HMRC are targeting tax-traps

More than one million pensioners could soon discover their supposedly “safe” nest-eggs come with a sting in the tail — an unwelcome tax bill

- By Katie Elliott

from HMRC. According to Freedom of Information data obtained by AJ Bell, 1.16 million people over state pension age could soon be hit with income tax on the interest from their savings this year. That’s nearly half of all 2.64 million taxpayers with a savings tax bill - and a sharp reminder that in today’s world of frozen thresholds and higher interest rates, even your bank account can become a tax trap.

Pensioners make up a striking 44% of those affected, rising to almost two-thirds among basic-rate taxpayers. This shows it’s now not only the comfortably off who are paying the price of higher interest.