Questions, answered

The refund part isn’t. The interest added to it is taxed as savings income, and lenders take tax (22% from 6 April 2027) off that interest before paying you. If the interest is covered by your Personal Savings Allowance or the starting rate for savings, that tax can be reclaimed from HMRC. Our guide is car finance compensation taxable? explains the rules, and the Personal Savings Allowance guide works through examples.

Anyone whose car finance compensation included interest with tax deducted, and who was a basic-rate taxpayer or a non-taxpayer in the tax year they were paid. Higher-rate taxpayers can still be owed something on smaller payouts.

No. The rebate is a separate claim to HMRC. Your lender isn’t involved and your compensation doesn’t change.

Yes. Reserve your rebate and we’ll tell you when your lender starts paying. We file for the right tax year once your compensation arrives.

Every payout you received in the same tax year goes into one R40 claim, even if it came from different lenders.

If you file a Self Assessment return, the tax is usually reclaimed through the return itself rather than with an R40. We’ll tell you which applies before you sign anything. Our guide to Self Assessment and car finance compensation explains what goes on the return.

Sometimes. It depends on whether the compensation was paid before or after they died, and you’ll need to be the personal representative of their estate. Our guide explains how it works.

Scottish income tax bands are different, but savings interest is taxed using UK rates and allowances, so the rebate works in the same way.

Just the compensation you received and a rough idea of what you earned in the tax year you were paid. If you were paid in more than one tax year, add each payment separately, because each year has its own allowance.

That’s fine. Once you sign up, we can ask your lender for a copy, or for a certificate of tax deducted.

Then there is nothing to reclaim on that payout. Some payouts have no interest element, and some lenders pay interest without deducting tax. Our guide on how to read your compensation letter shows which lines to check.

39% + VAT of the repayment HMRC makes, plus a £35 + VAT administration fee per claim. The minimum total fee is £84 including VAT. Our fees come out of the repayment, so you don’t pay anything upfront. See our fees.

No. You can claim directly from HMRC yourself. We work out what you’re owed, prepare and submit the claim as your agent, deal with any HMRC questions and send you the balance.

Yes. You can cancel free within 14 days of signing up. After that, our terms explain what applies.

It varies through the year. HMRC publishes its current processing times on GOV.UK. We keep you updated at every stage. Our guide on how long an HMRC refund takes explains what can slow a claim down.

HMRC pays the repayment to us as your agent. We deduct our fee and send the balance to your bank account.

No. The calculator only needs the compensation you received and a rough idea of your income. We only ask for your name and email if you want to save your estimate.

Only to deal with your claim and keep you updated. Our privacy policy sets out exactly what we hold and why, and our cookie policy explains the few cookies this website uses.

Email us and a member of our team will handle it. Our complaints policy explains the process and how long it takes.