When you visit our website, we may send you a cookie. To learn more, please refer to our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use our website, you agree to this.
By continuing, you agree to our Cookie Policy.
Home > Investing > Investing Guides > Tax forms every investor must understand

Tax forms every investor must understand

If you are a UK investor, HMRC will calculate your tax liability on your behalf if they receive your paper or online tax forms by October 31, 2018.

You may also calculate your tax liability yourself. To do this, you will need the Tax Calculation Summary page from the HRMC tax return form and an understanding of tax vouchers as well as various tax forms that may affect your tax liabilities.

Before you begin

Completing your UK tax return can be a complicated affair, but the process can be much easier if you have all of your fund and tax documents in hand. These documents will help you calculate your specific capital gains tax liability.

Interest vouchers

This voucher is necessary to show that an income tax of 20 percent has already been deducted by your fund, meaning you do not have to pay any further taxes, unless you are a higher rate taxpayer.

If you are a non-taxpayer, you will need an HRMC R38 claim form to reclaim all or a portion of the UK income tax that has already been paid on your behalf. To do so, you will need to transfer the net interest distribution figures from the box on your interest voucher to the box on your tax return.

If a UK bond fund provided you with income, the figure on your interest voucher should be entered into box one of the ‘Interest and dividends from UK banks, building societies, etc.’ section of your tax return.

Dividend vouchers

The figure appearing in the dividend box of the voucher should be transferred to box four under ‘other dividends’ on your tax return. However, you should not transfer the equalisation or tax credit amount.

Basic rate taxpayers will not have any further tax liability, because the tax credit will cover any liability they may have had. However, additional and higher rate taxpayers will have to pay further taxes.

If you happen to have more dividend vouchers from authorised unit trusts or OEICs, these figures will need to be added up before you complete the corresponding box on your tax return.

PAIF vouchers

If you have invested in a fund with property investments, the fund may be a Property Authorised Investment Fund, commonly referred to as a PAIF. If so, you may have accumulated a property income distribution, interest distribution, and/or a dividend distribution.

You will know whether or not the investment has multiple components by looking at your PAIF tax voucher. The voucher will also tell you how the funds were distributed between each component.

If the voucher contains a property income distribution component, the figure should be entered in box 16 under the ‘Other UK income not included on supplementary pages’ section of your tax return.

If the voucher contains an interest component, then the interest figure should be included in box one of your tax return. Similarly, a dividend component should be entered into box four.

Tax elected fund vouchers

An investment in a tax elected fund may have two distribution components: a dividend distribution and/or an interest-taxed non-dividend distribution.

The voucher provided by the fund will state whether or not there is more than one component to the distribution and how the distribution was allocated. The dividend figure needs to be entered in box four of your tax return, and any non-dividend amount needs to be entered in box one.

Whether you are a fund investor or not, you should understand the following HMRC tax forms and how they apply to certain situations:

R40

The R40 tax form can be used if you have paid more tax than you needed to on interest earned from a savings account.

R86

You can use the R86 tax form to request payment from a joint annuity without any taxes being taken out.

R89

The R89 tax form can be used to request payment from a purchased life annuity without tax being taken out beforehand.

R85

You can use the R85 tax form to earn tax-free interest on your bank or building society account.

R105

If you typically live outside of the UK, the R105 tax form can be used to also receive tax-free interest on any savings or investment accounts you have with a bank or building society.

R105 AFA

This form can be used if you do not normally call the UK your place of residence and wish to receive an alternative finance receipt that does not have any tax taken out.

R105 DAT

Similarly, if you typically live outside of the UK, the R105 DAT tax form can be used to apply for tax-free interest earned on a building society, accumulation trust bank, or discretionary account.

In the UK, regardless of the types of investments you hold, there are tax forms that can be used to accurately calculate your capital gains taxes and apply for tax-free earned interest. So, by studying these tax forms and understanding your tax position, you will be well-prepared when tax season rolls around.

Return to Top ▲Return to Top ▲