How to Reclaim Tax on Savings Interest (Form R40) in the UK

A savings-tax refund starts with a fairly basic question: what tax did you actually pay, and how was it collected? Having interest below an allowance does not itself create money to reclaim.

Some people have had tax deducted from an interest payment. Others have paid too much through their wages or pension because HMRC's estimate of savings income was wrong. The paperwork may look similar, but the correction route can differ.

Use HMRC's R40 service where you qualify to reclaim tax on savings and investments outside Self Assessment. If you are registered for Self Assessment, use your tax return or the appropriate correction process instead. If the problem is an incorrect current PAYE savings estimate, ask HMRC to correct it.

Do not send several claims for the same overpayment. Identify the tax year and how the tax was collected before choosing the route.

For 2026/27, the Personal Savings Allowance is £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers, £500 for higher-rate taxpayers and nil for additional-rate taxpayers. Unused Personal Allowance and the starting rate for savings can also matter, particularly where other income is low. The allowance is applied to your combined relevant interest, not separately at each bank. GOV.UK's savings-tax rules.

Our Personal Savings Allowance guide explains the calculation. Do not subtract your allowance from the interest figure requested on a form unless that form specifically tells you to do so.

UK bank and building society deposit interest is generally paid without tax deducted. A bank statement showing £400 interest does not normally mean £100 was withheld before you received it. Check the actual statement or tax certificate instead of working backwards from an assumed deduction.

A Simple Example

Suppose a payment statement shows £600 gross taxable interest, £120 Income Tax deducted and £480 paid to you. Assume you are a basic-rate taxpayer, have no other relevant interest, and the full £1,000 savings allowance is available.

In that illustration, the £600 falls within the allowance, so the £120 deduction may be repayable after HMRC considers your complete tax position. The refund is the overpaid tax, not the unused £400 of allowance.

Now change the statement to £600 gross interest and no tax deducted, with no tax collected elsewhere. There is no £120 refund merely because the interest is below the allowance. Keep that distinction clear before paying anyone to make a claim.

The R40 eligibility page includes limits for savings and investment income, property income and foreign dividends. Do not treat having less than £10,000 of savings income as the only qualification.

Create one folder per tax year. Put your interest certificates and statements beside your P60 or pension information and relevant HMRC calculations. Add details of other income the form asks for, rather than supplying only the payment you want refunded.

For a claim involving tax deducted from interest, HMRC currently requires a document from the payer showing the gross interest, tax deducted and net interest. Its instructions say to send that evidence by post. Follow the current service instructions for submission details and retain a copy.

If your document only shows the net payment, request a breakdown from the payer. Do not enter the entire compensation settlement as interest if only one separately identified element was interest.

For a joint account, establish your share rather than copying the whole account total into both people's claims. If the income arose after a death, use the separate guide to savings tax after a spouse dies; the estate's income and the survivor's income need to be distinguished.

The normal savings-tax reclaim deadline is four years after the end of the relevant tax year. On 13 September 2026, the earliest complete tax year ordinarily within that window is 2022/23, with a deadline of 5 April 2027. The year 2021/22 normally fell out of time on 5 April 2026.

R40 allows a separate claim for each relevant year, including the current year where appropriate. A current-year claim still needs accurate information and must follow HMRC's instructions for income that may continue during the year.

Keep a record of the year, amount claimed, submission date and reference. If a deadline is close or the history is complicated, obtain tax help promptly rather than assuming a later phone call will preserve your claim.

You can normally amend a Self Assessment return within 12 months of its filing deadline. For the 2024/25 tax year, that generally means 31 January 2027.

After the amendment window closes, an overpayment-relief claim may be available within four years of the tax year's end. That is a formal written claim with specific content and declaration requirements, not simply another R40. Follow HMRC's tax-return correction guidance.

For an accountant-managed return, send the interest certificate and the relevant year to the accountant before submitting anything independently. That avoids claiming a repayment already dealt with through the return.

Compare the savings estimate in your coding notice with the interest you expect for that tax year. A matured bond, withdrawn savings or a move into an ISA can make a previous year's figure a poor estimate of the next.

Give HMRC a supported replacement estimate and ask what happens to tax already collected. Keep the old and revised notices so you can check the change. Our guide to savings interest and higher-rate tax covers why a change in interest can affect more than one part of the calculation.

Browse the savings guides for related questions. This is general UK tax information, not personalised tax advice. Sources checked on 13 September 2026.

• HMRC: R40 eligibility, evidence and claiming
• GOV.UK: tax on savings interest and reclaim deadlines
• HMRC: correcting Self Assessment and claiming overpayment relief