What Is an R40 Form and When Do I Use It? — HMRC Tax Refund Guide UK 2026/27

The R40 form lets you reclaim Income Tax that has been deducted from your savings interest — without needing to file a full Self Assessment return. If you are retired, have low income, or simply had tax taken from your savings that you should not have paid, the R40 is the straightforward route to getting it back.

Key Figures 2026/27

Who Should Use the R40

The R40 is designed for people who:

• Are not registered for Self Assessment (if you are, use your SA return instead)
• Have had tax deducted at source from savings interest or investment income
• Are entitled to a refund because their total income is below the level that justifies that tax

The most common users are:

• Retirees whose pension plus savings interest is close to or below the personal allowance
• Non-working spouses or partners with savings but no employment income
• People who inherited savings and had tax deducted on the interest
• Anyone with savings taxed before the Personal Savings Allowance was applied correctly

How Much Tax Could Be Deducted From Your Savings?

Since April 2016, most UK banks and building societies no longer automatically deduct tax from savings interest. However, tax may still be deducted at source on:

• NS&I Income Bonds and guaranteed income bonds (older products)
• Certain bond and annuity products
• Interest received from some investment platforms
• Interest on peer-to-peer lending via some providers

Where tax is deducted, it is typically at 20% (basic rate). If your total tax liability on that interest is less than 20% — or zero — you can reclaim the excess.

Worked Example: Margaret’s Reclaim

Margaret is 72. Her only income is the State Pension (£11,502.40 in 2026/27) and £2,400 interest from a building society bond, from which £480 tax was deducted.

Her tax position:

• Total income: £11,502.40 + £2,400 = £13,902.40
• Personal allowance: £12,570
• Taxable income: £1,332.40
• Of that, £1,332.40 is savings income — covered by PSA £1,000 and basic rate tax on remaining £332.40 = £66.48
• Tax she actually owes on savings: £66.48
• Tax deducted at source: £480
• Refund due: £413.52

Margaret completes an R40 for 2026/27 and receives £413.52 back from HMRC.

How to Complete the R40

The R40 is available online or as a paper form from gov.uk.

What you need:

• Your National Insurance number
• Details of all income for the tax year (pension, savings interest, dividends, rental income)
• The amount of tax deducted at source (shown on your bank or building society annual statement)
• Bank details for the refund

Sections of the R40:

1. Personal details — name, NI number, address
2. Income — pensions, state benefits, savings interest, dividends, rental income, any other income
3. Deductions — tax deducted at source on each income source
4. Allowances — personal allowance, blind person’s allowance, marriage allowance
5. Calculation — HMRC calculates the refund from your entries

How to Submit the R40

• Online: via your HMRC Personal Tax Account at gov.uk/personal-tax-account (select “Claim a tax refund”)
• Paper: download Form R40 from gov.uk, complete, and post to HMRC PAYE, BX9 1AS
• Deadline: no specific annual deadline, but claims must be within four years of the end of the tax year in question

HMRC typically processes R40 claims within 8–12 weeks for paper submissions and faster for online claims. Refunds are paid directly to your bank account.

Claiming for Multiple Years

If you have overpaid tax on savings for several years, complete a separate R40 for each tax year. Do not combine multiple years on one form. List each year’s income and tax deducted separately.

See our Personal Savings Allowance guide, tax on bank interest guide, and income tax guide.

Related Guide

• Self Assessment UK: Registration, Filing, Payments on Account and Penalties