R40: claiming back tax taken off savings and investments

Who needs it

• People whose gross income from savings and investments was £10,000 or less.
• Whose gross income from land and property was £10,000 or less, and net income from land and property £2,500 or less.
• Whose foreign dividends were within the dividend allowance for the year, currently £500.
• Not for anyone registered for Self Assessment: you claim the repayment on your tax return instead.
• Not for people who live outside the UK: HMRC has a separate claim, R43, for them.

What you need before you start

• Details of all your income for the year: employment, pensions and state benefits, interest and dividends, trusts and estates, land and property, and foreign income.
• Your P60 or P45, bank and building society statements, and any letters from the Department for Work and Pensions.
• Income statements from trusts or estates, and dividend vouchers.
• For tax taken off interest: a document from the payer showing the gross interest, the tax deducted and the net interest. Ask the payer for one if you don't have it.

How to file R40

1. 1Check your income is within the R40 limits and that you aren't registered for Self Assessment.
2. 2Start the claim online from the R40 page on GOV.UK. Make a separate claim for each tax year.
3. 3If you're claiming back tax taken off interest, post the payer's statement to Pay As You Earn, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS. For other repayments, don't send evidence unless HMRC asks.
4. 4Claiming for someone else has to be done by post: start online to get the postal form, complete it with their details and sign your own name in the declaration.
5. 5HMRC contacts you once it has processed the claim.

Who R40 is for

R40 is for people outside Self Assessment who have had tax taken off savings or investment income and are owed some back. HMRC sets four limits on the R40 page: gross savings and investment income of £10,000 or less, gross land and property income of £10,000 or less, net land and property income of £2,500 or less, and foreign dividends within that year's dividend allowance.

If your income was above any of those limits, or you're registered for Self Assessment, you complete a tax return instead and the repayment is worked out there.

Online tool, postal form

HMRC replaced the R40 PDF with interactive guidance on 17 September 2024. You start online either way: the tool takes the claim, or gives you a postal version to print, fill in and send. HMRC accepts digital signatures on a printed and posted R40.

Each claim covers one tax year. You can claim for the current year and the previous four, so a backlog means one claim per year rather than one long form.

Evidence for tax taken off interest

This is the one case where HMRC asks for evidence up front. You need a document from the company that paid the interest showing the gross amount, the tax deducted and the net amount. Post it to Pay As You Earn, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS. For other repayments, HMRC says not to send evidence and that it will contact you if it needs any.

Claiming for someone else

If you're claiming on behalf of someone else, such as a relative, the claim has to go by post. Start the online tool to get a link to the postal form, complete it with their details and sign your own name in the declaration. HMRC publishes separate guidance if you want the repayment paid to you rather than to them.

Common mistakes

• Sending an R40 while registered for Self Assessment. HMRC wants the repayment claimed on the return.
• Putting several tax years on one claim. HMRC asks for a separate application for each year.
• Claiming back tax on interest without the payer's statement of gross interest, tax deducted and net interest.
• Using R40 after moving abroad. Non-residents claim on R43.
• Looking for the old PDF. HMRC replaced it with an online tool in September 2024; the postal version now comes from that tool.