Revenue Note for Guidance
This section provides for the payment to Revenue of tax due on a chargeable excess and places notification requirements on administrators. Form 787S should be used for this purpose. The section also applies the standard assessment, collection, late payment and appeal provisions to tax due on a chargeable excess.
(1) Where a BCE gives rise to a chargeable excess, the pension scheme administrator must make a return to the Collector General within 3 months from the end of the month in which a BCE giving rise to a chargeable excess occurs containing the following information:
Where the administrator of a scheme for which a pension adjustment order (PAO) exists has apportioned chargeable excess tax between a scheme member and a non-member spouse or civil partner in accordance with section 787R(2A), additional information must be included in a return made to the Collector-General under this section. The additional information required differs depending on whether or not a transfer amount has been applied to provide the non-member with an independent retirement benefit and, among other things, requires the administrator to provide information on the amount, and the basis of calculation, of the relevant member’s and non-member’s share of the chargeable excess tax.
(1A) Where a transfer amount has been applied to provide an independent benefit for a nonmember, the subsequent administrator or fund administrator must make a return to the Collector General within 3 months from certain specified dates. The date from which the 3 month period commences depends on whether the transfer arrangement into which the non-member spouse or civil partner’s designated benefit has been transferred is the same or a different pension arrangement to that of the member spouse or civil partner and on whether the non-member’s retirement benefits under the transfer arrangement have crystallised or not and, if they have, in what form.
The information to be included in such a return is as follows:
Where the amount at (IV) exceeds the amount at (V) (i.e. where the subsequent or fund administrator is not accounting for all of the non-member’s share of the chargeable excess tax) the subsequent or fund administrator must, at the same time as the return under this subsection is made, notify the non-member in writing that the amount of the excess is payable by the non-member directly to the Collector-General within 3 months from the date of the notification.
(1B) A subsequent or fund administrator who sends a notification to a non-member in accordance with subsection (IA) must send a copy of the notification to Revenue at the same time.
(1C) A non-member who receives a notification referred to in subsection (1A)(ii) or in a notification referred to in section 787R(3D) (in the circumstances referred to in section 787R(3E)) must make a return to the Collector-General and pay any tax that he or she is solely, or partially, liable for (as specified in the notification) within 3 months of the date of the notice. The information to be included in the return is as follows:
(2) This subsection was deleted with effect from 7 December 2010.
(3) – (7A) The standard assessment, collection, late payment and appeal provisions apply in relation to tax due on a chargeable excess. Subsection (3) in particular makes it clear that tax on a chargeable excess, including tax due in respect of retirement benefits for which a PAO exists, is due at the time a return, in respect of that tax, is due to be made. Subsection (5), inter alia, allows Revenue, on a case being made to them, to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that the tax chargeable on a benefit crystallisation event (BCE) computed in accordance with section 787R(5A)(c) (i.e. on the full amount of the BCE) does not exceed the charge that would have arisen if a correct declaration had been made in accordance with section 787R(5)(b).
(8) Every return is to be in a form prescribed or authorised by Revenue and shall include a declaration to the effect that the return is correct and complete.
Relevant Date: Finance Act 2019