Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the agreed timescale is for HMRC to (a) process and (b) refund PAYE payments; and whether HMRC is meeting that timescale.

There are several triggers that result in PAYE repayments.

Where a customer submits a PAYE repayment claim, these are treated as priority post. HMRC have an agreed and published service standard to respond to 80% of priority post within 15 working days. HMRC’s performance has improved from 68.6% in April 2025 to 81% in August 2025.

Repayments can also be generated by the provision of updated information from third parties, including employers, and following the tax year end reconciliation of customer accounts. At the tax year end, HMRC proactively check customers have paid the correct amount of tax and this can result in repayments. HMRC aim to complete this reconciliation by the end of the tax year and did this for over 99% of customers last year.

Where a PAYE repayment is due, HMRC provides the customer with the calculation of repayment (form P800) and, where eligible, invites them to go online to receive the payment electronically.

Where customers claim PAYE repayments online direct to their bank account, HMRC aim to process these within 5 working days. In 2024/25, 99.2% were processed within this timeframe.

In more complex cases, for example where the calculation involves multiple tax years, HMRC will automatically send the customer their refund as a payable order within 14 days.