Self Assessment - Charges Guidance
Making Tax Digital: Other Income Charges
When completing your digital updates or final declarations under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, you may need to report specific tax charges. This section covers exactly what information is required if you are subject to the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) or various Pension Savings Tax Charges.
This guide provides plain English explanations for each required field, aligned with HMRC’s latest MTD guidance.
High Income Child Benefit Charge
If your adjusted net income is above the threshold (currently £60,000 for the 2024/25 tax year onwards), you may be liable for the High Income Child Benefit Charge. This charge reclaims some or all of the Child Benefit payments you or your partner received.
Amount Of Child Benefit Received
What to enter: The exact total amount of child benefit you or your partner received during the tax year, entered to two decimal places (e.g., 1111.22).
HMRC Guidance: You must declare the total amount actually received in the year. If you have opted out of receiving payments to avoid the charge but still claim the benefit to receive National Insurance credits, you should enter 0.
Number Of Children
What to enter: The number of children for whom you received the child benefit payments. This must be a whole number (e.g., 2).
HMRC Guidance: This should reflect the number of eligible children that the child benefit claim covered during the tax year.
Date Ceased
What to enter: The exact date your child benefit payments ended during the tax year (format: DD/MM/YYYY). If you continued to receive payments throughout the year, leave this blank.
HMRC Guidance: Providing the cessation date ensures your charge is accurately pro-rated for the period you actually received the benefit.
Pension Savings Tax Charges
You must report charges if your pension savings exceed the Annual Allowance, or if you receive unauthorised payments or make certain overseas transfers.
Pension Scheme Overseas Transfers
If you transfer your UK pension to an overseas scheme, a transfer charge may apply.
Provider Name
What to enter: The official name of the overseas pension provider.
HMRC Guidance: The name must precisely match the provider’s registered details.
Provider Address
What to enter: The full postal address of the overseas pension provider.
Provider Country Code
What to enter: Select the country code for the overseas provider (e.g., France).
Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme
What to enter: The QROPS reference number if the scheme is a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme.
HMRC Guidance: This reference starts with a ‘Q’ followed by 6 numbers (e.g., Q123456).
Pension Scheme Tax Reference
What to enter: The 10-character unique reference provided by HMRC.
HMRC Guidance: This is usually 8 numbers followed by a letter ‘R’ and another letter (e.g., 00123456RA). You only need to provide this if you do not have a QROPS reference.
Transfer Charge
What to enter: The exact amount the pension provider charged you to transfer the pension.
Transfer Charge Tax Paid
What to enter: The amount of UK tax correctly paid on the transfer charge.
Pension Scheme Unauthorised Payments
If you received payments from a pension scheme that are not permitted under tax rules, they are classed as unauthorised and incur a tax charge.
Pension Scheme Tax Reference
What to enter: The 10-character unique reference provided by HMRC for the scheme that made the payment.
Surcharge
What to enter: If the unauthorised payments were subject to an HMRC surcharge, provide the Amount of the payment and any Foreign Tax Paid on it.
HMRC Guidance: A surcharge typically applies if your unauthorised payments exceed 25% of your pension pot value.
No Surcharge
What to enter: If the unauthorised payments were not subject to a surcharge, provide the Amount and any Foreign Tax Paid.
Pension Contributions (Annual Allowance)
The standard Annual Allowance is the maximum you can save into your pension tax-free each year (currently £60,000 for 2024/25).
Pension Scheme Tax Reference
What to enter: The 10-character unique reference provided by HMRC for the scheme in which you exceeded your allowance.
In Excess Of The Annual Allowance
What to enter: The exact amount you saved towards your pension that exceeded your Annual Allowance limit.
HMRC Guidance: You can carry forward unused allowances from the previous three tax years. Only enter an amount here if you have exhausted all carry-forward allowances and still have an excess.
Annual Allowance Tax Paid
What to enter: The amount of tax already paid on the excess annual allowance.
HMRC Guidance: This usually applies if you have asked your pension provider to pay the tax charge on your behalf using the “scheme pays” facility.
Is Annual Allowance Reduced
What to enter: Select ‘Yes’ or ‘True’ if your standard Annual Allowance has been legally reduced.
HMRC Guidance: If you select yes, you must also indicate the reason below.
Tapered Annual Allowance
What to enter: Select ‘Yes’ or ‘True’ if your allowance was reduced because you are a high earner.
HMRC Guidance: The tapered allowance applies to individuals with a high ‘adjusted income’ (currently over £260,000).
Money Purchased Allowance
What to enter: Select ‘Yes’ or ‘True’ if your allowance was reduced because you have flexibly accessed your pension pot.
HMRC Guidance: This is known as the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) and reduces your tax-free limit for future contributions (usually to £10,000).
Overseas Pension Contributions
Details regarding contributions paid into an overseas pension and any resulting short service refunds.
Overseas Scheme Provider Details
What to enter: Provide the Provider Name, Provider Address, Provider Country Code, and either the Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) reference or Pension Scheme Tax Reference.
HMRC Guidance: These details identify the specific foreign scheme into which your contributions were paid.
Short Service Refund
What to enter: The amount of any short service refund you received for overseas pension contributions.
HMRC Guidance: A short service refund occurs when you leave a pension scheme with less than two years of qualifying service and receive a refund of your contributions.
Short Service Refund Tax Paid
What to enter: The amount of tax paid on the short service refund.
Pension Savings Tax Charges (Pre-April 2024 Lifetime Allowance)
Important Note: From April 2024 (the 2024/25 tax year onwards), the Pension Lifetime Allowance was abolished. You no longer need to submit values for Lifetime Allowance excess charges for current MTD updates.
If you are submitting historic data for tax years before 2024-25, you may need to provide:
Pension Scheme Tax Reference
What to enter: The 10-character HMRC reference for the associated scheme.
Lump Sum Benefit Taken In Excess Of Lifetime Allowance
What to enter: The Amount taken as a lump sum that exceeded your Lifetime Allowance, and the Tax Paid on it.
Benefit In Excess Of Lifetime Allowance
What to enter: The Amount of benefit taken in a format other than a lump sum (e.g., regular pension payments) that exceeded your Lifetime Allowance, and the Tax Paid on it.