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Posted Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:37:43 GMT by DrMark E
I have an Annual Tax Summary from my AJ Bell investment account, which includes unit trusts categorised as "Overseas Unit Trust & OEIC". Within the detailed schedules, these groups of units trusts list (in separate schedules) dividends and interest for the year, but on each schedule page it also says " On accumulation units income is reinvested - you have not received a cash payment" (and indeed I have not received any cash), On the summary "Consolidated Tax Certificate" page (which it says is approved by HMRC), the first column "Gross" has no figure listed against either of groups of unit trusts , whereas in the "Accumulation Value/Dividend/Interest" column, values are listed. My question is: do I declare these reinvested dividend and interest amounts on my tax return (and in which section?), or do I pay (CG) tax on them only when I realise the value by selling or transferring in the future. The advice from Admin 25 on another thread within this forum about how to handle reinvested dividends that have not been realised as cash (which says no tax is due - presumably they are taxed as capital gain) seems to contradict other HMRC documents such as IFM03120. I obviously don't want to pay tax twice on this gain. I also note that on the AJ Bell consolidated tax certificate, the "UK Authorised Unit Trusts and OEIC Dividends" does show a figure in the Gross column as well as the "Accumulation Value/Dividend/Interest" column, even though its schedule page also says "On accumulation units income is reinvested - you have not received a cash payment". Are these treated differently from the Overseas ones?
Posted Wed, 17 Jan 2024 10:32:46 GMT by HMRC Admin 19 Response
Hi,

You can see guidance here:

IFM03350 - Authorised investment funds (AIFs): taxation of investors within the charge to IT: distributions

CG57707 - Unit trusts: accumulation units

The first link provides an answer to the questions on the taxation of dividend and interest distributions. As you can see, these should be declared in the same way as any other dividend and gross interest payments. In this case, the payments will have been made from an overseas unit trust and should therefore be declared on the appropriate sections of the foreign income pages.

The units in the unit trust are treated as if they are shares in an ordinary company. The capital gains treatment of accumulation units is that when notional distributions, as described at CG57707, are received and are subject to Income Tax, the amount of those distributions will be allowable additional expenditure in a capital gain computation following a future disposal. As stated, this treatment applies to both UK resident and non UK resident trusts. 

Thank you.

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