Income tax
Please note: With regards to tax payments, the University cannot offer advice on your individual circumstances, and you must contact an independent tax advisor. For all queries relating to individual tax codes, please contact the HMRC directly to ensure the correct code has been issued to you.
All employees and workers in the UK must pay income tax. In the UK, most employees and workers’ pay Income Tax through the Pay As You Earn system (PAYE), which means that tax is automatically deducted from your salary each month.
If you have not worked in the UK before, when you start work for the first time the University will provide you with a tax form known as a 'Start checklist'. You need to complete and return this to the payroll section within the Finance Division, who will then provide you with a tax code which will determine how much tax will be taken from your salary. You will also require a National Insurance Number (see below).
If you are resident in the UK and have income from another country, you may be able to claim tax relief or an exemption so that you do not end up paying tax twice. The UK holds double taxation agreements with a number of countries.
Tax year
The tax year in the UK runs from 6 April to 5 April. If you arrive in the UK mid-tax year, you only pay tax on the income you have earned since the date you started work.
Tax bands
The amount of tax you pay depends on how much you earn. These are known as ‘tax bands’.
These tax bands can vary year upon year. For further information on tax bands, see the Income Tax Rates section of the Gov.uk website.
National Insurance Number
As an employee you are required to pay National Insurance contributions. Your contributions are deducted from your salary before it’s paid to you. In order to pay National Insurance, you need a National Insurance number. This is your own personal account number and it never changes even if you go abroad or change your name.
If you do not have a National Insurance number you will need to apply to obtain one. You may need to attend an appointment (waiting times for appointments may be several weeks, but you can start work without a National Insurance number) or post photocopies of your documents. You’ll get an email telling you what to do after you’ve submitted your application.
Note: if you have a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP, you may already have a National Insurance number - this will be noted on the reverse side of your BRP.
For further information, see the National Insurance Number section of the Gov.uk website.