We overlooked an account so did not declare it when this requirement started in 2019. However decided own up about it and sent an explanation and apology in 2023. So potentially 4 years of fines. We then declared in the tax return and have not heard a word since.
We decided we didn’t want to live with a question mark so this was our preferred option, even if we ended up being fined. So far,so good🤞🏼
This requirement started in 2019, and fine per account is generally €1500/year.
Not right as HSBC are happy for me to switch to them and even offer £££ for so doing
Many thanks. I had a question recently from my Uk Bank asking if I was a Uk taxpayer. I wondered why , that’s treason for my questions.
Anyway I will declare the details this year and “bite the bullet” if the French want some money Thanks for all the info
Don,t worry about it,i have just started another post about the UK Gov wasting time and a lot of money hassling people ,it,s all a game,at the end of the day they should be chasing the big players who blatantly evade tax,but they won,t,so sod them. Can i just ask,are you saying that HSBC will open you an account even if you live in France?There would be a lot of people interested in this if you have any info to share.
A lot of other threads mention this, eg:
Although it doesn’t remove your obligation to declare the account, it’s not impossible that the French Tax authorities are already aware of your account. Both the UK and France participate in the global Automatic Exchange of Information protocols that routinely transfer exactly this type of tax related banking information between over 100 countries. I found that a minor bank account detail (date of opening) I’d declared was in fact inaccurate by about 20 years, as the French tax office had quietly updated my declaration (form 3916) with the correct start date from the late 1970s. That info could only have come from the UK authorities.
I went online at HsBC and applied to open an account. Filled in all my details and answered their questions and they said ok you are registered so can now proceed . It asked me then to open the account , but I hesitated as I want to wait until the NewYear and also to get some of the answers from here.and other places. They said if I transferred from my present account a sum exceeding £1500 I could get a bonus if £200.
Go for it! What are you waiting for?
Thanks, now I must decide, open a new account and if they ask about earlier ones I will have achieved nothing ,or , I just declare as some have suggested and say a prayer.
Anyway no more worries until 2025. Happy Christmas
Hi – I’m following this conversation with interest and wonder what you decided about declaring the accounts.
I sent a letter declaring that my account was opened in 1964. As it was a current one, and no interest was ever received, I made an erreur by not declaring this sooner. Stated I would include details in future annual returns. Have not had a reply but I suspect once I complete this years return they will make a decision.
Sounds really brave and hope it goes well for you.
I’ve got a situation with a more recent account – it’s a Wise account I’ve had since 2020 – I’ve declared it from the beginning but only declared the UK currency thinking it was all one account and the euro currency was just a sub account. I’ve recently learnt that as the euro account has a Belgian IBAN this is not the case. I’ve been losing sleep over what to do.
One friend said just close it now and say the UK one closed at the end of 2024, but that sounds scary to me, though I’m terrified of fines – simply don’t have the means.
I’ve now swtiched to Revolut with aFrench IBAN so will only have the UK part to declare next year but feel paralysed over what to do this year.
I’d be interested in other takes on this before my head explodes 
Just quietly declare it in your next return. Do not under any circumstances raise your head above the parapet!
A bunch of us only realized a few years ago that we were supposed to have been declaring foreign accounts. We all simply declared them in the next tax return apart from one nutter who called the local tax authorities and ‘fessed up. She had to do an extremely onerous “rectificatif” procedure and pay a substantial fine.
Well this nutter realised after a few years that we had missed out one account. We wrote a hugely apologetic message in our messagerie, and declared it in following tax return and have not heard a word since. That was 2 years ago so I guess we’re can relax now.
There’s no right or wrong, just what you feel comfortable with
Do you only have to declare Wise/Revolut once on the declaration or do you have to declare a separate account for each currency you use, i.e GB sterling and Euro?
I am sure there must be a box on the tax form for what colour of underwear that you are wearing.
I bet there will be no problem at all. The purpose of this declaration, backed up with international data exchange, isn’t to screw little people like us over making a mistake, it’s to tighten the noose on the big boys.
Thank you all so much for the reassurance. I’ll add it to this year’s and hope
Like Rachman, I thought I only had to declare once for Wise, but my husband recently opened a Wise account and a friend mentioned he needed to declare both the Euro and the UK currencies, not just the one.
With Revolut it’s a bit easier as they give a French IBAN (Wise euro is based in Belgium) so next year I’ll only need to declare the UK Revolut account. I’ve actually closed the Wise accounts, but in this year, not 2024.
Thanks again!
38k tax bill for not declaring multiple bank accounts
Don’t worry. The authorities aren’t really concerned about accounts, per se, they are worried about money laundering and tax evasion. So they want us to list all our foreign accounts and, belt and braces, each county shares data on accounts held anyway. They’re not after you. I’m not even sure Wise qualifies as a bank account. If I was you I’d just declare it and forget it.