HK bank interest income & Transfer of savings from HK to UK

I have been living in the UK since moving from Hong Kong ("HK") in Aug 2022. Do I need to report the interest income earned since I arrived in the UK in Aug 2022 on my HK bank account? If the interest amount is less than the starting rate of savings £5,000 or personal savings allowance £1,000, will it be exempted from reporting? If I have to report, please advise how. I have settled the tax payable in HK before I came to the UK. After I came to the UK, I have no income worldwide other than the HK bank account interest. Now I wish to transfer my savings from the HK bank account to my UK bank account. Is there any tax implication for the transfer? Would the reporting of the interest income or tax paid thereon, if any, have any tax consequence of the transfer?

Hi,

Article 11 of the UK and Hong Kong double taxation agreement states that interest arising in Hong Kong and paid to an individual, who is resident in the UK, is taxable on that interest in the UK. 

2010 Hong Kong-UK DTA

There are no tax implications for the transfer of your savings from Hong Kong to the UK.  Any interest that arises may be taxable.

Please have a look at the guidance at section 9.11 & 9.12. If you meet the criteria here then, you do not need to declare the interest. If you do not meed the criterial, the foreign interest must be reported on a Self Assessment Tax Return, even if there is no tax liability.

Thank you.

Thanks for the reply. I do not know what is the guidance at section 9.11 & 9.12 that you mentioned. Could you specify what guidance or provide me a link? I've browsed the website about Self Assessment Tax Return. It requires a registration to create a Government Gateway account. But it states that to register for Government Gateway, I need National Insurance No. (which I don't have) or postcode (I have) and 2 of the 6 things of the list of which I only have 1 of them. Even then, I still click "Sign In" trying to create sign in details of Government Gateway. It asks me an email address but saying that this will only be used for security updates or to recover sign in details. Should I still proceed to enter my email address?

Re your last paragraph, may I have the link for the guidance at section 9.11 & 9.12, please? As I have the same question on whether I need to report my interest from HK bank account. One more question, may I know whether the interest is taxable (i) when it is generated, or (ii) when it is tranferred to UK. Thanks.

Hi,

Section 9.11 & 9.12 below, is the guidance that applies for the exemption for small amounts of foreign income.

Residence, domicile and the remittance basis: RDR1

As you cannot register to submit a tax return online, you will need to download and print off a paper tax return.  

You can do this at:

Self Assessment tax return forms

Thank you.

Hi YL Edison,

You can find the information here:

Residence, domicile and the remittance basis: RDR1

Thank you.