A. The euro is the European single currency of the twelve euro area countries that have chosen to join. This does not include the UK.
A. The twelve euro area countries are:
A. On 1 January 2002, euro cash was introduced in the twelve euro-area countries. By 28 February 2002, at the latest, their respective national currencies were withdrawn from circulation and have ceased to be legal tender.
Businesses in the UK that have links with the 12 euro-area countries, must now expect to find all financial transactions being carried out in euro.
A. No. All the taxes that HMRC administers are sterling taxes. Judges have ruled that these taxes can only be assessed and charged in sterling. Therefore, all tax returns must be completed in sterling. If you receive taxable income in euro, or any other foreign currency, it must be converted into sterling. There are no plans for this to change.
For example:
1. If you receive income in euro in the form of monthly interest on your
personal euro bank account, then this should be translated at the spot
rate for the last day of each month. If you receive annual interest, then
this should be translated at the spot rate on the day the interest is
received.
2. If you invoice a business customer for 200 euro, then use the spot
rate for that day to convert to sterling for your accounts, and when you
receive payment of 200 euro, then use the spot rate for that day to convert.
Any difference in the two sterling amounts is an exchange rate loss or
gain that should be reflected in your accounts. Alternatively, providing
the exchange rate has not fluctuated too much, then the monthly average
figure can be used for each transaction instead of the daily spot rate.
You can find out what the exchange rate was for any particular day (ie
the daily spot rate) from the Bank
of England website
A. You can pay any tax or National Insurance liability in euro, and we will convert the payments into sterling.
You can pay by:
You can find further details about euro payment procedures in the area specific guides within the Paying HMRC section of this website.
A. We will not pass on to you any of our administrative costs for converting euro into sterling unless it is a euro payment drawn on an overseas bank account. However, we will not meet the risk of any currency value fluctuations.
You have to estimate the exchange rate at the time of payment, because the actual rate used is the one in force when the clearing bank presents your payment. This rate cannot be predicted in advance by HMRC, so we cannot set a rate for you.
There are a number of different sources of information that can help you make an estimate of the exchange rate on the day of payment. These include:
A. The rate of exchange between sterling and the euro
can vary many times during the same day, as with any other currency. The
exchange rate used is the one in force when your payment is presented
by the clearing bank. If the rate used for converting euro into sterling
leaves a shortfall, you may have to pay the difference. If you overpay,
any repayment arising will be made to you in sterling.
Although you cannot totally eliminate the risk of shortfall or overpayment,
you can minimise it by using Bacs Direct Credit, Internet or Telephone
or CHAPS rather than cheque. These methods reduce the time it takes for
the payment to be cleared through the banking system.
A. No. All tax repayments are made in sterling, including overpayments due to exchange rate fluctuations.
A.There are a number of methods of payment that can be used from euro bank accounts held overseas, depending on the value of the payment:
1) A Bacs Direct Credit, Internet or Telephone banking or CHAPS transfer to the relevant HMRC bank account, which will be accepted for any amount. These are our preferred methods of payment from an overseas account, and are also the best method for you to minimise your risk of overpayment or underpayment due to exchange rate fluctuations.
2) A euro cheque (drawn on an overseas euro account), which will be accepted only if your tax liabilities are over £50. (Cheques for less than the equivalent of £50 that are drawn on an overseas euro account would be returned, because of the high bank charges for conversion.)
3) A Eurocheque (from a Eurocheque account) will be accepted providing individual Eurocheques do not exceed the equivalent of £700. (Eurocheques for less than the equivalent of £700 cost the same as a sterling cheque to process, but Eurocheques for more than £700 incur higher bank charges for conversion.) If your tax liabilities exceed £700, then more than one Eurocheque can be submitted for a single tax liability, but each individual Eurocheque should not exceed the equivalent of £700.
If you choose to use Bacs Direct Credit, Internet or Telephone banking or CHAPS , you will need to provide your bank or building society with HMRC’s bank account details. You should check with your bank or building society to see how long it takes to transfer a payment.
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) |
SWIFT Bank Identifier Code (BIC) |
Account Name |
|---|---|---|
GB05CITI08321012001020 |
CITIGB2L |
HMRC Shipley |
GB74CITI08321012001039 |
CITIGB2L |
HMRC Cumbernauld |
Note: You must provide your bank with both the IBAN and SWIFT BIC Code.
You can find further details about euro payment procedures in the area specific guides within the Paying HMRC section of this website.
