Alex Mintz

Hi, I have received a letter from HMRC informing me that I MAY have some overseas gains I have to pay tax on based on CRS data received. HMRC wants me to certify that either I had no income tax to pay, that it has already been declared or to disclose all unreported foreign income. When inquired by phone, I was told this was merely a result of a foreign bank account balance change between two reporting periods which triggered the letter. Three questions please: 1. Can I include only those years of interest indicated to me by HMRC by phone on the Certification form and refer to my call with HMRC as a reference (as the form does not explicitly say which periods to certify) ? Would a cover letter explaining the choice of periods for certification be of help ? 2. Shall I comment on the nature of changes in bank balances even though this has not been explicitly requested ? 3. The certificate form has four choices, two of which are relevant for me - the wording is poorly crafted hence any clarification is helpful please ! Option 2 : I believe I have declared all my overseas income on my tax return as shown below [] Option 4: I have not declared my overseas income or gains as they are not liable to UK tax On my past return, I have declared foreign income in supplementary pages, but since that foreign income was subject to DTA, I have deducted it from my UK tax return resulting in zero UK tax payable. Therefore both of the above options are applicable: I have declared my foreign income and I am not liable to UK tax. Choosing option 2 above may incorrectly imply that I am liable to UK tax, since only option 4 offers a choice of ‘I am not liable to UK tax’. And choosing option 4 is also misleading since it implies I have not declared foreign income whereas I have (assuming that reporting it on supplementary pages as subject to foreign tax only and not to UK tax due to DTA is equivalent to ‘declaring’) My thoughts so far are to select option 2 as the closest, and to list SA110 (where I have left income tax payable empty as per above) and Supplementary pages (where I have declared foreign income subject to DTA) under that option as requested. Any guidance would be much appreciated. Thank you !