Tax back from the UK?

[TheRed]

I worked in London for over a year and then returned home to Ireland. I thought I'd be entitled to a portion of my tax back (Got tax back after working in the states and I understand you get your tax back if you work in Oz as well).
I filled out a form that I downloaded from Inland Revenue giving details of my employment, national insurance number etc. About two months later I got a cheque for a paltry £193. I thought I'd be getting at least £1000 in tax back. I've contacted Inladn Revenue and they said that they basically don't give any tax back when a non-national leaves the UK. I only received the cheque for £193 because I did quite meet my tax free allowance for that year.
Can this be correct? Why do you get tax back from Ireland, US and Oz when you work there and not from the UK?

 

[MugsGame]

When did you start work in London and when did you leave? If most of your 13 months there was within the same tax year, you'll get very little tax back. The same would be true for Ireland and (AFAIK) the US.

 

[ClubMan]

I thought I'd be getting at least £1000 in tax back.

Why?

The Ireland/UK double taxation agreement should ensure that you are not taxed twice on the same income. However whether or not you are entitled to a refund from the UK Inland Revenue or Irish Revenue depends on other factors.

If in doubt get independent, professional advice but if the Revenue services in both jurisdictions have all of your relevant info and you have inquired about refunds with both and this resulted in the £193 refund that that's presumably correct.

 

[huskerdu]

"Why do you get tax back from Ireland, US and Oz when you work there and not from the UK?"

If you work in Ireland from Jan to Dec and then leave, you do not get a tax rebate.
If you happen to finish work in the middle of the year, you are likely to have unused tax credits which will entitle you to a rebate, but the Irish tax authoritities do not give tax back to you, just because you decided to move away.