The EU Savings Directive (EUSD) and the Isle of Man

From the 1st of July 2005 Member States of the EU (except Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg) will exchange information with each other about bank customers who earn interest in one Member State, but who reside in another. The Isle of Man, although not a Member State of the EU, has decided that, rather than automatically exchange information, Isle of Man banks that have customers resident in an EU Member State will instead apply a “Retention Tax” on the interest earned. Customers of Isle of Man banks will, however, have the option to elect for "Exchange of Information" instead of paying Retention Tax. The EUSD applies to EU resident individuals only.

Your Irish Permanent International Account

Retention Tax

From 1 July 2005 Irish Permanent International (‘the Bank’) will deduct Retention Tax from any interest paid or credited to an account held by an EU resident at the starting rate of 15%. This will result in no exchange of information with regard to your account with any EU government tax authority.

The ‘Exchange of Information’ Option

However, customers can choose to instruct the Bank to automatically exchange information with the relevant tax authority in their EU country of residence if they so wish rather than apply the Retention Tax, by completing and returning the ‘Exchange of Information’ request form. Customers who choose to elect for the ‘Exchange of Information’ option will continue to receive gross interest without the deduction of the Retention Tax.

Are you Tax Exempt?

If you are tax exempt in your EU country of residence in relation to interest earned in an offshore bank account (e.g. you may be a UK resident but have foreign domicile tax status and interest earned on your account is not remitted to you in the UK) please let us know by completing and returning the ‘Exemption’ request form. We may need to obtain additional information and supporting documentation from you in order to verify your tax exemption status. If you are tax exempt for EUSD purposes, we will not apply the Retention Tax to your account or exchange information regarding your account with any EU tax authority.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss your options, please contact us by email or telephone +44 (0) 1624 641641.