Claiming tax from REIT investment

itwasntme001

Hi,


I have a REIT investment in a brokerage account (non-ISA). Since some of the "dividends" paid out of REITs are treated as income instead of dividends, the broker took away 20% of this part to pay HMRC on my behalf. However last tax year I did not even use up my personal allowance so am due back this tax. The amount is tiny - less then £30. What is the best (only?) way to claim this tax back? I do not want to have to fill in a tax return for such a small amount as I do not otherwise have to fill one in for 18/19 tax year.


Thanks

bowlhead99

Write to HMRC and tell them that during the year you received property income distributions of £x, of which £y was withheld at source. You can tell them the details of the REIT and the dates if you like, though you probably don't need to (you wouldn't if you were doing a self assessment tax return). HMRC will tell you if they need more information.

As an aside, it is the REIT that withheld the tax, not your broker. For a PID, the REIT has to withhold unless the owner is a UK company or certain other exempt bodies - e.g. local authority, charity or a pension or an ISA manager. So your broker hasn't received the gross and then withheld tax. The REIT withheld tax (because you weren't investing in them through an ISA or pension) so your broker never even received the extra money, it was deducted before the broker saw it.