Reporting dividends to HMRC

[cinelli]

I have been completing a paper tax return for several years but have just seen something I have never noticed before in the accompanying guidance notes. Box 4 should contain dividends from UK companies. Box 5 (other dividends) should contain dividends from unit trusts, OEICs and investment trusts. I have always put IT dividends in box 4 and this is the way my broker reports dividends.

HMRC has never queried this as an error and I don’t think it makes any difference to tax calculations. Am I correct in this view? Thank you.

Cinelli

[kempiejon]

I thought I remembered something like this.
viewtopic.php?t=19018

[Alaric]

Box 4 should contain dividends from UK companies. Box 5 (other dividends) should contain dividends from unit trusts, OEICs and investment trusts. I have always put IT dividends in box 4 and this is the way my broker reports dividends.

I get the impression someone writing these notes doesn't understand the difference between OEICs and ITs and that ITs are UK companies.


One year ii (or possibly TD Direct as they used to be) persuaded themselves to recategorise all their ITs into the OEICs schedule by means of a reissue of the annual taxable income and dividend statement. That was a one off and ever since they just categorise ITs alongside dividends from individual companies. See above for the discussion at the time.

There are some ITs which are Guernsey or Jersey based and these go into the "overseas" boxes.The Broker should subdivide these.

[XFool]

I have been completing a paper tax return for several years but have just seen something I have never noticed before in the accompanying guidance notes. Box 4 should contain dividends from UK companies. Box 5 (other dividends) should contain dividends from unit trusts, OEICs and investment trusts. I have always put IT dividends in box 4 and this is the way my broker reports dividends.

HMRC has never queried this as an error and I don’t think it makes any difference to tax calculations. Am I correct in this view? Thank you.

Yet one more of the enbafflements that lie in wait in the HMRC SA system. I remember becoming confused over this a few years ago and started separating out my recording of dividends from UK Companies and UK ITs. As you say, there is no difference in the tax treatment, so I just abandoned the whole thing and simply include IT dividends (unless overseas registered) in with other UK company dividends.

I still find more than one thing about the SA system confusing.

[cinelli]

Thank you all. That is reassuring. And to kempiejon for a long memory.

Cinelli