Saving account interest from Isle of Man and Jersey how to fill in tax form 2047 ?

[miaviv]

On form 2047 we have to declare our interest payments on bank accounts in Jersey and the Isle of Man.  I don't really know if I'm supposed to put gross or net values in column B5 (part 2 of the form) - Autres revenus de valeurs mobilières et revenus assimilés".  The colum heading says 'net' but the tax authority guy says put 'brut' = gross which I don't understand. 

Also in colum 6 - do I put 20% which is the equivalent of the tax that we paid ?  Or do I follow the 'directive épargne' which is on the next page and put 25% ??  If I put 20% in this column do I then calculate at a rate of 25% (directive épargne) which I can use to get a crédit d'impôt and put this sum in line BG ?

My tax guy (who didn't have a clue but apparently found out) said put gross amount in colum 5 which appears weird to me as I then end up with a figure in TS which is the equivalent to gross interest plus the tax amount which we have never had !!

My husband is French, I have lived here for 17 years and the guy from the Impots has probably been doing this job for a long time but none of us get this !!!

Thanks in advance

[Hereford]

You put the Gross figure !  Net seems to mean "net of charges etc" not net of tax.  You should be able to re-claim the tax deducted via the UK although it would surely be better to speak to Jersey /I of M and get the interest paid Gross - normally this just involves giving them you French tax reference so that they are sure you are declaring it and paying tax somewhere.

We get ours Gross so put " 0 " in the tax box.  If you can re-claim the tax from the Uk then the easiest way for the French return is to put "0" tax. You will know that you have to pay social charges on it in France as well as tax.

[Sunday Driver]

How you declare your Jersey and IoM savings depends upon how you've opted to have the interest treated in those countries under the EU Savings Directive. 

If you opted for disclosure, then you just declare the gross interest in column 5 with no tax credit calculation, the same as for UK savings. 

If you opted to pay witholding tax instead, then you're entitled to a credit for that tax you've already paid.  So, you declare the gross interest minus the witholding tax in column 5, the percentage (25%) in column 6 and the resultant tax credit in column 7.  The total of columns 5+6+7 goes across into box TS as your total interest income and column 7 goes across to across to box BG to generate the tax credit so you're not taxed twice. 

The procedure is explained in the final paragraph of the Notice for the 2047.

 

[miaviv]

Thanks for your reply.  We do in fact pay tax at source of 20%.

Last year the guy at the tax offices told me to put gross sum in column 5, 20% in column 6 and then the tax paid (equivalent of 20% retention tax) in column 7.  This ends up being a lot more than we actually got when you add up columns 5 and 7 ie. gross income plus the tax !! which then goes onto line TS.  I did this last year on his advice but we are now questioning this.  Are you referring to notice 18 where you said it is explained in the last paragraph ? I understand this to mean other incomes and not mine because I thought we were (à l'exception des intérets entrans dans le cadre de la directive épargne").

How come I can put 25% in column 6 when I only paid 20%  ???

I can't find the answer anywhere, the tax guy didn't know and had to find out and if I ask  again he will surely say the same thing.  Are you in a similar position to me with accounts ?  I am desperate to know what to do as my husband says put net (after tax taken off) value in column 5 and I am trusting the tax guy's advice and putting gross !

[Sunday Driver]

If you're paying the standard 20% income tax at source, then you're not subject to the 25% witholding tax so just forget about it.

Your tax man's advice is incorrect.  The form 2047 is designed to lead you through the calculation - follow the instructions on the form and enter the net interest in column 5 and the 20% tax paid in column 7.  The total of 5+7 (ie, your gross income) goes into box TS and the tax paid from column 7 into box BG.

 

[miaviv]

Thanks, this seems logical.

I am now going to have to try to get back some of the money we overpaid due to the bad advice received last year !  Not sure how to go about doing that.  The guy said that sometimes net is brut as far as the impôts are concerned and of course, because he works for the impôts I trusted his judgement even though for me, net is net not gross.

Thanks again