(still a LF noob so no urls in my query below sorry)
I'm doing a SA for the first time (21-2 year) and have got side tracked by some minutiae
HMRC says:
Tax on savings interest
Your [personal] allowance applies to interest from: [...]
- savings and credit union accounts
Co-op credit union says:
"All savings held in the credit union attract a dividend. The dividend rate is paid based on the credit union’s financial performance and market conditions. It is not agreed in advance, but proposed and voted on at the AGM every January. In 2021, the credit union paid 0.25% and in 2020 paid 1% and we always aim to pay as much as we can reasonably afford to."
Do co-op credit union 'dividends' = interest, in the eyes of HMRC? Or are credit union 'dividends' equivalent to the dividends from listed & traded company/ETF shares
googling turns up conflicting answers & nothing in HMRC customer forum, I'm awaiting a response from co-op and thought I'd seek the collective wisdom of LF
The amount is tiny but I'd still prefer to get it in the correct part of my 1st SA
Thanks,
Gpadsa
SA: co-op credit union 'dividends' = interest?
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- Lemon Pip
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- Joined: April 12th, 2021, 4:53 pm
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- Lemon Half
- Posts: 8675
- Joined: November 4th, 2016, 1:16 pm
Re: SA: co-op credit union 'dividends' = interest?
There's some information here from the UK Government taxation manual that says you should treat it as interest -gpadsa wrote:
Do co-op credit union 'dividends' = interest, in the eyes of HMRC?
Or are credit union 'dividends' equivalent to the dividends from listed & traded company/ETF shares?
CTM40165 - Particular bodies: credit unions: taxation of members
Payment of share or loan interest
Share or loan interest (including dividends) is normally paid or credited to the shareholders (members) in a credit union without deduction of tax.
It is chargeable on the shareholders as interest.
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manual ... l/ctm40165
That's also confirmed by this UK tax site -
Can you tell me more about credit unions?
returns on credit union savings may be by way of a ‘dividend’ or interest.
Both types are treated as interest income for tax purposes despite the first being called a ‘dividend’.
Credit unions do not have to deduct any tax at source from savings income. Credit union savings income falls within the PSA.
https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/sav ... it-unions-
Cheers,
Itsallaguess
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- Lemon Pip
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Re: SA: co-op credit union 'dividends' = interest?
Great, thanks very much!It is chargeable on the shareholders as interest.
Gpadsa
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- Lemon Pip
- Posts: 80
- Joined: April 12th, 2021, 4:53 pm
Re: SA: co-op credit union 'dividends' = interest?
Co-op credit union responded as follows to my query:
"Hi [Gpadsa], no tax is deducted from your dividend from us. I can see you earned [miniscule amount] in dividends this past year and the government exempts the first £1,000 of annual interest income from being subject to tax. Hope that helps."
It implies 'co-op credit union dividends' = 'interest' although it does not state it explicitly - so their response 'approximately' helped.
Anyway I already knew the answer faster and in more detail from Itsallaguess' earlier response here in TLF.
Interesting co-op assumptions about anyone who interacts with a credit union:
- must have less than £1k pa interest income
- must not be in higher-rate income tax band.
Gpadsa
"Hi [Gpadsa], no tax is deducted from your dividend from us. I can see you earned [miniscule amount] in dividends this past year and the government exempts the first £1,000 of annual interest income from being subject to tax. Hope that helps."
It implies 'co-op credit union dividends' = 'interest' although it does not state it explicitly - so their response 'approximately' helped.
Anyway I already knew the answer faster and in more detail from Itsallaguess' earlier response here in TLF.
Interesting co-op assumptions about anyone who interacts with a credit union:
- must have less than £1k pa interest income
- must not be in higher-rate income tax band.
Gpadsa