UK Banks

[overherebc]

Do banks in UK inform H M Revenue of interest made on UK Accounts. ?

[overherebc]

Can now finish the question, domestic intdruption!

Just had notification on interest made and tax deducted etc.

Mentioned pensions, my only UK income. But, also mentions Bank or Building Society interest and tax deducted.

Strange as I am unaware of any Bank or Building Society accounts I hold in UK.

Don't know of any rich relatives who have passed away and left me their fortune 'nice dream'.

Where would you surmise the info comes from?

Or is HMR&C playing at something ?

[topt]

Can now finish the question, domestic intdruption!

Just had notification on interest made and tax deducted etc.

Mentioned pensions, my only UK income. But, also mentions Bank or Building Society interest and tax deducted.

Strange as I am unaware of any Bank or Building Society accounts I hold in UK.

Don't know of any rich relatives who have passed away and left me their fortune 'nice dream'.

Where would you surmise the info comes from?

Or is HMR&C playing at something ?

OP presume this is a letter from HMRC and is it to you in Thailand or a UK address?

Do you mean they have sent you a notification with actual figures for interest paid and tax deducted or are they asking you to complete the figures for them?

[overherebc]

Letter posted to me with figures quoted.

Showing I overpaid tax on Bank and Building Society Interest, as I said I have no memory or knowledge of UK accounts.

Cheque enclosed for the amount due to me. !!!!!

[blackcab]

Yes they do, and they are legally required to. The primary legislation for this is the Taxes Management Act 1970, Sections 17 and 18:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/9/section/17/enacted

Generally, however, HMRC only bother with interest of more than £15 per year. I would consider contacting HMRC to resolve this so it doesn't come back to bite you.

[overherebc]

The confusiing part is the cheque made out to me. No it's not hand written, in case anyone asks, and the figure of over 2000 sterling in interest made in one year.

At UK interest rates it's a substantial amount in an account that I can't remember.

?????.

[Jip99]

Just contact them and say you think they have made a mistake.

[overherebc]

I really think they have, the strange part is where did their info come from and who supplied it or do they just make things up ?

If they were asking me for money I would have been on the phone already but they are saying they have a record of me paying too much tax and have set a rebate cheque to me in Thailand.

I will probably write and ask for details on the 'account' they are basing things on.

Just out of curiosity how much in a bank in UK today would attract interest of 2000 in one year?

[Jip99]

Yes they do, and they are legally required to. The primary legislation for this is the Taxes Management Act 1970, Sections 17 and 18:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/9/section/17/enacted

Generally, however, HMRC only bother with interest of more than £15 per year. I would consider contacting HMRC to resolve this so it doesn't come back to bite you.

It is all very well quoting 45 year old legislation but I imagine that you will have noticed that those sections relate to gross interest.

Overpayment of tax is unlikely unless tax was deducted where it was not actually due. Banks will deduct tax at your prevailing rate of tax unless they hold non resident declarations.

In terms of obligations to advise HMRC of amounts paid, this figure was GBP 150 p.a. but that was some 20 years ago.

Are sure the letter doesn't have a Nigerian postmark ???

[stoneyboy]

Cash it in and hope they keep sending them every year.

I won't tell anyone if you don't.

[overherebc]

Cash it in and hope they keep sending them every year.

I won't tell anyone if you don't.

If I knew for a fact that I had a UK account I Would?

[blackcab]

Yes they do, and they are legally required to. The primary legislation for this is the Taxes Management Act 1970, Sections 17 and 18:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/9/section/17/enacted

Generally, however, HMRC only bother with interest of more than £15 per year. I would consider contacting HMRC to resolve this so it doesn't come back to bite you.

It is all very well quoting 45 year old legislation but I imagine that you will have noticed that those sections relate to gross interest.

Overpayment of tax is unlikely unless tax was deducted where it was not actually due. Banks will deduct tax at your prevailing rate of tax unless they hold non resident declarations.

In terms of obligations to advise HMRC of amounts paid, this figure was GBP 150 p.a. but that was some 20 years ago.

Are sure the letter doesn't have a Nigerian postmark ???

To be fair, the law is still the law regardless of the length of time since it has been enacted. Apologies for only providing half an answer, but this is the part I know about because it relates to me.

Perhaps someone else could add the legislation concerning reporting requirements for accounts paid net interest.

[Jip99]

Yes they do, and they are legally required to. The primary legislation for this is the Taxes Management Act 1970, Sections 17 and 18:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1970/9/section/17/enacted

Generally, however, HMRC only bother with interest of more than £15 per year. I would consider contacting HMRC to resolve this so it doesn't come back to bite you.

It is all very well quoting 45 year old legislation but I imagine that you will have noticed that those sections relate to gross interest.

Overpayment of tax is unlikely unless tax was deducted where it was not actually due. Banks will deduct tax at your prevailing rate of tax unless they hold non resident declarations.

In terms of obligations to advise HMRC of amounts paid, this figure was GBP 150 p.a. but that was some 20 years ago.

Are sure the letter doesn't have a Nigerian postmark ???

To be fair, the law is still the law regardless of the length of time since it has been enacted. Apologies for only providing half an answer, but this is the part I know about because it relates to me.

Perhaps someone else could add the legislation concerning reporting requirements for accounts paid net interest.

It is probably more about HMRC practices than the law.. per se..

This helps a bit but essentially HMRC are not concerned about the bulk of the population who have tax deducted at a standard rate of 20%. Whilst further liability may attach to higher rate tax payers I would think that any requirement for an amount to be advised by a bank would be at a pretty high level.

[overherebc]

Re notifying on interest. My pensions notify every year, I get the paperwork on this.

As I said this The letter from HMRC has all those figures but this year they had added interest from Bank and Building Society figures for the first time.

The say I paid x hundred in tax and I over paid by x hundred Sterling and the letter, along with all the other gumf explaining allowances etc, has the computer printed cheque made out to me/account payee only, standard civil service printed cheque as tear off.

Reckon the only way to go is to copy it, question it asking for the Bank/Building Society details and see how long it takes to get an answer.

If I cash it and find out I actually don't have the supposed account etc I reckon I could be in the doodoo with future tax details.

[Jip99]

Re notifying on interest. My pensions notify every year, I get the paperwork on this.

As I said this The letter from HMRC has all those figures but this year they had added interest from Bank and Building Society figures for the first time.

The say I paid x hundred in tax and I over paid by x hundred Sterling and the letter, along with all the other gumf explaining allowances etc, has the computer printed cheque made out to me/account payee only, standard civil service printed cheque as tear off.

Reckon the only way to go is to copy it, question it asking for the Bank/Building Society details and see how long it takes to get an answer.

If I cash it and find out I actually don't have the supposed account etc I reckon I could be in the doodoo with future tax details.

If you had marked your tax returns for any refunds to be sent to your bank account, you would not have this crisis of conscience!

[overherebc]

No crisis. Just don't rock the tax man's boat ?

[overherebc]

Re notifying on interest. My pensions notify every year, I get the paperwork on this.

As I said this The letter from HMRC has all those figures but this year they had added interest from Bank and Building Society figures for the first time.

The say I paid x hundred in tax and I over paid by x hundred Sterling and the letter, along with all the other gumf explaining allowances etc, has the computer printed cheque made out to me/account payee only, standard civil service printed cheque as tear off.

Reckon the only way to go is to copy it, question it asking for the Bank/Building Society details and see how long it takes to get an answer.

If I cash it and find out I actually don't have the supposed account etc I reckon I could be in the doodoo with future tax details.

If you had marked your tax returns for any refunds to be sent to your bank account, you would not have this crisis of conscience!

You're not reading this right are you.

Tax returns done every year.

Pay tax on pensions every year.

All those figures mentioned in this letter are correct, however this year they tell me that interest on a bank account that I am unaware of at this moment in time has accrued interest that they have taxed but they charged too much tax and have sent me a cheque to pay me back the extra tax.

If this bank account exists then all is legal as 'I' according to them paid too much tax and they are giving me the money back.

Please explain why this would cause me a crisis of conscience.

[Jip99]

Re notifying on interest. My pensions notify every year, I get the paperwork on this.

As I said this The letter from HMRC has all those figures but this year they had added interest from Bank and Building Society figures for the first time.

The say I paid x hundred in tax and I over paid by x hundred Sterling and the letter, along with all the other gumf explaining allowances etc, has the computer printed cheque made out to me/account payee only, standard civil service printed cheque as tear off.

Reckon the only way to go is to copy it, question it asking for the Bank/Building Society details and see how long it takes to get an answer.

If I cash it and find out I actually don't have the supposed account etc I reckon I could be in the doodoo with future tax details.

If you had marked your tax returns for any refunds to be sent to your bank account, you would not have this crisis of conscience!

You're not reading this right are you.

Tax returns done every year.

Pay tax on pensions every year.

All those figures mentioned in this letter are correct, however this year they tell me that interest on a bank account that I am unaware of at this moment in time has accrued interest that they have taxed but they charged too much tax and have sent me a cheque to pay me back the extra tax.

If this bank account exists then all is legal as 'I' according to them paid too much tax and they are giving me the money back.

Please explain why this would cause me a crisis of conscience.

You seem to be deliberating about cashing the cheque.

My point was that if you had marked your tax return for any refunds to be paid direct to the bank the money would already be in the bank.

Whether it is legitimately due is down to you and HMRC - not for Thai Visa members to discuss. If you don't know exactly how the rebate arose don't expect us to answer for you.

You have your answer - contact HMRC. They do not have access to bank accounts nor do banks (or HMRC) add items to your tax return. These numbers come from you/your advisers. HMRC will only apply tax to savings interest if the correct amount of tax has not already been deducted by the bank. Apart from bank error that could only be because you had not advised them of your correct tax status.

[Baerboxer]

The confusiing part is the cheque made out to me. No it's not hand written, in case anyone asks, and the figure of over 2000 sterling in interest made in one year.

At UK interest rates it's a substantial amount in an account that I can't remember.

?????.

Have you registered on-line with HMRC? If so you can message them via the site and they reply to you, usually very quickly.

If not you can call their HelpLine number. They are, IME, very helpful unlike some of the other government lines.

Or if you prefer, send a letter to the tax office you normally send your return to.

They make mistakes, like we all do. They once missed a large chunk of the income I'd declared when calculating my tax. I told them of the mistake. They called me back, thanked me, and said the correction had been done. I've made mistakes and they correct it for you, and usually put a note saying what they've done and that if you disagree with the minor correction to contact them.

The problem seems there overworked and undermanned at the moment - like many government functions. So that increases the expectancy of mistakes.

Don't cash the cheque and treat it as a windfall - they'll spot the mistake sooner or later and ask for it back; and then wonder why you didn't question it.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Someones phising you.

[NoshowJones]

Just contact them and say you think they have made a mistake.

Or send it to Trans...

Or Possum, Trans is richer than me.

[NoshowJones]

I really think they have, the strange part is where did their info come from and who supplied it or do they just make things up ?

If they were asking me for money I would have been on the phone already but they are saying they have a record of me paying too much tax and have set a rebate cheque to me in Thailand.

I will probably write and ask for details on the 'account' they are basing things on.

Just out of curiosity how much in a bank in UK today would attract interest of 2000 in one year?

Any money you get get from the UK government, just take it, if you don't it will only go for overseas aid. MPs wage increases and "expenses".

Help to pay for hotels bills etc, etc, etc, for Illegal Immigrants.

[yardrunner]

I would be more worried that identity theft was involved and would contact HMRC asap

Edited August 17, 2015 by yardrunner

[Pdavies99]

I really think they have, the strange part is where did their info come from and who supplied it or do they just make things up ?

If they were asking me for money I would have been on the phone already but they are saying they have a record of me paying too much tax and have set a rebate cheque to me in Thailand.

I will probably write and ask for details on the 'account' they are basing things on.

Just out of curiosity how much in a bank in UK today would attract interest of 2000 in one year?

At say 2% interest you would need around £120k

[MichaelJohn]

If it's an error I believe you'd be liable for interest on the money you "lent" from HMRC rather than declaring the error.

Better to be up front and ring an question it; if it's yours you can happily spend it, if it'n not then you won't be waiting for the knock on the door and a big bill in future years!

[Jonmarleesco]

Can now finish the question, domestic intdruption!

Just had notification on interest made and tax deducted etc.

Mentioned pensions, my only UK income. But, also mentions Bank or Building Society interest and tax deducted.

Strange as I am unaware of any Bank or Building Society accounts I hold in UK.

Don't know of any rich relatives who have passed away and left me their fortune 'nice dream'.

Where would you surmise the info comes from?

Or is HMR&C playing at something ?

I suggest you write and ask them. Don't bother with email; the chances are that they won't reply. Send hard copy. It'll take several weeks, but you should eventually get some response. Course, you could also phone. At worst, you spend time and a modest amount of THB - unless HMRC are utilising the government's 0800 scam - and they might just answer.

[Mthai1]

It's probably a scam to ask you for your bank details

[jacko45k]

I bet Harry Redknapp has opened an account using your name.

[trentbridge]

You can check this site out to trace any forgotten accounts.

http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/index.htm

[overherebc]

It's probably a scam to ask you for your bank details

I could give you an answer but the mods would delete it.