Banks and card payment firms to send HMRC interest and sales data on a fixed timetable from 2028
Regulations laid on Tuesday replace one-off notices with standing reporting duties, ask savers and traders for National Insurance numbers, and are forecast to raise £840m a year by 2031-32.
By Daily Oracles News Team2 min read
HMRC will start receiving savings interest and card sales data on a regular schedule from 2028, under regulations laid before the House of Commons on Tuesday 3 November.
Banks, building societies and card payment firms already pass this information to HMRC, but only when the tax authority issues a notice asking for it. The Data-gathering (Ongoing Data: Interest and Payment Card Transactions) Regulations 2026 turn that into a standing duty with fixed deadlines and a set data format. They come into force on 1 March 2028.
Reporting deadlines
For financial institutions there are two returns. Interest on current and savings accounts goes to HMRC every quarter, starting with the quarter ending 5 July 2028, and is due within 21 days of each quarter closing. Other interest is reported once a year, starting with the 2028-29 tax year, within 21 days of the year ending.
Merchant acquirers, the firms that settle card payments for shops and other traders, must report each retailer's card takings monthly from April 2028, again within 21 days of the month's end.
Some accounts sit outside the new reporting. The regulations exclude interest on ISAs, including junior ISAs, Child Trust Funds, National Savings certificates and SAYE share schemes, as well as interest paid to registered pension schemes.
National Insurance numbers
Banks and payment firms will have to ask for, collect and report tax identifiers so HMRC can match the data to the right person. Some savers will be asked for their National Insurance number on interest-bearing accounts, and retailers for their National Insurance, VAT or company registration number. HMRC said almost everyone over 16 and in work already has a National Insurance number.
Uses for the data
HMRC said it would use the data to fill in more of people's tax returns in advance, improve PAYE tax codes and register people automatically for the right tax where needed. It also expects the data to help it find people who understate their income.
Its costings put the extra tax raised at £40m in 2028-29, £490m in 2029-30, £660m in 2030-31 and £840m in 2031-32. HMRC puts its own cost at around £68.3 million, mostly for the new system to take in the data.
About 600 organisations currently supply interest data, counting subsidiaries separately, and 13 supply card sales data. Smaller providers that HMRC does not currently send notices to will also be brought in. Credit unions have been left out.
The powers come from Schedule 23 to the Finance Act 2026, which received Royal Assent in March. HMRC calls this the first phase. Rental and other property payments and dividend income could follow, though both would need further consultation.
