address. You must input the reference into an online service on GOV.UK to select how to receive your refund. You will be able to choose a UK bank transfer or cheque.

You will need online banking for a UK bank account to get a UK bank transfer. However, you will not need to create a government gateway account with HMRC to use the online service.

Keep checking the GOV.UK website for updates as to when this service might start. For now, getting a GBP cheque is the only option.

Using a nominee

Another option is to ask HMRC to make your cheque payable to a nominee in the UK.

Friends or contacts in the UK may offer to be a nominee for you. This means your nominee will receive the refund cheque made out in their name and pay it into their own bank account. They should then transfer the money across to you. You will need to find someone that you trust to make these kinds of arrangements with.

Using an agent

You should be able to get your tax refund by yourself, at no cost. However, if you want to use an agent, that’s fine – just do your research!

Some agents may be able to offer you a valuable service, for example, translation services if English is not your first language. Or they may be able to act as your nominee to receive your refund, and then transfer your refund into your bank account in your home country. However, check their prices and terms and conditions carefully and bear in mind that their fee will most likely be deducted from the refund before they pay it to you.

  Please be cautious when signing up to use a tax refund company to claim your refund. Some tax refund companies are not reputable and might charge you a high fee for their service and/or cause you other problems. There is more guidance on tax refund companies, including how to find a good one, on our website.