INTM331024 - Double Taxation applications and claims: Repayment claims from non-residents: What about applications for relief at source?

Applications for relief at source under the terms of a double taxation treaty are not considered to be subject to the provisions of TMA70/SCH1A. They are not claims within the self assessment (SA) rules but rather applications for a “direction”, also referred to as a relief at source authority or an exemption, to be issued to the payer of the income, so that future payments of the income will be either

• exempt from UK income tax, or
• taxed in the UK at the “treaty rate”, that is at a rate lower than the savings rate or the basic rate, as appropriate,

depending on the terms of the particular double taxation treaty.

It follows that where you have an application for relief at source the SA rules and procedures do not apply. If we need some information about an application for relief at source we will write to the claimant or the claimant’s tax adviser if there is one to ask for the information we require. We will do so without having to issue any formal notice.

PAYE Pensions

Remember that, as mentioned in INTM331011 and the following two paragraphs, double taxation claims for exemption from UK income tax on pensions paid under PAYE are subject to the Self Assessment rules.