All the refunds that could give you up to £1000s for Christmas - including council tax and student loan

Brits across the country could be struggling to find extra funds to help support their Christmas plans with the cost of living having hit many people hard. Fortunately, thousands could be owed a significant amount of cash through their bills and taxes.

For example, you may find yourself paying far too much on your council tax, ultimately leading to a significant pay out depending on how long you lived in your property.

Meanwhile, former students could be owed cash due to not paying the correct amount on their finance loan. For a full breakdown on all the refunds that could potentially pay you £1,000s, read below...

Council tax

You could receive some cashback on your council tax if it's found that you were overpaying it for an extended period. This often happens due to the fact that your home is in the incorrect council tax band.

Tax bands are dictated on the value of your property, with the following applying:

• Band A - Up to £40,000
• Band B - Between £40,001 and £52,000
• Band C - Between £52,001 and £68,000
• Band D - Between £68,001 and £88,000
• Band E - Between £88,001 and £120,000
• Band F - Between £120,001 and £160,000
• Band G - Between £160,001 and £320,000
• Band H - Over £320,000

However, it's important to note that these are based on the value of the property on April 1, 1991 and not the current value. Therefore, if you want to see if your property is in the correct tax band, you will have to search up what the property was worth in 1991 - you can do this a number of ways such as searching up the property on sites such as Rightmove and Zoopla, otherwise you can compare your tax band to a neighbour with a similar property.

If you feel that your home is in the wrong tax band, you can contact the Valuation Office Agency (VAO) at which point you can explain to them why you believe it is wrong. If it is found that you have been overpaying on your council tax due to this issue, you could be owed a significant amount of cash.

Student loan

If you've been to university, you could be due hundreds or even thousands of pounds in overpayments There are several reasons why people overpay their student loans. One is that ex-students have been repaying loans despite not earning enough in the tax year.

Another reason could be that you're on the wrong student loan repayment plan, started paying it off too early, or have already paid it off but are unknowingly still making payments. An important thing you should check is whether your total yearly income actually passes the threshold - if not, then you can reclaim.

It is also worth checking if you've been put on the incorrect student loan payment plan. Those who started university since 1998 should be on a Plan 1, Plan 2, or Plan 4 loan - the type will determine how much you pay on the loan. Check with your employer to see if you're on the plan you should be, if you were put on the wrong one you could be paying more than you need to.

If you have found that you overpaid your student loan, you can make a request for refund online. In order to do this you will need to sign into your online repayment account here.

Pension Tax

Approximately 64% of the UK's 12 million pensioners are taxed on their retirement funds, with projections signalling an increase by an additional 900,000 this financial year. This increment is linked to the standstill of the income tax personal allowance at £12,570.

Many retirees who pull out of their private or workplace pensioni might find themselves exceeding the taxable threshold. As a result, you can recoup any surplus taxes through GOV. UK forms P55, P53Z, or P50Z, depending on your pension drawdown details.

In some cases, waiting until the end of the tax year will generally result in HMRC processing rebates directly into the bank account sof those affected. Typically HMRC processes refunds between April 1 and June 30.

Full details of tax refunds, including forms available, can be found here.