Date of Payment for Tax Year

[sigmund]

I should be grateful if anyone can help with the following. I have a holding in an OIEC fund. The fund distribution payment date for this fund is 1 April 2015. If I do not actually receive the payment into my bank account by my broker until 16 April 2015, do I have to report the distribution on my 2014-15 tax return or my 2015-16 tax return?

[Wesram]

Hi

Pretty sure the relevant date is when you became entitled to the payment (ie 1 April) not when your broker passed payment over....so seems like the income falls in the earlier tax year.

Regards

[sigmund]

Thank you. Presumably this also applies if the broker is using a fund platform. That is, the fund distribution date is 1 April, the fund platform then receives the payment and it takes ten working days before the broker receives it and shows the payment on my account, then it takes three to five days for me actually to receive the cleared funds in my bank account by BACS. For tax year purposes then, will it still be considered that I received the payment on 1 April?

[Ian McTernan CTA]

1 April is the payment date, and the date for tax purposes. It's the only logical choice, or people could exploit the system by choosing not to 'receive' the payment until 2025.

[sigmund]

Thank you very much, I could not find an answer to what seemed to be a rather basic question.