Being nosey... How many Regular Saver accounts do you have?

allegro120

subjecttocontract said:

I don't quite understand how anybody who receives savings interest would want to rely on someone else, especially the Government, to calculate their tax liability without having the opportunity to check it's accuracy. There seems to be a few people who don't keep their own records and are happy to let HMRC do the work for them.......It's a mystery to me. I like to be in control, have a handle on the numbers, complete a SA knowing the figures are accurate and that my tax bill is correct. Doing it any other way just wouldn't work for me.

I see relying on HMRS to calculate is a more practical and potentially more profitable choice. Apparently not all providers report to HMRC, so it is more likely that their total will be less than mine than the other way round.

Bobblehat

subjecttocontract said:

I don't quite understand how anybody who receives savings interest would want to rely on someone else, especially the Government, to calculate their tax liability without having the opportunity to check it's accuracy. There seems to be a few people who don't keep their own records and are happy to let HMRC do the work for them.......It's a mystery to me. I like to be in control, have a handle on the numbers, complete a SA knowing the figures are accurate and that my tax bill is correct. Doing it any other way just wouldn't work for me.

I see where you are coming from, which is why I do like to keep detailed records of interest received, even as far as overwriting predicted figures with actual figures as they come in. Luckily, so far over several years, when I cross-check my figures with any HMRC figures or demands, I seem to have "overestimated" liability to tax compared to what HMRC are showing. (That's a euphemism for me saying I think they underestimate my liability  ). Over the years I assume they catch up with my liability, so I don't question their wisdom while it looks like I'm getting a free loan 

Bobblehat

subjecttocontract said:

I'm down to 13 now as I've closed & cashed in quite a few.
Plus I have a few with zero balance, standing order cancelled, awaiting interest payments .....don't know if they would be included. I'm hoping to close the lot by 1st quarter 2026. Regular savers, at one time, accounted for  around 8% of my annual savings income, so it's not a big loss.

That's quite a drop, with a further drop planned! Have you found a better magic mix for savings income?

Bobblehat

allegro120 said:

subjecttocontract said:

I don't quite understand how anybody who receives savings interest would want to rely on someone else, especially the Government, to calculate their tax liability without having the opportunity to check it's accuracy. There seems to be a few people who don't keep their own records and are happy to let HMRC do the work for them.......It's a mystery to me. I like to be in control, have a handle on the numbers, complete a SA knowing the figures are accurate and that my tax bill is correct. Doing it any other way just wouldn't work for me.

I see relying on HMRS to calculate is a more practical and potentially more profitable choice. Apparently not all providers report to HMRC, so it is more likely that their total will be less than mine than the other way round.

I made my comments about overestimation(underestimation) of liability before I read your comment shown above. I'm still working on a principle that they might catch up eventually and I will pay what I owe, so no big deal. In the meanwhile I'm earning interest on what I could owe and who knows if they will ever ask for it!

All in all, I'm glad I deliberately shifted some interest into this tax year and avoided SA.

allegro120

Bobblehat said:

allegro120 said:

subjecttocontract said:

I don't quite understand how anybody who receives savings interest would want to rely on someone else, especially the Government, to calculate their tax liability without having the opportunity to check it's accuracy. There seems to be a few people who don't keep their own records and are happy to let HMRC do the work for them.......It's a mystery to me. I like to be in control, have a handle on the numbers, complete a SA knowing the figures are accurate and that my tax bill is correct. Doing it any other way just wouldn't work for me.

I see relying on HMRS to calculate is a more practical and potentially more profitable choice. Apparently not all providers report to HMRC, so it is more likely that their total will be less than mine than the other way round.

I made my comments about overestimation(underestimation) of liability before I read your comment shown above. I'm still working on a principle that they might catch up eventually and I will pay what I owe, so no big deal. In the meanwhile I'm earning interest on what I could owe and who knows if they will ever ask for it!

All in all, I'm glad I deliberately shifted some interest into this tax year and avoided SA.

Good move.  Best not to get involved in SA scheme if you can.
Speculating further, they are not likely to catch up if some institutions don't report In any case - later is better than earlier because you can earn interest on the cash that is still in your possession. 

subjecttocontract

Bobblehat said:

subjecttocontract said:

I'm down to 13 now as I've closed & cashed in quite a few.
Plus I have a few with zero balance, standing order cancelled, awaiting interest payments .....don't know if they would be included. I'm hoping to close the lot by 1st quarter 2026. Regular savers, at one time, accounted for  around 8% of my annual savings income, so it's not a big loss.

That's quite a drop, with a further drop planned! Have you found a better magic mix for savings income?

No, quite the opposite.
I've decided to 'tidy up' some of my finances. I had getting on for 100 accounts including current accounts, easy access, fixed rate bonds, reg savers etc. My intention is to reduce the number of accounts, simplify & spend less time & effort dealing with them. I don't want to leave my family with what would be a difficult and time consuming task after I'm gone. The result will mean that my income from savings will reduce a little but im ok with that.

Eco_Miser

allegro120 said:

subjecttocontract said:

I don't quite understand how anybody who receives savings interest would want to rely on someone else, especially the Government, to calculate their tax liability without having the opportunity to check it's accuracy. There seems to be a few people who don't keep their own records and are happy to let HMRC do the work for them.......It's a mystery to me. I like to be in control, have a handle on the numbers, complete a SA knowing the figures are accurate and that my tax bill is correct. Doing it any other way just wouldn't work for me.

I see relying on HMRS to calculate is a more practical and potentially more profitable choice. Apparently not all providers report to HMRC, so it is more likely that their total will be less than mine than the other way round.

And apparently some providers (Zopa) report ISA income as taxable, so you could be overcharged. 

trickydicky14

subjecttocontract said:

Bobblehat said:

subjecttocontract said:

I'm down to 13 now as I've closed & cashed in quite a few.
Plus I have a few with zero balance, standing order cancelled, awaiting interest payments .....don't know if they would be included. I'm hoping to close the lot by 1st quarter 2026. Regular savers, at one time, accounted for  around 8% of my annual savings income, so it's not a big loss.

That's quite a drop, with a further drop planned! Have you found a better magic mix for savings income?

No, quite the opposite.
I've decided to 'tidy up' some of my finances. I had getting on for 100 accounts including current accounts, easy access, fixed rate bonds, reg savers etc. My intention is to reduce the number of accounts, simplify & spend less time & effort dealing with them. I don't want to leave my family with what would be a difficult and time consuming task after I'm gone. The result will mean that my income from savings will reduce a little but im ok with that.

I understand the logic in what you say, I too am reluctantly going down the same path. No way do I want to leave my mess to my dear wife. I'm slowly reducing bank accounts and RS's and going more for fixed rate 1 and 2 year savings accounts. Yes I will loose out on my returns but like you, I can live with that.

J63320

A vote here for keeping good records - you might need them for HMRC, even if you don’t do Self Assessment. I realise this isn’t an RS-specific issue, but if you are an RS aficionado you’re more likely to have lots of accounts.
 I got my P800 for 2024-25 a few weeks ago and realised that next year I will be earning less interest, so to avoid paying too much tax  I updated my personal tax account with an estimate of what I will be getting.

I’ve now been asked by HMRC to give them details (bank/bsoc, account number and sort code, amount of interest) for all the accounts that have paid me interest in 2025-26, so they can check my figure. They’ve sent me a form to fill in - it has space for 4 accounts, but I need to report on 10. Posters on other threads who have updated their estimated interest have simply had their tax codes changed, so I hope this is just a spot-check rather than a change of policy - maybe I should have worn a green shirt while I was doing my update! 

clairec666

J63320 said:

A vote here for keeping good records - you might need them for HMRC, even if you don’t do Self Assessment. I realise this isn’t an RS-specific issue, but if you are an RS aficionado you’re more likely to have lots of accounts.
 I got my P800 for 2024-25 a few weeks ago and realised that next year I will be earning less interest, so to avoid paying too much tax  I updated my personal tax account with an estimate of what I will be getting.

I’ve now been asked by HMRC to give them details (bank/bsoc, account number and sort code, amount of interest) for all the accounts that have paid me interest in 2025-26, so they can check my figure. They’ve sent me a form to fill in - it has space for 4 accounts, but I need to report on 10. Posters on other threads who have updated their estimated interest have simply had their tax codes changed, so I hope this is just a spot-check rather than a change of policy - maybe I should have worn a green shirt while I was doing my update! 

Four accounts? What planet are they on? We need to show them the league table