Getting accurate information on interest in order to complete Self Assessment.

Newly_retired

I keep careful records but I also double check amounts online with bank and building society accounts. Some make it easy eg Skipton, Santander and a composite document for all accounts is easy to find. Some put this in a very obscure place on their website. Others eg YBS make the information available only by checking each individual account, both open and closed. Others seem not to expect you to want this information at all.
Principality produce a statement which covers my open accounts. This includes a couple of their 6 month Regular Savers which I renewed, but does not include a couple which I closed completely.
I don’t want the figures I give to HMRC to differ from those the banks give them but some don’t make it easy.

subjecttocontract

If you keep accurate records of the interest you receive then you don't need the information from the banks etc.

Hattie627

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039246#Comment_82039246

That's what I try to do. I have my own record table and every time I receive interest (eg closing an account, account maturity, annual interest credited to an ongoing account) I enter the amount in my record under the appropriate tax year. You have to be very disciplined if you have a lot of accounts

qsk

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039246#Comment_82039246

This is easier said than done. Many people in this forum have 10s of accounts, some of which are just "keep being a customer" £1 ones. They can be easily forgotten.

Do banks have an obligation to send the annual interests statement automatically? I received from some but not others.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039259#Comment_82039259

You just keep track as you go along and my personal Outlook calendar is filled with estimated interest payment dates and in MS Money I've entered anticipated interest payment dates which I'll spot in reports to check. Being organised is just a part of the game and it gets easier with practice.

For the £1 accounts, even if you miss them HMRC isn't going to care about a few pence and it'll be lost in the rounding anyway.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039259#Comment_82039259

One word…. "Spreadsheets".

AFAIK the obligation is to send a certificate of interest (per account) if requested, but not a summary of all accounts.

soulsaver

I agree with the OP: The FCA should make it obligatory for banks & BSs to make a consolidated* certificate of interest clearly available, by a certain date after the FY end.

They have to make the data available for HMRC so what's so difficult?

Yes, I maintain the records throughout the year but I'm not infallible; it would be good if I could easily reconcile my records with the bank records before submitting my return.

* All accounts including those closed in the tax year.

molerat

MrsM and myself have 12 taxable interest accounts each and I keep a spreadsheet that has a column for each account and monthly rows pre filled with the estimate for that month, the estimates in red italic so easy to pick out and see if missed updating. Totalled at the bottom, sub total for each institution and total for the year showing whether we are +/- our tax free limits. Once set up it takes seconds to update and is easy to reconcile with anything the bank has produced.

Enzo_L

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039259#Comment_82039259

In fact it's very easy to record each interest payment you receive as you go along. I've done it in tax years in which I've had over 40 accounts and dozens of interest payments and it had still been easy.

Then all you need to do at the end of the tax year is add up the figures you've noted and you're good to go filling in your tax return.

Recording interest as you receive it is far simpler than having to and start to look for figures on numerous bank and building society websites when you start to fill in your tax return.

Newly_retired

As I said, I do keep careful records as accounts mature, but it is the fiddly ones I may overlook eg those where I just keep £1, or secondary current accounts which attract a couple of £ of interest pa. I have ten current accounts and about 40 savings accounts. Not as many as some people, I know. Unfortunately I have never mastered spreadsheets.

I think it should be an obligation for financial institutions to tell us the figures they send to HMRC.

eskbanker

I think it should be an obligation for financial institutions to tell us the figures they send to HMRC

I believe that there is such an obligation, but only on request (under data protection legislation if nothing else) rather than being mandated to distribute these as a matter of course under financial regulations.

IIRC, it used to be a requirement when tax was being deducted pre-2016, but now that interest is paid gross there's no obligation under tax legislation.