£1.4 Billion Tax Owed To Britain’s Construction Workers

£1.4 Billion Tax Owed To Britain’s Construction Workers

With construction workers the first back after and during the pandemic property market boom, tax refund experts, RIFT Tax Refunds has revealed how they are also some of the most likely to be owed money by HMRC.

It’s estimated that one in three of us are actually owed money by HMRC, that’s almost 11 million people across the nation. However, RIFT’s research shows that the proportion of us owed a tax refund is far higher when it comes to those in full-time employment across the construction industry - as high as 83%.

Of the 1.39 million people employed full-time across British construction, RIFT estimates that just over 1.15 million could be owed a tax refund.

 

£1.44 billion

With the average one-year claim sitting at £1,244 per person, that’s just shy of a staggering £1.44 billion owed to those who kept Britain building during one of the most difficult periods in recent history.

Both the South-East (£216.3m) and London (£216.1m) are thought to be home to the largest levels of tax owed to construction workers, while the East of England (£177.5m), the North-West (£168.8m) and Scotland (£124.8m) could also see some of the highest sums refunded to workers in the sector.

 

North-East

Even in the North-East where the level of tax owed to construction workers is estimated to be at its lowest, RIFT still estimates that workers could be eligible to claim as much as £44.4 million overall.

 

 “It’s fair to say that the pandemic has been extremely challenging for a number of sectors but the construction industry has weathered a particularly fierce storm, having already suffered from a shortage in labour and a sharp increase in the cost of materials following Brexit.”

– Bradley Post 

CEO, RIFT Tax Refunds

 

Digging in

“All the while, the property market has been booming and yet further pressure has been applied to deliver a consistent level of new residential housing in order to service this unprecedented demand,” continues RIFT’s Post. “Rather than shy away from the task at hand, we’ve seen the construction industry dig in and deliver and the likelihood is that many are now owed more than just a pat on the back for their monumental efforts over the last two years.

“There’s a very strong chance that those working within the industry could be owed a tax refund if they paid for their own travel or wider expenses while working on site, regardless of whether they did so on a full-time or self-employed basis. The total amount owed could run into the billions of pounds across Britain and so it’s well worth a check to see if you qualify.”

Picture: RIFT Tax Refunds has revealed how construction workers are likely to be owed tax refunds by HMRC.

 

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
18th March 2022

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