confused by HMRC UI: overpaid X, X will be due for payment?

Hi, I hope someone can clarify this for me as this year is the first time I've hit a payment threshold which meant I needed to do a self assessment. (I'm an employee, and only source of income is from my job) Having filled out my self-assessment, the end result was that it said I owed X thousand pound which I've paid. However a couple of weeks later I got a letter suggesting I should check my status online, and when I did, it said I'd overpaid, and was now due repayment, but the UI also still says X is due. For example, UI shows as follows: You have overpaid. £X is available for repayment. Request a repayment £X will be due for payment and a breakdown of this amount and when this needs to be paid by is outlined in the table below. (with due date noted as 31 Jan 2024) So my question is which is right? Should I request a repayment as this might have been an overpayment or is it just a quirk of how the system is setup and I shouldn't request a repayment as the amount is still owed? I hope the above makes sense, and thank you in advance Noel

Does any one have any idea on this or where I should look/who I should talk to, to clarify this?

Noel, You are almost certainly getting confused because you have chosen to pay your tax liability much earlier than is strictly necessary. I'm assuming this a return for 2022-23 and that you didn't need to file a return for 2021-22. In that scenario the tax due isn't going to be payable until 31 January 2024 at the earliest. If you have made the personal decision to pay the tax now, 6 months earlier than is necessary, then you have "overpaid" and HMRC are correct to say you can have a refund if you wish. They would be wrong to say otherwise. But if you decide to take the refund now you will have to pay the money back in January 2024 when the tax is legally due. About 45 days before the tax is due to be paid your payment will be automatically allocated against the tax due and the option to claim a refund will end. You may wish to check your current tax code on your Personal Tax Account and ensure it as up to date as possible, particularly in respect of your expected earnings.

Hi,

If there is an amount due on 31 January 2024, the system will not allocate any credit towards that until closer to that date. You can request a repayment of the full amount or leave the amount due 31 January 2024 there.

Thank you.

Hi Noel,
If you click on 'Ask HMRC online' and request to speak with an adviser you will be put into the Webchat queue and we can check the position for you.
Self Assessment: general enquiries
Thank you. 
 

@sportyfae and HMRC Admin, thanks for your replies - it all makes sense now. Seems like my eagerness to get any tax issues out of the way was the problem then. this is the first time I've had to do this (self assessment) so will know better if there is a next time. Thank you all again. :)