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Posted Thu, 03 Aug 2023 15:23:43 GMT by Trevor B
I understand that banks report interest paid on savings accounts to HMRC. My wife and I have a joint savings account. Is the interest automatically allocated between us for taxation purposes?
Posted Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:48:24 GMT by HMRC Admin 5
Hi

Yes it is automtically split 50/50.

Thank you
Posted Tue, 08 Aug 2023 18:11:50 GMT by Manoj P
Hi My situation is slightly different but thought I can ask here as a reply. My wife, my son and myself moved to the UK in July, 2016. Since then, I have been receiving salary after tax deduction so I never filled a self -assessment tax return. My wife was a housewife until 2021, when she opened a small Airbnb business. When we filed the first tax return in January 2023 for the business, it was the first time we all realised about the foreign income tax. Before that, we had no idea about it. Actually, I opened an Indian NRE savings account a long time ago and I had initially requested to make it a joint account with my wife but for some reason, we recently found out that this is solely in my name and my wife is nominee only. Before 2016, my wife and I were remitting money from the countries we were living in at that time to India to make fixed deposits in joint name and the interest was deposited in the said NRE saving account. My question is that shouldn't the tax on interest be split 50/50 since my wife is definitely entitled to half of the money of fixed deposits amounts. She was working previously in the other countries so she was earning the money that she was remitting to make the joint fixed deposits. I would really appreciate it if you can help me. Also, when I was reading the guidelines on foreign income tax, I came across FTC penalties. Will these apply to our case? Thank you. Kind regards,
Posted Fri, 11 Aug 2023 11:45:26 GMT by HMRC Admin 10
Hi
Interest arising in a foreign bank account, in a tax year that owners of the account were not resident in the UK, is not taxable in the UK.
As you became resident in the UK in 2016, it would be from that tax year, that the interest would be subject to UK.  
As the account is not a joint account, only you would be taxable on the interest, as the beneficial owner of the account.
 

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