Tax on saving interest

[Thingsthatgo]

DH earns approx £55k pa and I earn £15k.
We have a joint saving account which earns around £600 per year interest.
Do we both get our personal saving allowance on the joint account (no other savings) or should DH declare it as his personal savings allowance is £500?

It gets split 50:50 and half taxed on either of you

Isn't first £1000 tax free?

Put it in your name if you want to reduce the tax bill.

It's also calculated and paid automatically through your tax code (unless you have to fill in a tax return in which case you have to declare it).

£300 is attributed to you and £300 to him so no he wouldn't need to declare it unless it went over his annual savings allowance.

It's 300 each.

It's covered by your personal savings allowances, even your husband who gets the lower allowance because he is a higher rate taxpayer.

If he does a self assessment return he puts his half on his return, but there won't be any tax due on it

@Wilma55

The allowance is different for different taxpayers. Higher rate payers get £500 allowance.

If you only earn £15k you will get more than £1k allowance because of the starting rate

In the current situation you have made £300 each, so no tax for either of you, as you are both below your respective savings allowances

If you think you’re going to be in a position to earn more interest in the future then it would make sense to put it in your sole name as you can earn much more tax free (and thereafter at a lower rate of tax) than your DH

Great. Thank you all for your help and advice

Just remember that if he completes a SA tax return each year, he has to declare it, even though it's covered by the £500 exemption.

There's no income tax on it, but it may affect other things, such as child benefit claw back, as the £300 is added to taxable income, so will cause another £60 clawback if child benefit is being claimed by either of you.