People may be owed thousands of pounds in tax refunds, but don’t realise it because they working full time.

The average applicant is missing out on £2,500 over an initial four-year claim and close to nine hundred pounds per annum, thereafter according to data from RIFT, tax refund specialists.

Those in construction, security, offshore oil, and gas or within the armed forces are likely to be most affected.

But it is not just those working on a self-employed basis that could be due a refund. 

Those fully employed within the construction industry could also be owed a considerable sum, £1,244 on average, according to RIFT.

CEO of RIFT Tax Refunds, Jan Post, said: “The thought of tackling the taxman can be a daunting one and so the vast majority of us don’t even consider whether or not we could be owed a tax refund, particularly when working within full-time employment.”

But, she said people do not consider the expenses they may have paid out while working, which would mean they are owed a rebate, “such as travel between numerous sites of work, related meals, or overnight accommodation.”

Ms Post acknowledges that these expenses are more prominent within certain sectors, but said:  “We frequently work with employees from all areas of life who find they are owed a considerable refund that would have otherwise gone unclaimed.”

Tough year for many as rents and utilities spiral

The report highlighted that many may be paying more than they should

The cost of living will continue to rise with rents going up by nearly a thousand pounds. The situation is caused by a substantial increase in utility bills.

Taxes make up a significant portion of people’s annual expenses, with the average person in the UK, paying nearly £ 6,400 per year.

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Feyaza Khan has been a journalist for more than 20 years in print and broadcast. Her special interests include neurodiversity in the workplace, tech, diversity, trauma and wellbeing.