Declaring expected interest and dividends to HMRC for the current year

mfn123

For context, I'm a retiree paying basic rate tax on my pensions, savings interest and dividends via self-assessment.

In a previous thread, I was trying to work out why HMRC had just increased the tax code on my occupational pension for 2026/27 (i.e. reducing the PAYE tax paid each month). If I had just accepted it, I would have paid £1k too little PAYE tax on the pension. I'm still not 100% sure where they got the increased code from, but the best solution seemed to be to explicitly declare my expected untaxed dividends and savings income for 2026/27 via the Personal Tax account 'Tell HMRC about...' forms, in the hope of decreasing the tax code again.

I did this on June 15th, and it seemed to do the trick, because they immediately reduced my tax code, and my expected self-assessment tax bill at year-end should now be well under £1000, avoiding any need for payments on account.

As far as I was concerned, all was well, BUT I've just received a paper letter from HMRC asking me to list full details of my savings accounts, saying:

You contacted us on 15 June 2026. We've reviewed your record relating to your BBSI and we need more information from you.

Our records show that the total amount of untaxed interest you received for the 2026 to 2027 tax year was £0.00. I need details of untaxed interest credited to each separate account to allow me to see how this total was calculated. You'll need to include the information below for each bank and building society that you have.

This appears complete gobbledygook. How can I provide the total amount for 2026/27 when the year has barely started? Perhaps the wording of the letter is geared towards correcting the amount declared for the previous year, but where did they get the figure of £0.00 from?

In my declaration, I said I expected to get £2500 interest (but didn't break that down into expected amounts from each account). I did say that £1300 would come from bank and building society accounts, and £1200 from 'other' (which was my way of describing some fixed rate National Savings bonds).

Has anyone else doing self-assessment used the 'Tell HMRC about' forms to declare expected untaxed interest in the current year. If so, please can you suggest what I might be doing wrong.

Thanks

sheramber

In January 26 I received a the same form asking me for the amount of interest received in 25/26.

I waited until after 6 April to complete it and send it back.

Since April it has been 'in progress'.

mfn123

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82045332#Comment_82045332

Well at least it was near the end of year, so you could wait. Did the figure given to you correspond to anything you had previously declared during 2025/26, or was it based on your 2024/25 self-assessment, or even estimated figures brought forward from 2024/25?

Ive seen other posts on here where HMRC apparently cite a total, but no breakdown by account (even when they are citing income told to them by banks). Apparently you can ask them for that detail, but I would have hoped that your Personal Tax Account PAYE summary might give that. In my case, I have my estimated dividends listed as the single total figure I gave, but nothing at all for savings interest.

Do they expect you to declare every single account separately? What is the point in that?

It would help if there was some HMRC explanation somewhere (i.e. like the copious info for completing self-assessment). Do you (or anyone else) know of any such guidance?

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82045367#Comment_82045367

There figure was based on 24/25 figures but I had closed 2 accounts and moved money to an ISA so vastly overestimated.

Yes the form asks for details of each account - I had 2 which were £0.01.

At present 26/27 is also overstated as it is based on 25/26 estimate.

Fortunately , not a lot of tax involved and it will be refunded eventually.

sheslookinhot

HMRC will use untaxed interest for 26/27 based on the amount for 25/26. If you can estimate your untaxed interest for 26/27 more accurately then that seems to be the info they are asking for. ( maybe prompted by your communication with them)

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82049078#Comment_82049078

But that is not what the firm asks first.

It asks for the amount receivedp, not an estimate.