UK Premium Bonds

[Beaglehound]

I have a few thousand pounds worth of these and recently had a thought that perhaps:

-it may not be legal to hold them here

-although prizes are free from tax in the U.K. that likely isn’t the case for a permanent tax resident of Japan

An online search yielded nothing useful so wonder if any fellow Brits are in a similar boat and know more?

[ricardo]

I’ve got some.

I see nothing illegal about holding them as long as you declare and pay tax on any winnings.

[Beaglehound]

Ok thanks, never win anything anyway...

[KyushuWoozy]

I seem to remember there is a place on the website (if you have an online account) where you declare your country of residence. Apparently if you win the big one then hmrc will inform the Japanese tax authorities.

[Beaglehound]

That’s kind of HMRC

I don’t have an online account, they were bought before such things were widespread. I should probably look at setting one up.

[adamu]

This article is 6 years old now, but it seems that without the tax benefits, there's no benefit to holding premium bonds.

https://monevator.com/are-premium-bonds ... nvestment/

[ricardo]

I never thought there was any benefit in holding them in the first place. But, agreed, if the winnings become taxable - which they would for a permanent Japanese tax resident - then they are even crapper.

[KyushuWoozy]

it seems that without the tax benefits, there's no benefit to holding premium bonds.

Yes, this argument had raged for years. I guess many of us hold them because we dream of that £1,000,000 win (I definitely deserve it, not sure why it hasn't happened yet). I often 'win' £25 or £50 but have never kept track of how it would compare to sticking my money into a regular savings account.

[ricardo]

Better than a regular savings account IN JAPAN for sure!

[Beaglehound]

I don’t believe they are worth it as an investment in large amounts. Indeed the ones I have were bought on my behalf and I doubt I would have bought them otherwise. But there is the minuscule chance of a decent payout as Woozy says and with interest rates paltry the prospect of cashing them in to gain a guaranteed 1% or so seems pathetically stolid.