Tax Refund Estimator

Compare the tax already taken from your pay during the year against the tax actually due to see whether you are owed a refund or still have a balance to pay.

Need help with the calculation?
How is the tax due worked out?
Tax structure
Tax bands Each band has an upper threshold on taxable income and the rate charged on income inside it. The first band starts just above the tax-free allowance; leave the last band's threshold blank to mean "no upper limit".

Thresholds are measured on taxable income (income after the tax-free allowance). Keep them in increasing order.

Example setups and currency symbol
Example setups Illustrative figures only — not any country's real tax rules. Replace them with your own.
Refund or balance owed
0
Enter your income, rates and the tax already paid to see the result.
Taxable income0
Total tax due0
Tax already paid0
Tax already paid versus tax due
Tax already paid
Tax due
The gap No gap yet
Tax already paid Tax due

Both bars share the same scale. If the green bar is longer you paid more than you owed, and the gap is your refund. If the red bar is longer you paid too little, and the gap is the balance owed.

Step-by-step breakdown
Step Amount

Tax due is worked out on taxable income, then tax credits are taken off it. The tax already paid is compared against that final tax due to give the refund or the balance owed.

For beginners: how to read this result
Refund or owed is just a differenceA refund happens when the tax taken from you during the year is more than the tax actually due. If less was taken, you owe the difference. The headline shows which way it goes.
Deductions and credits are differentThe tax-free allowance and deductions come off your income before any rate applies. A tax credit comes off the tax bill itself, after the rate has been applied.
Progressive versus flatIn progressive mode each band taxes only the slice of income inside it. In flat mode every unit of taxable income is taxed at one rate. Both are your own figures — nothing is assumed.
It depends on what you enterTax bands, allowances and credits differ by country and change over time. Enter the thresholds, rates and amounts that apply to you so the comparison reflects your real situation.
This is an arithmetic estimate based only on the income, allowance, credits, rates and tax-paid figure you enter. It is not tax advice and not a filed return. It does not look up any country's tax bands, and it ignores social-security or payroll contributions, surtaxes, local taxes, joint-filing rules, dependants and special rates for dividends or capital gains. Confirm the correct bands, allowances, credits and rules for your situation before relying on these figures.
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To get a result, choose one of the example setups or enter your own figures: total annual income, the tax-free allowance and deductions, any tax credits, and the tax already withheld or paid in instalments during the year. Then pick how the tax due is worked out and the calculator returns the refund or the balance owed.

The two tax-structure modes

The mode toggle changes which fields are shown and how the tax due is calculated.

  • Progressive brackets — you edit a small table of tax bands, each with an upper threshold on taxable income and the rate charged on income inside it. Bands can be added and removed. Leave the last band’s threshold blank to mean “no upper limit”. The flat-rate field is hidden in this mode.
  • Flat rate — you enter one single rate that applies to all taxable income above the allowance. The bracket table is hidden in this mode.

How the math works

First the tax-free allowance and deductions are subtracted from total income to give the taxable income. Taxable income is then taxed: in progressive mode each band taxes only the slice of income that falls between its lower and upper threshold, and the band amounts are added up; in flat mode the whole taxable income is multiplied by the single rate. Tax credits are then subtracted directly from that tax, because a credit reduces the tax bill itself rather than the income being taxed. The figure left over is the total tax due. Finally the tax already paid is compared with the tax due: if you paid more than was due the difference is your refund, and if you paid less the difference is the balance you still owe.

Deductions versus credits

The tax-free allowance and deductions come off your income before any rate is applied, so they shrink the amount that gets taxed. A tax credit is different: it comes off the tax bill after the rate has been applied, reducing the tax owed unit for unit. The calculator keeps them separate so each is applied at the correct step.

The paid-versus-due bar

The visual block draws the tax already paid and the tax due as two bars on the same scale, with the gap between them marked as either a refund or a shortfall. If the green bar is longer you overpaid and are due a refund; if the red bar is longer you underpaid and owe the difference. The step-by-step table below it shows every intermediate number so the headline can be checked line by line.

What is not included

This is an arithmetic estimate and not tax advice. It does not look up any country’s real tax bands, allowances or credit schemes — every rate, threshold, allowance and credit is a figure you enter yourself. It ignores social-security or payroll contributions, surtaxes, local taxes, joint-filing rules, dependants and special rates for dividends or capital gains. Confirm the correct bands, allowances, credits and rules for your situation, and treat the result as a planning guide rather than a filed return.