IPTM7175 - Certificates for HMRC: name and address of policyholder

It is a requirement that chargeable event certificates provided by insurers to HMRC must include the name and address of the ‘appropriate policyholder’. See IPTM7110 for meaning of ‘appropriate policyholder’.

Multiple or joint policyholders

Strictly, the name and address of each appropriate policyholder must be provided. However, this does not fit well with the submission of a certificate in a standard format for each gain, particularly if the certificate is to be provided electronically.

Therefore, the standard form which has been prescribed to report gains to HMRC only requires the reporting of the number of appropriate policyholders, the name and address of one of those policyholders and the name only of one other appropriate policyholder.

Power of attorney

Where there is either an ‘enduring’ or ‘property and financial affairs lasting’ power of attorney, the insurer may report the address of the attorney on the certificate for HMRC unless it knows that either of these has not been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Where the insurer knows that there is merely an ordinary power of attorney, or either an enduring power of attorney or a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney that has not been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, the insurer should enter the policyholder’s last notified address on the certificates to be provided to HMRC.

Policies held on trust

It is neither required by the legislation, nor necessary, for insurers to include a declaration that a policy is held on trust. However, insurers who wish to serve their customers by disclosing to HMRC that the policy giving rise to the gain is held on trust may enter details in the policyholder and address box to make this clear.

The body of trustees counts as one policyholder for the purpose of entering the number of policyholders on the chargeable event certificate.