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

jak22

Banks etc seem to have made an extra effort this year to issue certificates of interest by April with only a few leaving it until May. It's not really an either/or with keeping own monthly interest records or downloading monthly statements - interest certificates would seem to be more suitable for evidence if required.

One problem is those banks etc that remove the account completely when closed without posting or uploading statements / certificates. Mobile app only accounts also often require extra steps to get PDF certificates / statements downloaded and transferred to PC.

Just closing some of the tiny balance accounts kept open will reduce the effort in record keeping.

Once certificates are available the figures can be compared with own records and the SA quickly completed - with an immediate provisional figure to compare with any spreadsheet tax estimate, fully processed with new tax code a couple of days later, and any refund made a week or so later.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039413#Comment_82039413

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.

Keep a list of your accounts - a piece of paper and pen will do if you don't want a spreadsheet.

Add accounts to the list as you open them, make a note of the date you opened the account so you know the tax year interest might start.

When you do your tax return, use the list to tick off each account as you go. That way you won't forget an account.

When the account is closed and the tax return for the final interest is completed, cross the account off the list so you don't waste time checking it for the next return.

I do this with a spreadsheet - a list with account name, date of opening, date of first interest payment, date of closure. A separate column for each date has a formula to calculate the tax year. The sheet can be sorted by date of closure to identify the accounts no longer relevant for tax returns. Sorting by date of opening/first interest helps identify the new accounts to be added to the interest computation spreadsheet. Sounds complicated perhaps, but isn't as difficult as it sounds.

An obligation on banks and building societies to provide the figures they send to HMRC would still require the customer to remember to keep and collate the separate notifications - if one goes missing in the post, or the email isn't delivered, or the dog eats one, then there's a risk of missing out the interest for that provider…. so without a separate record/checklist of accounts you still risk overlooking all the accounts with one provider.

tigerspill

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039443#Comment_82039443

Our Halifax CoI isnt available yet - it normally comes in july!!

I however, do have all the details in my spreadsheet thankfully.

subjecttocontract

I keep detailed records I put quite a !of of effort into it, we have a lot of accounts, even though I have closed virtually all of my reg savers. If I forget/miss/fail to record an interest payment...... I couldn't really care less because it would be a genuine mistake/ rare event. In over 20 years of submitting self assessments I have never had HMRC dispute my submissions. They conducted an investigation one year into my SA so I sent them a copy of me excel spreadsheet. It was duly accepted with no further action.

masonic

Closed accounts seem to be a bit of a blind spot with several institutions.

Like others, I keep my own records as I go. I trust my records as a complete picture more than I would a summary from each institution. It does require me to go through each of the accounts I've held through the tax year and reconcile balances with my own records to make sure nothing has slipped through the net.