The Old Regular Savers Discussion Thread 28/12/24-29/1/26

nomorekids

friolento said:

[Deleted User] said:

So the conclusion is if you are a higher rate tax payer the savers are not much worth it??

Any account that pays, after any tax, more interest than another one, is much worth it for me as an HR tax payer.

exactly this, just adjust the spreadsheet to net once the PSA is blown, or rather nearly blown in our case, with this in mind, I'm late to the close and reopen to following tax year "renew" party is there a list of easily renewable regular savers? Looking to renew Santander 5%, Progressive 5.5% and Co op 7% for sure and wish I could for TSB,  I expect TSB is like Halifax and only one per year. 

Speculator

nomorekids said:

friolento said:

[Deleted User] said:

So the conclusion is if you are a higher rate tax payer the savers are not much worth it??

Any account that pays, after any tax, more interest than another one, is much worth it for me as an HR tax payer.

exactly this, just adjust the spreadsheet to net once the PSA is blown, or rather nearly blown in our case, with this in mind, I'm late to the close and reopen to following tax year "renew" party is there a list of easily renewable regular savers? Looking to renew Santander 5%, Progressive 5.5% and Co op 7% for sure and wish I could for TSB, Cambridge and Market Harborough but the latter two are fixed no withdrawals and I expect TSB is like Halifax and only one per year. 

There are no restrictions on Halifax/Lloyds regular savers.

I've renewed multiple times.

surreysaver

[Deleted User] said:

So the conclusion is if you are a higher rate tax payer the savers are not much worth it??

The higher rate (7% and above) would still be worth it, as the net return would be more than you could get in an easy access flexible ISA. Those less than 7% would be worth it once you've used up your £20k ISA allowance.

Nick_C

Personally, I ensure that my taxable interest from savings is always just below £1k.  I am losing out on some potential income, but it is worth it to avoid the hassle of dealing with HMRC, whose systems and processes (and many of their staff) are not fit for purpose. 

surreysaver

Nick_C said:

Personally, I ensure that my taxable interest from savings is always just below £1k.  I am losing out on some potential income, but it is worth it to avoid the hassle of dealing with HMRC, whose systems and processes (and many of their staff) are not fit for purpose. 

They could still get it wrong though, and charge you tax if they get their sums wrong, or are fed with wrong information.
And the limit is £500 for higher rate tax payers 

Kim_13

nomorekids said:

friolento said:

[Deleted User] said:

So the conclusion is if you are a higher rate tax payer the savers are not much worth it??

Any account that pays, after any tax, more interest than another one, is much worth it for me as an HR tax payer.

exactly this, just adjust the spreadsheet to net once the PSA is blown, or rather nearly blown in our case, with this in mind, I'm late to the close and reopen to following tax year "renew" party is there a list of easily renewable regular savers? Looking to renew Santander 5%, Progressive 5.5% and Co op 7% for sure and wish I could for TSB, Cambridge and Market Harborough but the latter two are fixed no withdrawals and I expect TSB is like Halifax and only one per year. 

Cambridge can be closed with the payment of a 90 day interest penalty, which might make it advantageous for a HR taxpayer. You lose circa 25% of the interest instead of 40% in tax and get another year’s fixed rate open while available. You’d have to factor in the penalty interest still being reported as earned though, and if the PSA would be blown year after year then maybe it doesn’t make sense.

masonic

Nick_C said:

Personally, I ensure that my taxable interest from savings is always just below £1k.  I am losing out on some potential income, but it is worth it to avoid the hassle of dealing with HMRC, whose systems and processes (and many of their staff) are not fit for purpose. 

The only reason you'd need to have any contact with HMRC is if they got things wrong. Banks and building societies send interest figures to them and they collate them. If a mistake is made, it's far more likely it would be due to an account not being reported, resulting in HMRC underestimating tax due. There is unlikely to be any back and forth if you are declaring more income than they believe you've earned. A simple letter outlining a breakdown of interest from each account would suffice for an underpayment situation.

Turning down income entirely, to avoid giving a slice of it to HMRC, isn't very MSE.

surreysaver

I would prefer it if HMRC actually provided a breakdown of what information they've received from whom. It's probably not so bad for people who've only one or two accounts, but for those of us on here who have accounts into the hundreds, many of which may produce interest of only pennies, is impossible for us to reconcile where only one figure is produced from HMRC

subjecttocontract

I keep detailed records of interest payments for the many accounts I have and update throughout the year. I accept that there may be small errors on my part or on the part of HMRC. So, when I calculate my tax bill due at the end of the year I allow for a small difference between mine and HMRC figures and just accept it. I just don't see it worth my effort for what is to me sometimes a small amount. Not very MSE, I know, others will want it correct to the last penny, I'm not to bothered.

allegro120

nomorekids said:

friolento said:

[Deleted User] said:

So the conclusion is if you are a higher rate tax payer the savers are not much worth it??

Any account that pays, after any tax, more interest than another one, is much worth it for me as an HR tax payer.

exactly this, just adjust the spreadsheet to net once the PSA is blown, or rather nearly blown in our case, with this in mind, I'm late to the close and reopen to following tax year "renew" party is there a list of easily renewable regular savers? Looking to renew Santander 5%, Progressive 5.5% and Co op 7% for sure and wish I could for TSB, Cambridge and Market Harborough but the latter two are fixed no withdrawals and I expect TSB is like Halifax and only one per year. 

Santander.  If you have standing order set up your account will renew automatically.
Progressive. Very easy to renew in my experience.
Co-op.  It takes a couple of days to renew, but worth it for 7%.
TSB allows unlimited withdrawals.