Find out who’s eligible for a refund

If you have deducted Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) from workers who attended a Widening Access Training course (WAT), both you and the worker could be entitled to a refund.

This is because payments made by employers to workers receiving full-time instruction can be exempted from Income Tax and NICs provided certain conditions are met. In these circumstances it’s up to you to take the correct deductions from workers’ pay.

Conditions

Workers must have attended a qualifying WAT course. They’ll also have had Income Tax and NICs deducted from their pay during that period.

If workers did a combination of paid work and attended a qualifying WAT course, they may also be eligible for a refund if you deducted Income Tax and NICs from all of their pay.

You can find full details of conditions in Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 and Statement of Practice 4/86.

Responsibility for refunds

Training courses attended before 6 April 2013

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will deal with the refund if your employee attended a qualifying WAT course starting before 6 April 2013.

You should submit claims to HMRC on behalf of your NHS employees, providing full details of all eligible workers.

Workers have been advised to contact you to confirm if you’ve already sent a claim to HMRC on their behalf. You may need to ask them for further information or evidence to support their application for a refund.

Training courses attended after 6 April 2013

If workers attended a qualifying WAT course starting on or after the 6 April 2013 the refund should be dealt with by you through your payroll system.

Training course only

If an employee attended a qualifying WAT course and is entitled to a refund, you should complete a Full Payment Submission (FPS):

1. Enter the full amount of training income paid to the employee in the field ‘Value of payments not subject to Income Tax or NICs in pay period’.
2. Enter the tax code for the year.
3. Don’t complete any of the NICs fields.

Training course and paid work

If the employee did a combination of training and paid work and is entitled to a refund for the training income, you should complete an FPS:

1. Separate the training income from the earned income.
2. Subject any additional earnings to Income Tax and NICs in the normal way.
3. Enter the amount of training income received in the field ‘Value of payments not subject to tax or NICs in pay period’.
4. Enter the tax code number for the year.

If you’ve already sent your final FPS for the years starting 6 April 2014 onwards, you should complete an Earlier Year Update.

Find out if you’re eligible for a refund

If you’ve received payments from your NHS employer whilst attending a Widening Access Training course (WAT), you might be entitled to a refund of the Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) you paid.

Payments made by employers to workers getting full-time instruction can be exempted from Income Tax and NICs if certain conditions are met.

Conditions

You may be eligible for a refund if you attended a qualifying WAT course and your employer deducted Income Tax and NICs from your pay during that period.

If you did a combination of paid work for an NHS Trust and attended a qualifying WAT course, you may also be eligible for a refund if your employer deducted Income Tax and NICs from all of your pay.

Getting a refund

Courses attended before 6 April 2013

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will deal with your refund application if your employer deducted Income Tax and NICs while you attended a qualifying WAT course before 6 April 2013.

Your NHS Trust will submit a claim to HMRC on your behalf. HMRC has asked trusts to provide full details of eligible workers, and will process claims when they’re received. You should contact your Trust and ask if they’ve already sent a claim to HMRC on your behalf.

You don’t need to do anything more if the Trust confirms they’ve already submitted your claim.
If your NHS Trust hasn’t already sent a claim to HMRC, request they submit a claim on your behalf for courses starting on or before 5 April 2013.

Your NHS Trust may ask you for further information or evidence to support your application for refund.

Courses attended from 6 April 2013

If you attended a qualifying WAT course on or after the 6 April 2013 your refund claim will be dealt with by your NHS Trust.

If Income Tax and NICs were deducted incorrectly from your pay while you attended a qualifying WAT course, your NHS Trust will deal with your claim through their payroll system.

Possible effect on your benefits and state pension

If you get a refund of NICs you might find that your National Insurance record is deficient. This could affect your entitlement to state pension and benefits.

You can pay voluntary contributions to make up any shortfall.

Any changes to your income can also affect your entitlement to Tax Credits.