Tax on interest

[poolger]

Can anyone tell me what the tax rate is (in %) on interest on a bank account. Also is it taking off annually?

[jedimistress]

20%. It's deducted from the interest you receive when you receive the interest. (Not on tax free savings though).

You can request annual interest statements to show how much interest you have paid on your statements.

[jedimistress]

Last word should have read accounts not statements sorry.

[jedimistress]

Replace whole last paragraph with "You can request annual interest statements to show how much tax you have paid on your interest."

In a rush as it's end of day sorry.

[poolger]

Is there any way to get around paying it, if it is taken off when you receive the interest? Thanks for your answers.

[dzug]

Yes.

Fill in an R85 and give that to the bank.

In it you are certifying that you are not liable for tax because eg you have income less than the lower earnings limit.

Alternatively get a bank account that pays gross. A National Savings Investment account is the only one I can think of offhand. You are still liable for the tax on the interest - you just don't have to pay it up front.

Or get a mini-cash ISA - no tax to pay.