Claiming back tax or National Insurance

In this section:

Claiming back tax if you've had too much deducted from your pension
Reclaiming tax if you've overpaid through your job
Tax return corrections and refunds
Claiming back overpaid National Insurance contributions
Getting tax-free interest on savings or claiming tax back

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Getting tax-free interest on savings or claiming tax back

Getting tax-free interest on savings or claiming tax back

If you're on a low income and have savings with a bank or building society you could be paying tax on your interest when you don't need to. If this is the case, you can register to have the interest paid tax-free. You can also claim a refund of any tax you've overpaid.

Who can get tax-free savings interest?

Banks and building societies usually deduct 20 per cent tax from the interest they pay on most types of savings account. But if your total taxable income is less than your tax-free Personal Allowance (and any Blind Person's Allowance if you receive this) then you can:

register to get savings interest paid tax-free
claim back any tax you've paid unnecessarily

Taxable income includes money you earn from a job. But it excludes money you get from certain benefits and some other sources. Your Personal Allowance is the amount of income you can get tax-free and depends on your age and circumstances.

Check your current level of Personal Allowance

Read about taxable and non-taxable income

If you only pay a small amount of Income Tax

If your taxable income is only slightly higher than your tax-free allowance then some or all of your savings interest may be taxable at 10 per cent - the 'starting rate for savings limit'. You can find out more about this in our guide 'Tax on bank and building society accounts'.

If this applies to you, you'll probably be able to claim some tax back if it's been deducted from your interest. The amount you can reclaim is the difference between the tax that was deducted and the amount that's actually due.

Read about tax on bank and building society accounts

How to get interest without any tax taken off if you're not a taxpayer

To register to get interest on your savings tax-free you need to fill in form R85 Getting your interest without tax taken off and send it to your bank or building society. Some banks and building societies also let you register by phone.

You'll have to fill in a separate form R85 for each bank or building society where you've got accounts. If you open a new account you'll need to check your income and allowances and fill in a new form.

If you're under 16, your parent or guardian will have to register for you.

Checking if you can get your interest tax-free

You can check if you can get your interest tax-free by filling in the table in the helpsheet that comes with form R85. Or you can use our simple online checker.

R85 Getting your interest without tax taken off including the helpsheet (PDF 72K)

Use our online tax-free interest checker

How to claim tax back

If you think you've paid too much tax on your interest you can claim it back. To do this you'll need to fill in a form R40 Tax Repayment Form. You'll have to do this for each year you think you paid too much tax.

Time limits for claiming back tax

If you’ve overpaid tax the time limit for making a claim is no later than 31 January five years after the end of the tax year (5 April) in which the overpayment was made. For example, a claim for the tax year 2002-03 which ended on 5 April 2003 must be made by 31 January 2009.

Go to form R40 and help notes on completing the form

What to do if your circumstances change

Your income and tax allowances can change from year to year - and during the year. So you may find your income goes up and your tax allowances no longer cover it.

If this happens it's important you tell your bank or building society straight away so they can start taking tax off your interest. Otherwise you may have a tax bill at the end of the year.

Getting help

If you need any help getting tax-free interest you can call our Savings Helpline on Tel 0845 980 0645, open from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday and from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm on Friday.