Where a chargeable event gain goes on the tax return: the SA101 boxes

A chargeable event gain is reported by the person liable for it, on their own return. Who that is, when a gain means registering for Self Assessment and how the onshore credit works in general are covered in reporting a chargeable event gain to HMRC, and reading the certificate field by field in how to read a chargeable event certificate. This guide is the box-level view: which figure from the certificate goes in which box on the 2025/26 return.

The box names and numbers here are those of HMRC's 2025/26 paper forms: the SA101 additional information pages (2026) and their notes, the SA106 foreign pages (2026) and their notes, and helpsheets HS320 and HS321 (2026). An online return asks for the same figures in the same sections: HS320 names the ‘Other UK income’ section for UK policies and HS321 the ‘Foreign’ section for foreign ones.

The life insurance gains boxes on the SA101

UK policy gains go on page Ai 1 of the SA101, under ‘Other UK income’, in the section headed ‘Gains from life insurance policies, capital redemption policies and life annuity contracts’. The section has eight boxes:

The SA101 notes say to use the details on the chargeable event certificate to fill in boxes 4 to 11. Where the insurer has sent more than one certificate for the same gain, the figures on the later one are used. A joint owner puts only their share of the gain in the box; HS320 says spouses and civil partners who own a policy jointly each enter half.

Box 4 or box 6: tax treated as paid

The first choice is which box the gain goes in, and it turns on one line of the certificate: whether tax is treated as paid on the gain. On a UK policy an individual liable on the gain is normally treated as having paid income tax at the basic rate on it, and that tax is not repayable (ITTOIA 2005 s.530(1) and (2)). HS320 puts it this way:

Where the certificate shows tax treated as paid, the gain goes in box 4; where it shows none, in box 6. The SA101 has no box for the amount of tax treated as paid: the choice between box 4 and box 6 is what records it. The certificate prints the notional tax as 20% of the whole gain, but the credit the member actually gets can be smaller where part of the gain is covered by the personal allowance or certain reliefs; that restriction is explained in the certificate guide linked above. Nothing is repaid either way.

Boxes 5 and 7: the number of years

Beside each gain goes the number of years: box 5 for a box 4 gain, box 7 for a box 6 gain. This is the figure top-slicing relief divides the gain by to find the annual equivalent, the slice. The SA101 notes say to enter the number of years ‘as specified on the chargeable event certificate’. For a full surrender that runs from the start of the policy; for a part-surrender excess it can run from the previous gain, which is why the box says ‘or since the last gain’. The two clocks are set out in complete years: full surrender vs excess.

• Time spent non-resident: the notes point to IPTM3830 where the member has been non-resident while beneficially owning the policy. HS320 says a time apportioned reduction is not shown on the certificate: it is deducted from the gain before it is entered, and the whole years of non-residence are deducted from the number of years. The reduction is not available to trustees or personal representatives, and on a UK policy applies only where it was issued, varied or assigned on or after 6 April 2013 (HS320 section 9.3). See time apportionment relief.
• Gains on more than one policy: the gains are added together, in box 4 or box 6 as the case may be, and box 5 and box 7 are left blank. Each policy's details, its gain, its number of years and the tax paid on it go in box 19, ‘Any other information’, on page TR 7 of the main return. How two gains in one year interact for top-slicing is in two bond gains in one tax year.

There is no box for top-slicing relief. HS320 says the gain is entered without any reduction for the relief, and that ‘If a gain is reported in a Self Assessment tax return, HMRC will calculate the amount of TSR due’, from the gain and the number of years (HS320; IPTM3820).

Boxes 8 to 10: voided ISAs

Where an ISA manager or life insurer cancels an ISA or a life policy held in one, the chargeable event certificate it issues is used for boxes 8 to 10: the gain in box 8, the number of years the policy was held in box 9, and the tax taken off in box 10. Several such gains are totalled in box 8, with the tax totalled in box 10, box 9 left blank and each gain's details in box 19 on page TR 7 (SA101 notes).

Box 11: deficiency relief

Box 11 takes the amount of a deficiency, not the relief itself: the notes say it will be used to calculate the amount of deficiency relief available. The notes list when relief may be due:

• the policy or annuity ended between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026;
• no gain was made on the final chargeable event;
• gains were made on the policy or annuity in an earlier tax year;
• the member pays higher rate tax.

HS320 adds that the relief is for individuals only, not trustees or personal representatives; that the deficiency is the lower of the earlier gains and the negative result of the final calculation; and that the relief does not reduce tax due at the additional rate (HS320 section 10.3; IPTM3860). A loss on a policy with no earlier gains gets no relief, and nothing goes on the return for it. The mechanics are in deficiency relief on investment bonds.

Foreign policies: SA106 boxes 43 to 45

A gain on a foreign policy does not go on the SA101. HS321 puts it in the ‘Foreign’ section under ‘Other overseas income and gains’, on the SA106 foreign pages on paper:

Unlike the SA101, the foreign pages have an amount box for tax treated as paid. HS321 says that normally gains on foreign policies, unlike gains on UK policies, do not attract a non-repayable basic-rate tax credit, so on most foreign policies there is no tax treated as paid to enter in box 45. Gains on more than one foreign policy are totalled in box 43, with boxes 44 and 45 left blank and each policy's details in ‘Any other information’ on page TR 7 (SA106 notes). How the two wrappers differ inside the relief is in onshore vs offshore bonds.

A worked certificate, box by box

These figures come from ParaplanAI's bond engine, run on the 2025/26 tax-year figures. A client who is not a Scottish taxpayer fully surrenders a UK single-premium bond in 2025/26 after 8 complete years. She paid £100,000 in, took £15,000 out in earlier withdrawals that produced no gain, and receives £125,000 on surrender. Her only other income is a salary of £48,000, which uses her full personal allowance of £12,570. The insurer's certificate shows:

Worked-example basis: No time-apportioned reduction is due for any gain or policy shown. TAR is not calculated or applied. Raw gains are shown before any TAR.

The gain is the surrender value plus the withdrawals, less the premiums. It maps to the return like this:

HMRC then works out the tax from these entries (HS320). The whole gain is added to the salary, and the tax on it, after the £8,000 treated as paid, comes to £7,446. Top-slicing relief re-runs the calculation on the slice, the gain divided by the 8 years in box 5:

Part of the slice falls in the higher-rate band, so some tax remains after the relief: the further £3,568 is paid through Self Assessment. The certificate's £8,000 is not a payment she can reclaim; it reduces the tax on the gain and nothing more. Had the same figures come from a foreign policy with no tax treated as paid, the gain would have gone in SA106 box 43 and the number of years in box 44.

Confirm the gain and the slice on the chargeable event gain calculator, then run the relief on the client's own income on the top-slicing relief calculator. For planning and illustration only; this guide describes the forms and rules and is not tax or financial advice.

SA101 (2026) page Ai 1 boxes 4 to 11 · SA101 Notes (2026) · SA106 (2026) boxes 43 to 45 · SA106 Notes (2026) · HS320 (2026) · HS321 (2026) · ITTOIA 2005 s.530 · IPTM3820 (top-slicing relief) · IPTM3830 (non-residence) · IPTM3860 (deficiency relief)