If you’ve had a payment from a trust or a deceased person’s estate, it can feel oddly… unofficial. Money arrives, a statement turns up (maybe), and you’re left wondering where on earth it goes on your tax return.
That’s where SA107 comes in. It’s the Self Assessment add-on that tells HMRC, “This wasn’t wages, and it wasn’t just bank interest either.” It covers things like trust income, estate income, dividends, interest, property income, and discretionary payments — and it’s also where you show tax already paid at trust/estate level so you don’t get taxed twice on paper.
Do it right and your calculation usually lines up neatly. Do it vaguely and you get that classic HMRC experience: numbers that technically add up, but not in a way you enjoy.
📋 KEY UPDATES FOR 2026
From 6 April 2026, the dividend tax rates increase to 10.75% (ordinary) and 35.75% (upper), which affects how dividend income reported on SA107 is taxed.
For 2026/27, the dividend allowance stays at £500, so trust/estate dividend income above that still needs to be captured cleanly (using your R185 figures) to get the right calculation.
For 2026/27, the dividend additional rate and the dividend trust rate both stay at 39.35%, which matters when trust income has already had tax applied before it reaches you.
What is the SA107 Form?
SA107 (Trusts etc.) is a set of supplementary pages you add to your Self Assessment tax return form (SA100) when you’ve received income from trusts or from estates of deceased persons during the tax year. In other words: it’s how HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) makes sure trust/estate income gets the right income tax treatment, instead of being lumped in with everything else.
The numbers you put on SA107 usually come straight from the paperwork you’re given:
- Form R185 (Trust Income) from trustees, or
- Form R185 (Estate Income) from the executors/personal representatives.
Those statements break the income down (for example dividends, interest, rental income/property income, and discretionary payments) and show any tax already treated as paid, so your totals reconcile and HMRC’s calculation doesn’t go rogue.
📌 Pro Tip: If you have multiple R185s, don’t blend them—enter and keep records per trust/estate so every figure can be traced back to a specific statement if HMRC asks.
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Who needs to complete SA107?
You’ll usually complete SA107 if you received income from a trust or from a deceased person’s estate during the tax year and need to show HMRC what you got, what type of income it was, and any tax treated as paid. SA107 is a supplementary form that sits alongside your SA100 on your Self Assessment return in the United Kingdom.
- Beneficiaries of a trust who received income payments (including discretionary payments and income from interest-in-possession trusts).
- People receiving income from an estate in administration (before everything is fully wrapped up and distributed).
- Settlors in settlor-interested trusts, where some trust income may be assessed on the settlor rather than the trust/beneficiary.
Two important boundaries to keep in mind:
- Bare trusts: Bare trust income is generally treated as the beneficial owner’s income and reported on the relevant Self Assessment pages for that income type, not SA107 — for example, UK property income goes on SA105.
- Capital gains inside a trust/estate: These are normally dealt with by trustees/executors under trust/estate reporting; beneficiaries typically report the income payment they receive, not the trust’s gains.
A quick side note for taxpayers: SA107 is about income tax treatment, not National Insurance — trust and estate income isn’t where NI usually enters the picture.
📌 Pro Tip: If you’ve been given an R185 (Trust Income or Estate Income), use it as your map — and if anything is unclear, check the HMRC helpsheets before you “tidy” amounts into other parts of the return.
What income goes on SA107 (and what doesn’t)?
Think of SA107 as a sorting exercise: HMRC isn’t asking “did you get money?” so much as what kind of money was it— and was any tax already dealt with before it reached you. That’s why the categories matter, and why the R185 breakdown is your best friend here.
Include on SA107 (from your R185):
- Non-savings income paid through the trust/estate (for example, UK property/rental income within the trust/estate).
- Savings income (typically interest) and dividends distributed to you, plus any tax treated as paid shown on the R185.
- Discretionary payments from UK resident trusts go in the dedicated SA107 boxes using the R185 figures; don’t roll them into savings, dividends, or other trust income.
Do not include on SA107:
- Employment income (PAYE) and self-employed profits — these go on their own pages elsewhere in your Self Assessment return.
- Your personal capital gains — and if the trust/estate realised gains, trustees/executors usually deal with those separately, not you via SA107.
- Bare trust income for minor children is usually treated as the child’s/beneficial owner’s income and reported directly (not via SA107), depending on the arrangement.
📌 Pro Tip: If your payment included more than one income type (say, interest and dividends), don’t combine them for neatness — SA107 is one place where neatness creates errors.
How to complete and submit SA107 (paper or online)
SA107 is one of those forms where the “work” is mostly admin: gather the right statements, copy the figures into the right boxes, and resist the urge to improvise. HMRC loves accuracy. It’s less enthusiastic about vibes.
- Gather your documents: Collect every R185 (Trust Income) and R185 (Estate Income) you received for the tax year, plus any supporting trustee/executor statements and dividend/interest vouchers.
- Complete the boxes exactly as shown: Copy the relevant net amounts, tax credits, or relief figures into the matching SA107 boxes, depending on what the R185 and SA107 notes ask for. Many SA107 boxes ask for amounts “after tax taken off,” not gross income.
- File online (most common): Submit SA107 alongside your SA100 using tax software that supports SA107; make sure your name and UTR match your HMRC record so the return actually “lands” correctly.
- File on paper (still allowed): Send SA100 + SA107 together; you generally don’t send originals of your R185s, but keep them safely with your records in case HMRC asks later.
- Reconcile before you hit submit: Check the SA107 totals flow into your overall taxable income and tax calculation properly; if you receive a revised R185, update your return so everything ties up.
📌 Pro Tip: If you’re dealing with more than one trust/estate, treat each R185 as its own mini-file (save PDFs, label them clearly, note which payment date relates to which statement). It makes corrections painless if a revised statement turns up later — which is exactly when you don’t want a detective hobby.
Make it count: File clean and avoid queries
A clean SA107 mirrors your Form R185, feeds neatly into your SA100, and keeps trust/estate income separate from your PAYE income or self-employed profits — which is exactly what helps you avoid delays, corrections, or an amended return.
If you want to get it right first time (especially when filing your tax return online with accounting software), book a free call through Unbiased. You can talk it through with a qualified adviser and make sure your SA107 entries line up with what HMRC expects on GOV.UK.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is SA107, in plain English?
SA107 (Trusts etc.) is the Self Assessment supplementary pages you use to report income you received from a trust, settlement, or a deceased person’s estate alongside your main SA100.
Do I always need SA107 if I’ve received money from a trust or estate?
You usually need SA107 when the payment is taxable income from the trust/estate (or you were entitled to it) and it’s the type HMRC expects to see on the Trusts etc pages. The SA107 notes spell out who should use it.
What’s an R185 and why does everyone keep mentioning it?
An R185 is the statement trustees (or executors/personal representatives) give you showing what income you received/are entitled to and any tax treated as paid. HMRC explicitly tells beneficiaries to keep it safe because you’ll need it for your tax return or a repayment claim.
What types of income go on SA107?
Typically the income categories shown on your R185, such as non-savings income, savings income (interest), dividends, and trust payments shown as discretionary (where relevant). The SA107 form and notes map the boxes.
What doesn’t go on SA107?
Your normal personal income streams like PAYE employment income or self-employed profits—those go on other parts of Self Assessment. SA107 is for trust/estate income specifically.
Do I submit the R185 with my return?
Normally you use the R185 to complete SA107 and keep it for your records (rather than posting originals in). HMRC’s R185 pages tell beneficiaries to keep the form safe for their tax return/repayment claim.
I got more than one R185 — can I just add them together?
You can total them for the boxes, but don’t “blend” them in your records. Keep each R185 separately so you can trace every number back to a specific trust/estate if HMRC queries it. (Future-you will be grateful.)
What if I didn’t get an R185?
Chase it. Trustees/executors use R185 to tell beneficiaries what to report, and HMRC expects you to rely on those figures. If you’re missing one, ask the trustee or personal representative for it.
Can SA107 help me claim a refund?
Yes, in some situations it can. If tax has been treated as paid on the income shown on the R185 and your personal tax position means you’re due a repayment, reporting it correctly is what allows HMRC’s calculation to credit it properly. (That’s the whole point of those “tax treated as paid” boxes.)
Is SA107 different for trust income vs estate income?
Yes—SA107 covers both, but the boxes and wording differ between trust income and estate income. Use the relevant R185 (Trust Income vs Estate Income) and match it to the right part of SA107.
Is SA107 something I can file online?
Yes, but not every tool supports every supplementary page. If you’re filing online via software, make sure it supports SA107 Trusts etc pages and that you attach them to your SA100 submission.
Where do I find the official SA107 helpsheets/notes?
On GOV.UK—the SA107 page links to the form and the official notes, which are genuinely useful for box-by-box rules.