Have you declared tax on your bank rewards?

Pretty Young Woman Withdrawing Money at the Bank Machine

In April 2016 the PSA (Personal Savings Allowance) came into force.

The PSA applies to all non-ISA cash savings and current accounts, and will allow some savers to receive a generous portion of their interest totally free of tax.

95% of savings will no longer be taxed.

Basic rate taxpayers will receive £1,000 in savings income tax free, higher rate taxpayers get a band of £500 and additional rate tax payers get nothing.

Sounds great but the key word is ‘Interest‘

Some banks have been giving ‘Rewards‘ instead of interest and these fall outside of the scope of the new PSA and as such will be taxable, for example..

Click to access benefits-document.pdf

http://www.barclays.co.uk/PersonalBanking/P1242689794073

https://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/current-accounts/reward-current-account/Default.asp

Currently Cash Back on spending doesn’t count as a reward so that is ok and not subject to tax.

I think this situation is confusing and could lead to taxpayers incorrectly failing to declare rewards thinking that they were interest!

steve@bicknells.net

Will you “Pay Em”? (PAYM)

A new way to pay is coming this month, its called PAYM and it will be available from the 29th April.

Customers of the following banks can now register to link their mobile number with their bank account: Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander and TSB.

Other banks – including NatWest, RBS and First Direct – will join the scheme later in the year.

People who wish just to receive money – as opposed to paying it – will still be able to use the system, even if their phone is not a smartphone, or they do not use mobile banking.

To send money, a user will have to log into their bank’s mobile banking app, using a pass code as normal.
They will then have to select the recipient of the payment, using their existing contacts or by typing in that person’s mobile phone number.
After confirming the name of the recipient, they will have to check the amount being paid, type in a reference for it (such as “dinner”), and then press send.
A confirmation message will then be sent to them.

BBC News 2nd April 2014.

You can find out more details on these links:

http://www.paym.co.uk/

http://www.paymentscouncil.org.uk/mobile_payments/

So are you going to PAYM?

steve@bicknells.net

Are you missing out on money you’re entitled to?

You could be missing out on money that is owed to you:

UK Benefits https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser

The benefits adviser checks if you’re eligible to claim:

Attendance Allowance
Bereavement Allowance
Bereavement Payment
Carer’s Allowance *
Carer’s Credit
Child Benefit *
Child Tax Credit *
Constant Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Employment and Support Allowance *
Guardian’s Allowance
Housing Benefit *
Incapacity Benefit
Income Support *
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Jobseeker’s Allowance *
Maternity Allowance
Pension Credit *
State Pension
Statutory Adoption Pay
Statutory Maternity Pay
Statutory Paternity Pay
Statutory Sick Pay
War Widow’s or Widower’s Pension
Widowed Parents Allowance
Working Tax Credit *

(*) – For these benefits, you’ll also get an estimate of how much you might get.

Lost Pensions https://www.gov.uk/find-lost-pension

The Pension Service will help you track down any lost pensions, if you’re not retired you might be able to consolidate all your pensions to get a better return.

Unclaimed Assets and Forgotten Funds http://www.unclaimedassets.co.uk/

Assets are considered dormant when contact with the owner is lost – typically due to a name change after marriage or divorce, an unreported change of address or expired postal forwarding order, and incomplete or illegible records.

It’s important to note millions of family members remain unaware they’re entitled to collect unclaimed assets owed deceased relatives, who passed on without leaving updated financial records for their heirs.

The majority of this lost money comes from dormant bank accounts, orphan pensions, unknown windfalls, missing shares and abandoned dividends, forgotten life insurance policies, National Savings Certificates and Premium Bonds which have not been redeemed; but also included is £300 million in unclaimed National Lottery winnings!

Lost Savings and Bank Accounts http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/

If you think you may have lost touch with your account or savings, this website will guide you through some simple steps to help reunite you with your money. This is a FREE service and is brought to you by the British Bankers’ Association, the Building Societies Association and National Savings and Investments.

steve@bicknells.net