This short video covers two important things you need to know about when you start work.
They’re your National Insurance number and your Personal Tax Account.
Let’s look at your National Insurance number first.
Your National Insurance number is sent to you automatically just before your sixteenth
birthday in a letter from us – we’re HM Revenue & Customs or HMRC for short.
Have you received yours yet?
If you haven’t, don’t worry. There’s information on how to find your National Insurance
number on the GOV.UK website.
The number isn’t proof of your identity but it’s unique to you - and it stays the
same throughout your life.
If you’re wondering what it looks like, it’s made up of letters and numbers, like
this.
Your National Insurance number is important because it links to the National Insurance
contributions you’ll make, from your pay, when you start work. That could be full-time
work, it could be a Saturday job, a holiday job or perhaps an apprenticeship.
These contributions entitle you to certain benefits, including (in a few decades time)
your pension.
You’ll also need it when you use some important government services – for example, applying
to the DVLA for a provisional driving licence.
There are other organisations that will need to know what your number is.
One of these is your employer, who will use it to make sure your National Insurance contributions
and tax are recorded correctly.
And the Student Loan Company if, in the future, you apply for a student loan.
You’ll also be asked to provide your National Insurance number if you use the online ‘Register
to Vote’ service.
And if you open an ISA savings account, it’s one of the pieces of information you’ll
need to give to the Individual Savings Account provider.
And, of course, you’ll need it when you contact HMRC and the Department for Work and
Pensions – for your tax, and any benefits you might claim in the future.
When you start work, you’ll be able to find your National Insurance number on your payslip,
your online tax account (we’ll tell you more about that in a moment), or on a form
P45 or P60 from your employer.
What’s important is that you share your number only with organisations that have an
official reason to see it.
The second thing you need to know about is your Personal Tax Account
This is a secure, online record of your tax and National Insurance payments that you can
access from your mobile phone, tablet or computer, whenever you need it.
You might be thinking that it’s not relevant to you at the moment. But once you’ve started
work you’ll be able to use your account to monitor your tax payments and refunds,
and to tell HMRC about any changes to your personal details, such as your home or email
address.
Just search for ‘Personal Tax Account’ on the GOV.UK website and follow the simple,
online instructions.
The very first time you access your account, you’ll need to provide us with a few bits
of information, so that we know it’s you.
One of those is your National Insurance number.
You’ll also need:
a phone, so we can send you a security code
if you’re in paid work, a payslip, so we can check a few details from it
and if you’re not working now, but you’ve done paid work in the past, you’ll need
to have your passport handy, to help us identify you.
Unfortunately, if you’ve never worked, we may not have enough information to be able
to identify you. But as soon as you start your first job, you’ll be able to sign-in
and get into your tax account anytime you want.
If you’d like to know more, go to the GOV.UK website.
Thank you for listening.