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RM 6: Refunds after 4-year period ends
or “Rule for getting tax refunds after 4 years has been removed”

You could also call this:

“Getting money back if you've overpaid tax instalments using the AIM method”

If you use the AIM method for your taxes in a tax year, you might get a refund. The Commissioner will give you a refund if you’ve paid too much in your instalments. To get this refund, you need to give the Commissioner some information in a special form. This form is described in section 45 of the Tax Administration Act 1994.

The amount you get back is worked out using a simple sum. It’s the difference between what you’ve actually paid so far this tax year and what you should have paid according to the AIM method. The Commissioner looks at all your payments up to the end of your last instalment period.

To figure out what you should have paid, they use the AIM method to calculate your tax for the period from the start of the tax year to the end of your last instalment period. If you’ve paid more than this amount, you’ll get the extra money back as a refund.

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Next up: RM 7: Refunds to PAYE intermediaries

or “How refunds work when your employer uses a tax payment service”

Part R General collection rules
Refunds

RM 6BRefunds for overpaid AIM method instalments

  1. The Commissioner must refund to a person the amount given by the formula in subsection (2), if the person uses the AIM method for a tax year and gives the Commissioner the required information in the form prescribed under section 45 of the Tax Administration Act 1994 (the form).

  2. For the purposes of subsection (1) the refund amount is—

    AIM payments year to date − AIM year to date.

    Where:

    • In the formula,—

    • AIM payments year to date means the amount of provisional tax paid by the person for the tax year on and before the last day of the instalment period that the form relates to:
      1. AIM year to date means the amount of provisional tax liability that the person would have if the AIM method was applied for the period starting at the beginning of the tax year and finishing on the last day of the instalment period that the form relates to.
        Notes
        • Section RM 6B: inserted, on , by section 41(1) (and see section 41(2) for application) of the Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Act 2017 (2017 No 3).