Applying for a certificate: European Directive on taxation of savings
Published 13 January 2006
© Crown copyright 2006
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-directive-on-taxation-of-savings-tax-certificates/applying-for-a-certificate-european-directive-on-taxation-of-savings
One way to avoid the levy of withholding tax under the Directive and related agreements is to get a tax certificate from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). You then present it to your paying agent and your agent will then pay savings income to you without deducting the special withholding tax.
1. When you can apply for a certificate
You can only apply for a certificate if:
- you receive savings income paid by a paying agent established in a territory which will apply a withholding tax. These territories are Andorra, Austria, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands Antilles, San Marino, Switzerland and Turks & Caicos Islands
- you wish to receive savings income without the deduction of withholding tax
- the territory has adopted this option as a method of avoiding withholding tax - your paying agent will be able to advise you which options are open to you
2. How to apply for a certificate
To apply for a certificate you should complete an EUSD SWT (1) form. This form should only be used by individuals who live in the UK.
The purpose of the form is to enable individuals who live in the UK to make the application provided by section 113 of the Finance Act 2004 for such a certificate.
An application should be made for each account or source of relevant savings income. If you are making an application for more than one account with the same paying agent you may attach a list showing details of the additional accounts to the EUSD SWT(1).
A separate form should however be completed for each paying agent if you have accounts with more than one. Where a paying agent acts for more than one account provider a separate form should be completed in respect of each of the account providers.
You need to provide all of the information asked for in this form for each account you wish to make an application for. Failure to do so may result in your application being delayed.
Once completed the form should be sent to your own tax office. That will normally be the office to which you send your Self Assessment tax return or the tax office responsible for your PAYE tax code if you are an employee.
Your tax office may ask you to provide documents to support the information you have given. If the tax office is satisfied with the information provided it will issue a certificate within 2 months of receiving the information and any documents requested.
The certificate will include the information you provided. It will state how long the certificate is valid for, which will be no more than 3 years. It will be your responsibility to apply for a further certificate before the first one expires.
In exceptional cases your tax office may refuse to issue a certificate if it is not satisfied with the information provided and any documents requested. If this happens you will be given written notice of the reasons for its refusal. If you do not agree with its decision, you may appeal in writing to the appropriate appeals Tribunal by giving notice of your appeal to your tax office within 30 days of the date of the written refusal.