Santander eSaver Rate increase to 3.25%

dealyboy

Hi @refluxer ...

I received the 'account summary', showing interest and tax totals, on 23rd May last year ... shows in 'Statements and documents'. I have also received the annual eSaver statement ... it's not that.

Of course banks/building societies etc send this info to HMRC and it subsequently shows in the personal tax account.

mebu60

GeoffTF said:

refluxer said:

Does anyone know if/when Santander issue interest summaries (tax certificates) for their accounts ?

I'm set up for paper-free banking and have the recently-issued annual eSaver statement (for the period up until 5th April) - would that be enough for HMRC if this info was needed, despite it not being an official tax document ?

They do eventually. I just enter interest paid into a spreadsheet. HMRC will have the interest statements anyway.

Similarly I also just keep my own record during the tax year as interest is received.

Does anyone know definitively how HMRC links the interest records they receive to an individual? There is no unique identifier. I have the exact same name as my father and we lived under the same roof until I was 17. NINO is not used for gross interest paying accounts (and even that is not 100% unique, used in rolling batches for foreign seasonal workers and the like). Address and DoB may come into the equation but that assumes you only have and use the one address. Names too aren't always consistent either. Be interested if anyone knows. Or in theories!

refluxer

Thanks folks. I do keep my own, detailed records but the official tax certificates are a nice, easy way of confirming that my calculations are correct and record-keeping is sound.

My tax affairs are also starting to get more complex so I'd thought the certificates might be needed if I start to fall into self-assessment territory but are you saying that it's the figures that are important and that the certificates themselves would never be needed for any official reason other than to check my own calculations/records are correct ? This will be new territory for me, so just trying to make sure I'm prepared.

mebu60

refluxer said:

Thanks folks. I do keep my own, detailed records but the official tax certificates are a nice, easy way of confirming that my calculations are correct and record-keeping is sound.

My tax affairs are also starting to get more complex so I'd thought the certificates might be needed if I start to fall into self-assessment territory but are you saying that it's the figures that are important and that the certificates themselves would never be needed for any official reason other than to check my own calculations/records are correct ? This will be new territory for me, so just trying to make sure I'm prepared.

I've been on SA for decades and have never been asked for any underlying documentation (hope that hasn't jinxed me!). Unless a tax certificate is posted to me automatically I don't have anything apart from my own record. It is rare to receive tax certificates these days. They're not always easy to track down on websites either! 

I always do a double-check after 6 April going through each account (including those closed in the tax year) to try to ensure I haven't missed anything.  

Band7

mebu60 said:

refluxer said:

Thanks folks. I do keep my own, detailed records but the official tax certificates are a nice, easy way of confirming that my calculations are correct and record-keeping is sound.

My tax affairs are also starting to get more complex so I'd thought the certificates might be needed if I start to fall into self-assessment territory but are you saying that it's the figures that are important and that the certificates themselves would never be needed for any official reason other than to check my own calculations/records are correct ? This will be new territory for me, so just trying to make sure I'm prepared.

I've been on SA for decades and have never been asked for any underlying documentation (hope that hasn't jinxed me!). Unless a tax certificate is posted to me automatically I don't have anything apart from my own record. It is rare to receive tax certificates these days. They're not always easy to track down on websites either! 

I always do a double-check after 6 April going through each account (including those closed in the tax year) to try to ensure I haven't missed anything.  

Same approach, same experience for me. 

I keep records for several years. In the unlikely case that HMRC will query the interest figure quoted by me, I would ask them for the details they have from the various providers. If there is any discrepancy to my disadvantage, I would in the first instance query this with the provider. 

It's a mystery to me why HMRC have stopped to make the figures reported by the providers available online. Perhaps people reported higher amounts than the providers did? 

RG2015

mebu60 said:

GeoffTF said:

refluxer said:

Does anyone know if/when Santander issue interest summaries (tax certificates) for their accounts ?

I'm set up for paper-free banking and have the recently-issued annual eSaver statement (for the period up until 5th April) - would that be enough for HMRC if this info was needed, despite it not being an official tax document ?

They do eventually. I just enter interest paid into a spreadsheet. HMRC will have the interest statements anyway.

Similarly I also just keep my own record during the tax year as interest is received.

Does anyone know definitively how HMRC links the interest records they receive to an individual? There is no unique identifier. I have the exact same name as my father and we lived under the same roof until I was 17. NINO is not used for gross interest paying accounts (and even that is not 100% unique, used in rolling batches for foreign seasonal workers and the like). Address and DoB may come into the equation but that assumes you only have and use the one address. Names too aren't always consistent either. Be interested if anyone knows. Or in theories!

Full name, DOB and current address will be enough for the vast majority of people.

Banks require one address which can be verified by the electoral register.

This is the same as data used by the credit reporting agencies; Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva.  

PS: Your full name, DOB and address will also be on HMRC's own records.

35har1old

mebu60 said:

GeoffTF said:

refluxer said:

Does anyone know if/when Santander issue interest summaries (tax certificates) for their accounts ?

I'm set up for paper-free banking and have the recently-issued annual eSaver statement (for the period up until 5th April) - would that be enough for HMRC if this info was needed, despite it not being an official tax document ?

They do eventually. I just enter interest paid into a spreadsheet. HMRC will have the interest statements anyway.

Similarly I also just keep my own record during the tax year as interest is received.

Does anyone know definitively how HMRC links the interest records they receive to an individual? There is no unique identifier. I have the exact same name as my father and we lived under the same roof until I was 17. NINO is not used for gross interest paying accounts (and even that is not 100% unique, used in rolling batches for foreign seasonal workers and the like). Address and DoB may come into the equation but that assumes you only have and use the one address. Names too aren't always consistent either. Be interested if anyone knows. Or in theories!

Possibly National insurance number

TheBanker

You can see the format banks report to HMRC by downloading the first spreadsheet from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-spreadsheet-templates-for-bank-and-building-society-interest-bbsi-returns-and-other-interest-oi-returns

NI Number and Date of Birth are optional fields. Banks will usually hold DoB as it's part of their AML KYC (unless a very old account which hasn't been updated). I think banks are only obliged to capture NI numbers if you hold an ISA, although I also think most banks capture this anyway now as part of KYC. But again older accounts may not have this recorded. 

I would imagine the matching of interest payments to taxpayer records is an imperfect science by HMRC. For 99.9% of people name and address is probably enough, and for the remainder there may be a DoB or NINO provided. But I imagine there are a number of records which HMRC simply cannot match, e.g. two taxpayers with the same name at the same address, with no DoB or NINO available in the bank's submission to enable the correct one to be identified.

RG2015

35har1old said:

mebu60 said:

GeoffTF said:

refluxer said:

Does anyone know if/when Santander issue interest summaries (tax certificates) for their accounts ?

I'm set up for paper-free banking and have the recently-issued annual eSaver statement (for the period up until 5th April) - would that be enough for HMRC if this info was needed, despite it not being an official tax document ?

They do eventually. I just enter interest paid into a spreadsheet. HMRC will have the interest statements anyway.

Similarly I also just keep my own record during the tax year as interest is received.

Does anyone know definitively how HMRC links the interest records they receive to an individual? There is no unique identifier. I have the exact same name as my father and we lived under the same roof until I was 17. NINO is not used for gross interest paying accounts (and even that is not 100% unique, used in rolling batches for foreign seasonal workers and the like). Address and DoB may come into the equation but that assumes you only have and use the one address. Names too aren't always consistent either. Be interested if anyone knows. Or in theories!

Possibly National insurance number

NINO stands for National Insurance number.

trust.no.1

Santander have finally released a new issue (Issue 22) of their standard eSaver account, paying 2.0% - an increase of .5%. The 3.25% rate mentioned in this thread only applies to those who have the eSaver limited edition.