my OH sent his self assesment tax return form to the inland revenue back in april, he knows he is due a refund but how long does this normally take, he knows they dont hurry but this does seem like rather a long time.
The last time I sent in a tax return (entitling me to to a refund) I posted the letter on a Monday evening and I had the cheque on the Thursday morning of the same week.
It's worth chasing up but Chris was either very lucky or it was a long time ago when depts were less busy.
Typically a few weeks is normal, depending on the tax office involved. I've seen them take months and yes, on rare occasions, I've seen them take days (although never as quick as Chris' one!).
tax returns are currently taking 6 to 12 weeks to process. If the refund is due to CIS contributions then there may be a security check involved to see if your figs match with the CIS system. (Sending a letter on monday and receiving the payment on thursday was probably just coincidence the payment was probably being processed before the letter was received we never answer that quickly!!!!)