Important information for members who have an annual allowance charge for 2018/19:
In a Pensions Schemes Newsletter 115 (26 November 2019) article HMRC has asked scheme administrators to remind members who have an annual allowance charge for 2018/19, because they have exceeded their available annual allowance, that this charge must be declared on their Self-Assessment tax return, irrespective of who pays the charge i.e. the member or the member’s scheme by scheme pays. Here is what HMRC’s article says:
‘Annual allowance – members declaring their annual allowance charge on their Self Assessment tax return
‘We know that scheme members are forgetting to declare details of their annual allowance charge on their Self Assessment returns. We’d ask scheme administrators to remind those members who have exceeded their annual allowance for 2018 to 2019 and who do not have sufficient unused annual allowance to carry forward to cover the excess, that they must declare this on their Self Assessment tax return, even if your scheme is paying the tax charge.
'The Pension savings - tax charges (Self Assessment helpsheet HS345) has specific information on declaring the annual allowance charge on Self Assessment returns.'
‘Your members can also find information and guidance about annual allowance and carrying forward unused annual allowance on GOV.UK and they can use our calculator to check whether they need to declare and pay an annual allowance tax charge.’
Further information about the annual allowance, annual allowance charge and the scheme pays election for this Scheme are available in the Member Hub and the Annual Allowance page.