We now pay you ‘gross’ interest
Since 6 April 2016, banks and building societies have paid interest gross. This means no income tax being taken off.
Before then, we paid interest on non-ISA savings and current accounts, with an amount taken off for income tax. Unless you’d set up your accounts for gross interest.
Why?
Banks and building societies made this change because, in April 2016, the government brought in a tax-free Personal Savings Allowance.
What’s my allowance worth?
How much your Personal Savings Allowance is worth depends on the rate of income tax you pay:
- Basic-rate taxpayers can earn up to £1,000 of interest tax-free in each tax year.
- Higher-rate taxpayers can earn up to £500 of interest tax-free in each tax year.
- Additional-rate taxpayers don’t get the Personal Savings Allowance.
How do I know if I need to pay tax?
If the interest you earn goes over your Personal Savings Allowance, you may need to pay tax on it, directly to HM Revenue & Customs.
Want more info on paying tax on the interest you earn? Go to the HMRC website and search for ‘Personal Savings Allowance’.
If you need to fill in a self-assessment tax return
So you can fill in a self-assessment, your account summary has full details of the interest you’ve earned.
Each May, in Online Banking, you can see the summary for the past tax year. Here’s how:
- log on to Online Banking
- select ‘Account services’
- select ‘e-Documents’
- do an advanced search for ‘Account summary’.
Or to get a paper copy of your account summary, go to any branch. Or call us on 0330 9 123 123