Premium Bonds -high rate tax payer

Premium Bonds -high rate tax payer

Author
Discussion

martinsocross

Original Poster:

8 posts

171 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
I am thinking about getting £30,000 in Premium Bonds as the interest rates are so low and I fancy a bit of a gamble.

Thing is, both my wife and myself are high rate tax payers at the moment, but I will soon be a low rate payer (soon to retire, she works for a few more years!)

Should I take them out in my name or hers?

Beardy10

23,621 posts

181 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
Makes no difference - no tax payable on the winnings.

ringram

14,700 posts

254 months

Friday 30th July 2010
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Better off to dump the cash into a fixed term cash isa.
Maybe then use the balance in bonds, but they suck for return.

Or whack it into a pension or sipp and get 40% tax relief back. MUCH MUCH better idea!

j3ffers

298 posts

187 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
Was recently advised that these are amongst the worst things you can invest in. UNLESS it's money that is yours - i.e. money you have put aside to pay the taxman come tax settlement dates.

Better to get it into something like a Managed Bond, which could return you an income and some relatively low risk capital growth.

That said - I'm only repeating what an IFA said - I'm no expert.

bogie

16,566 posts

278 months

Friday 30th July 2010
quotequote all
premium bonds have never been an "Investment"

you are buying chances for a monthly lottery draw to win a prize

your capital never increases

so you are gambling with whatever interest you could have got elsewhere....£30K could be as little as £50 a year interest in a poor cash ISA, so its like putting a £5 on the lottery each month

except the prize fund is worse frown

cjs

10,880 posts

257 months

Monday 2nd August 2010
quotequote all
Average payout is 1.5% tax free. They are a good place to hold excess money while you decide what to do with it, access to your funds is more or less instant.

http://www.nsandi.com/interest-rates

bogie

16,566 posts

278 months

Monday 2nd August 2010
quotequote all
cjs said:
Average payout is 1.5% tax free. They are a good place to hold excess money while you decide what to do with it, access to your funds is more or less instant.

http://www.nsandi.com/interest-rates
couldnt agree more - have used them a few times in the last few years to put £10-30K for a few months ...and always "won" a few £25 or £50 prizes each month when I held them....certainly more than the interest I would have got in the bank !

...of course, everyone hopes of one bigger prize, a £10K to £1Million one smile