UK Tax System Overcharges £3.5bn | “Side Hustle Scams” Cause £95,000 Losses | Economy Grows 0.3% in November
- TBA
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
More than 5.6 million people overpaid tax in the 2023/24 financial year
According to the latest data from the UK tax authority HMRC, in the 2023/24 tax year, more than 5.6 million people paid more personal income tax than they should have, with total overpaid tax reaching as high as £3.5 billion. Experts point out that the main reasons behind this issue are incorrect Tax Codes being issued and overly complex tax rules.
Tax Codes are issued by HMRC to help employers or pension providers calculate how much income tax should be deducted from wages or pensions. However, HMRC may make mistakes when issuing Tax Codes, which can result in taxpayers paying too much or too little tax.
Generally, Tax Code errors occur in the following situations:
The tax authority wrongly assumes an employee is still receiving company benefits such as a company car, private medical insurance, or a gym membership, when in fact these benefits are no longer provided;
Inaccurate assumptions are made about additional income, such as rental income, dividends, or self-employed income that has already stopped;
Confusion arises over the number of jobs a person has (for example, one full-time job plus several part-time jobs);
The payslip information provided by the employer is outdated or delayed.
Please note that HMRC rarely corrects such errors automatically, so taxpayers need to check for themselves whether their Tax Code is correct. For many people, this issue may go unnoticed for a long time.
We recommend that taxpayers regularly review their Tax Code and annual PAYE tax summary—especially if you are working part-time, have non-PAYE income, or receive company benefits—in order to avoid overpaying tax due to incorrect information.
Over £95,000 stolen from bank’s customers by ‘side hustle’ scammers last autumn
As this week’s Self Assessment deadline approaches, millions of self-employed individuals, landlords, and people with side jobs must complete their tax returns and pay any tax due on time and in compliance with the rules. At the same time, Santander UK has recently issued a warning, urging people who work part-time or have side hustles to stay highly alert to scam traps.
Santander UK said that, based on the bank’s data, between October and December 2025, criminals used the lure of “getting paid for completing tasks” to scam bank customers out of more than £95,000.
According to Santander UK, these scams usually attract victims with promises of “easy money,” such as claiming people can earn rewards simply by liking or sharing social media influencer videos. Scammers often pay small amounts at the beginning to create the illusion that “you really can make money,” gradually building the victim’s trust.
Victims may then be asked to:
pay an upfront fee in order to continue taking part in tasks;
download other messaging apps to contact a so-called “receptionist,” “mentor,” or other “members”;
open an account on a cryptocurrency platform and move funds according to instructions.
Scammers will persuade victims to use their own money to “prepay for tasks,” promising higher returns and requiring them to transfer funds into accounts controlled by the scammers. When victims try to withdraw their money, they are often blocked. Scammers commonly claim the victim has a “low credit score” or has “not met the withdrawal threshold,” and then demand more money to “unlock” the withdrawal.
Research shows that people aged 20 to 55 are most frequently targeted in these cases. Criminals often impersonate staff from legitimate companies, using fake identities and carefully scripted language to appear more convincing.
Dr Rasha Kassem, a senior academic and head of the Fraud Research Group (FRG) at Aston University, pointed out that genuine part-time work or side hustles normally come with clear pay, formal terms and conditions, and do not require any upfront payments. Fake side hustles, however, imitate legitimate work processes to make the scam look “harmless and trustworthy.” Even if you genuinely earn a few pounds at the start, the moment you are told you must pay first in order to continue, it should be treated as a clear sign of fraud.
Economy records 0.3% growth in November
Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the UK economy grew by 0.3% in November this year, outperforming market expectations. Against the backdrop of earlier speculation around the Budget, which was widely seen as having dented market confidence, this figure provides the Chancellor with some breathing room.
Industrial production rebounded compared with the previous month, largely due to the gradual recovery of manufacturing activity at Jaguar Land Rover after a cyberattack in August. On a rolling three-month basis, the UK economy grew by 0.1% in the three months to November, an improvement on the revised “zero growth” recorded between August and October.
Markets had previously expected the Autumn Budget to signal further fiscal tightening, including potential increases in income tax, prompting businesses and consumers to act more cautiously. However, as these tightening signals faded, consumer spending picked up. Between September and November, the services sector—the backbone of the UK economy—was the only major industry to record growth, with particularly strong performance in November.
Meanwhile, the construction sector contracted again, posting its steepest three-month decline in nearly three years and continuing to face severe challenges for more than a year. Housebuilding has been hit hardest. Weak business confidence and higher-than-expected borrowing costs have raised concerns that the government’s target of building 1.5 million new homes in England by the end of the current parliamentary term may fall well short.
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