Advice

The Union's very helpful staff at the Student Advice Centre are running Money Health Checks!

How healthy is your wallet?
As part of Leeds University Union's Skint Fortnight, the Student Advice Centre is holding Money Health Checks. These are running from 10.00am to 12.00pm, Monday 2nd to Friday 6th June but you can book an appointment in advance at the Union’s reception from Monday 19th May. The appointments will take in the Union’s Information Point with an advisor. Come along and we will help you working out income and expenditure, and provide you with some budgeting advice to minimise spending and maximise income! Plus you will receive a £5 voucher to spend in Essentials.

For more information about the Money Health Check sessions contact the Student Advice Centre by calling 0113 380 1300, emailing advice@luu.leeds.ac.uk,or pop into the office in the Union building. To book an appointment, contact the Union's reception on 0113 3801 400.


The Union's very helpful staff at the Student Advice Centre bring you...


Top Tax and National Insurance Tips

If you work and you are a student you are liable to pay income tax and National Insurance contributions on your earnings in the same way as other UK employees. Here are some key tips you need to know:

    When you need to pay tax
    Whether you work during the term-time or just in the holidays you will normally have tax and National Insurance contributions deducted from your earnings. However, everybody can earn a certain amount tax free in each tax year. This is known as your Personal Allowance. Each tax year begins on 6th April and ends the following April.
    (Also, if you are an entrepreneurial student/have your own business, tax may be due so have a look at the last Tax Tip below).
    Know your Personal Allowance
    The Personal Allowance for the current tax year (ending 5 April 2008) is £5,225. This means that over the whole tax year you can earn £5,225 tax free. All income over this amount is taxable.
    The tax system works so that, for collection purposes, the allowance is apportioned on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on how often you are paid. This is so that the tax free amount is spread across the year. So, it does not mean that you can earn £5,225 before you start paying tax.
    In the next tax year, 6th April 2008 to 5th April 2009, the Personal Allowance will be £5,435.
    How to get a Tax Repayment
    If over the tax year you earn less than your Personal Allowance and have paid some tax you can claim a repayment. To help you work out if you are entitled to a repayment you can use our tax calculator to help you; this can be found at www.studenttaxadvice.org.uk which goes live from 3rd March 2008. You will also find instructions on the site on what to do next.
    Look after your P45 & P60
    A P45 should be given to you whenever you leave a job. Keep this safe and give it to your next employer. And, if you are still working on 5th April, your employer will give you a P60. They must do this by 31st May. It summaries the amount you have earned as well as the amount of tax and National Insurance contributions that have been taken off your wages.
    Both of these documents are especially important if you find you need to claim a tax repayment, so always keep them safe.
    Know when you need a P38(S)
    This is the form for students who only work during the holidays and expect to earn less than the Personal Allowance during the tax year. If you think this applies to you, you should ask your employer for the form as it will mean that your employer does not need to deduct tax from your wages.
    But it should be pointed out that some employers don’t offer this option, as it’s a special arrangement that is voluntary for them. But it’s still well worth asking your employer for the form if you do only work in the holidays, and you expect to earn no more than the Personal Allowance as it will help you with your tax.
    Understand a bit about your tax code
    If you look at your payslip, your P45 or your P60, you may find a box called ‘Tax Code’. Most students will either see a 3 digit number followed by a letter (e.g., 522L) or just the two letters, BR. 522L means that you have your full Personal Allowance of £5,225 being taken into account when you are paid. (From 6 April 2008 this code would change automatically to 543L as the Personal Allowance will increase to £5,435).
    The tax code is used by your employer to work out how much tax to deduct. If you only have one job and your code is BR it is likely that you will have paid too much tax as BR means all of your earnings are taxed at Basic Rate (22% until 5 April 2008, 20% from 6 April 2008). This means none of your Personal Allowance is being used at that job. To get this changed you will need to contact your HMRC tax office and you can find details of how to do this at www.studenttaxadvice.org.uk from 3 March 2008.
    If you have more than one job it is often normal for one job to use 522L (543L from 6th April 2008) and the others to use BR. But even when this happens you may pay too much tax if you earn less than the Personal Allowance in the job that has 522L as the code.
    If you only have one job and the code is 522L then you are more likely to be paying the right amount of tax as your Personal Allowance will be taken account of before you pay tax.
    But do check whether you are paying the right amount of tax and whether you might be able to claim a repayment by checking out our online tax calculator at www.studenttaxadvice.org.uk (live from 3rd March 2008).
    For more information on tax codes have a look at www.direct.gov.uk/
    National Insurance – Do I have to pay it?
    Yes, your employer should deduct National Insurance contributions from your earnings whenever you earn more than £100 per week (or £435 per month) during the current tax year. This is known as the Earnings Threshold. But if you are paid no more than these amounts then your employer should not deduct National Insurance contributions.
    If you run your own business you may also have to pay National Insurance contributions depending on the level of your earnings from self-employment – have a look at our last Tax Tip at the end to find more information about being self-employed.
    National Insurance – Can I claim it back?
    National Insurance is different to income tax as your earnings are looked at weekly (if you are paid weekly) or monthly (if you are paid monthly) rather than assessed against an annual allowance like income tax is. So unless your employer has incorrectly deducted National Insurance contributions based on the above limits, you cannot obtain a repayment.

    If you have more than one job with separate employers who are not carrying on business in association with each other, each employer will look at these thresholds separately. So for example, if you had two employers paying you £60 each per week you would not have to pay National Insurance contributions as both employers are paying you below the £100 earnings threshold (even though the total you earn is £120). Again, this is different to income tax where all of your income is added together and compared to your Personal Allowance to see if you have tax to pay.

    In the next tax year, 6th April 2008 to 5th April 2009, the weekly National Insurance Earnings Threshold changes to £105 and the monthly threshold changes to £453.
    For more information about National Insurance contributions visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/nic.htm.

Ten budgeting tips to help you stay in control of your finances

    1. Look into getting a part time job. Remember the NUS recommends you don’t work more than around 20 hours a week. Check out Joblink on the ground floor of the Union building or online at www.luuonline.com/joblink.
    Also remember when you are working, you can't be spending!
    2. If you are struggling with any credit debts, take action before it’s too late. Look at the Advice Centre self-help debt advice pages at www.luuonline.com/help/money/debt.
    4. Invite friends over for dinner or, if you do go out to eat, look for the deals and offers within the Union, such as the Sunday Roast at Mine, or early bird specials such as 2 for 1 deals or ‘all you can eat offers’ at other local pubs and restaurants.
    5. If you find you are using your debit cards, and accepting cash back a lot, try just using the ATM. Put your weekly allowance away in an envelope - you’ll find it much harder to part with!
    6. Always shop around – this can be for gas/electricity (check your contract allows you to change supplier) mobile, telephone, insurance, internet and even clothes. Have a look at www.which.co.uk for household comparisons and www.ebay.co.uk for cheaper fashion.
    7. Plan your supermarket shops - make a list and decide what you need every week. Think about what meals you’ll be making. Try not to shop when you are hungry or you’ll come back with expensive treats you may not actually need!
    8. Stop smoking! This will make a huge impact on your wallet. If you usually buy a pack of cigarettes a day at £5 per pack you’ll save £100 a month! Think what you can buy with that! Get advice about quitting at online at www.gosmokefree.co.uk/
    9. Use student discounts where ever you can. Even if you don’t see them advertised ,it's always worth asking as you can get up to 25% off the price of food, clothes and entertainment in many city centre shops and venues. Check out www.nusonline.co.uk/cards/ for further information.
    10. Finally, learn how to budget! Even if you only do a budget once a month it will help you in the long run. You’ll get a better idea of what you have coming in and what you spend. It will put a brake on any impulsive spending and make your years at university more manageable. To get started and for budgeting forms check out the SAC budgeting pages at www.luuonline.com/help/money/budgetingadvice