Does my wife need to register for self assessment?

arsenalboy

My wifes only income is state pension and savings interest. I pay 40% tax so all savings are in my wifes name. Increased savings and increased interest rates have pushed my wife to the level she needs to pay a bit of tax for 24/25, this is after 5K and 1K allowance. We have been building up ISA pots, so 24/25 will be a one off. Is the only way of declaring this by my wife registering for self assessment which being in our seventies seems dramatic! Is there a simpler way of doing this?
We keep meticulous records but it runs into 30 or so banks/building societies (regular savers), so it is going to be messy if the tax people start picking through the numbers.
Would welcome thoughts. 

Notepad_Phil

She only needs to register if the amount of interest is greater than £10k. If it's less then don't worry, this is not an uncommon happening and the HMRC are informed by the banks etc of what interest they pay out and so they will calculate what she needs to pay and you'll get a letter from the HMRC in due course - I believe it's called a P800 if I remember correctly.

arsenalboy

Yes it is greater than 10K, so she needs to register?

flaneurs_lobster

arsenalboy said:

Yes it is greater than 10K, so she needs to register?

There's an online checker to see if Self Assessment is needed

https://www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return

Bookworm225

arsenalboy said:

Yes it is greater than 10K, so she needs to register?

the answer to that is an unqualified yes

However, in subsequent years when your ISAs have sheltered more interest then she can ask HMRC to unregister her

butterflymum

If an unqualified 'yes', why is it still not clearer on the Government website? Recent changes (I think), to wording there say:

"If you’re self-employed

If you complete a Self Assessment tax return, report any interest earned on savings there.

You need to register for Self Assessment if your income from savings and investments is over £10,000. Check if you need to send a tax return if you’re not sure.

If you’re employed or get a pension

HMRC will change your tax code so you pay the tax automatically. To decide your tax code, HMRC will estimate how much interest you’ll get in the current year by looking at how much you got the previous year.

HMRC will send a tax calculation letter and tell you if you have a tax overpayment or underpayment.

If you do not receive a letter by 31 March 2025, you must contact HMRC as soon as possible to avoid a penalty.

If you’re not employed, do not get a pension or do not complete Self Assessment

Your bank or building society will tell HMRC how much interest you received at the end of the year. HMRC will tell you if you need to pay tax and how to pay it."

with the requirement to register now only mentioned under the Self Employed sub section, and not mentioned under the pension or not employed sub sections. Just poor wording on their behalf, do you think, or a shift away from any requirement to register for self assessessment in the circumstances?

Bookworm225

butterflymum said:

with the requirement to register now only mentioned under the Self Employed sub section, and not mentioned under the pension or not employed sub sections. Just poor wording on their behalf, do you think, or a shift away from any requirement to register for self assessessment in the circumstances?

IMO there are countless instances of very poor wording across many of the .Gov webpages 

if you populate answers to the online checker previously linked (state pension only with investment income >10k  but total income <60k) you get a categoric yes, register answer 

Sarahspangles

butterflymum said:

If an unqualified 'yes', why is it still not clearer on the Government website?

With the requirement to register now only mentioned under the Self Employed sub section, and not mentioned under the pension or not employed sub sections. Just poor wording on their behalf, do you think, or a shift away from any requirement to register for self assessment in the circumstances?

I noticed this when the changes were made (as OH is in a similar position) but it’s clear from the online check process that a return is required, it is just poorly worded.

furniturewinches

You may also need to send a tax return if you have any untaxed income, such as:

• money from renting out a property
• tips and commission
• income from savings, investments and dividends
• foreign income

wmb194

arsenalboy said:

My wifes only income is state pension and savings interest. I pay 40% tax so all savings are in my wifes name. Increased savings and increased interest rates have pushed my wife to the level she needs to pay a bit of tax for 24/25, this is after 5K and 1K allowance. We have been building up ISA pots, so 24/25 will be a one off. Is the only way of declaring this by my wife registering for self assessment which being in our seventies seems dramatic! Is there a simpler way of doing this?
We keep meticulous records but it runs into 30 or so banks/building societies (regular savers), so it is going to be messy if the tax people start picking through the numbers.
Would welcome thoughts. 

The path of least anxiety might be to sign up for SA but you don't have to, you can wait to find out what HMRC wants you to do: see threads and link below. 

If your affairs are simple HMRC might do the 'usual' thing after it's received the data from the banks and BS' ie. either collect the tax via PAYE or give you the option to pay in a lump sum. The OP in this thread said they earned £11k in interest and HMRC offered the PAYE or lump sum routes and there was no demand for a SA: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6577007/self-assessment-query/p1

Where have you earned the interest, though? If it's via an intermediary like Raisin it appears that it isn't reporting the interest correctly or at all to HMRC.

https://www.procedure.tax/1-duty-to-submit-a-direct-tax-retur

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6511830/self-assessment-query-regarding-over-10k-savings-interest