Tax if you work
PAYE takes into account the amount of pay and tax deducted since the start of the tax year so that the correct proportion of the annual lower- basic and higher-rate tax liability is deducted on each pay day.
Unless you are a company director, your income is very high or you have some form of untaxed income, you are unlikely to get a tax return.
National insurance contributions (NICs)
You have to pay NICs on your earnings and these are deducted by your employer at source.
Contributions you make to a pension scheme or payroll-giving scheme are included in your pay when working out your NICs and you get income tax relief on these payments, but not relief from your NICs.
Tax reliefs
You can deduct from your employment income some payments you have to make to do your work.
If you have to travel for work, whether or not your are reimbursed, you can claim tax relief on travel expenses, such as fares and the cost of accommodation and meals.
If you use your own car, van or bike for work you are entitled to a mileage allowance. You can't claim any additional tax relief to cover the cost of buying a car or for depreciation.

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Top Ten Life Funds
| Fund | Offer | 1y | 3y | 5y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBS Life Structured Credit A | 91.43 | 294.1 | n/a | n/a |
| Skandia Finland FIM Russia | 11.14 | 70.1 | -11.0 | 66.2 |
| Zurich American Property AL G4 | 43.20 | 67.9 | 22.9 | 28.7 |
| Skandia Finland Alfred Berg Ryssland | 0.87 | 63.2 | -21.3 | n/a |
| Skandia Finland JPM New European | 2.11 | 57.6 | -18.2 | 61.1 |
| Merch Inv Sanlam Global Financial S6 | 109.40 | 56.1 | n/a | n/a |
| Skandia Norway Alfred Berg Ryssland | 0.87 | 50.7 | n/a | n/a |
| AXA Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities | 221.10 | 50.7 | -10.3 | n/a |
| Winterthur JPM New Europe | 193.50 | 50.4 | n/a | n/a |
| AXA Jupiter Emerging European Opportunities PSB | 2.21 | 49.2 | -5.1 | 58.5 |
Tax planning in depth
WEBCHAT - Take tax action now - avoid paying too much tax! 9 March 2010
Perplexed by pensions? Confused by CGT? Stumped by self assessment? Billions of pounds of hard earned cash is wasted every year through unnecessary tax payments or failure to use tax breaks. But how do you ensure you are not paying more than you should?
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Guides
Using Business Property Relief
21 April 2009
Keiron Root looks at how business property relief can be used to mitigate inheritance tax
- Video: How to become more tax efficient 12 March 2009
- Where there’s a will... 26 November 2008
- Guide to inheritance tax 21 January 2008
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