INTM333010 | Double Taxation applications and claims: Vouchers: what a voucher is

Definition

When a person makes a payment and there is a tax credit attached to it or Income Tax deducted from it the payer has to provide a tax certificate or voucher showing details of the payment and the tax. The obligation to provide a voucher is imposed by CTA10/S1100(4) in the case of tax credit, and ITA07/S495, ITA07/S975 in the case of most deductions of Income Tax with which you will be dealing.

Vouchers may assist you to establish the category or character of the payment, and may indicate or otherwise suggest the beneficial ownership of the relevant income or asset.

A voucher will normally include a statement about the income it contains beginning: ‘We certify…………..’. In the absence of such a statement, it is unlikely that the document will constitute an acceptable voucher, except in unusual circumstances.

A voucher is thus more properly called a tax certificate, or a certificate of tax credit, or a certificate of deduction of Income Tax.

The final arbiter of any question of fact reported on a voucher is the HMRC Office for the UK payer of the income in question. So if you have any doubt about, say, the category or other detail of a payment (is it interest? is it a dividend? was it really paid on that date?), you can ask the appropriate HMRC Office for clarification.