Tax on savings

[Confuzzleduzzled]

I have just over £20k of savings in a savings account with hsbc. Am I supposed to declare this somewhere to pay tax on it? I don’t fill out a self assessment at the moment as I’m just on PAYE.
Are there tax free ways of saving more than 20k?

If you earn under £12570, you can have £6000 in savings interest before it’s taxed - the starter savings rate is £5000 of interest plus the normal £1000 allowance. Which would mean £150k savings at 4%.
Handy for something like an inheritance lump sum when one spouse is a non or low earner and you can’t get it all into ISAs.

This!

Err… to her as much tax free interest as possible?

She has 20k in savings. What rate might it be earning? 3%? 4%?
Let's say it's 4%.
Interest on that for a year = £800
If she's a basic rate tax payer it's already entirely tax free.
If she's a higher rate tax payer £500 of it is tax free, and the tax payable for the WHOLE YEAR on the rest is £300 x 40% = £120
OF WHICH the amount of tax in respect of 27 November to 5 April is about £32

So yes, to minimise tax best to put it in an ISA. But to say she should do this TOMORROW. I mean, it's better to take your time and find the right ISA and not panic. Signing up to a low interest ISA in a panic could cost a lot in the long run than researching a good one and paying some fraction of £32.

As per my post above, even if she is being taxed the tax will be minimal. Best to take your time and not panic.