Finance Act 2025
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Levy on authorised insurers | ||
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84. (1) The Principal Act is amended— | ||
(a) in section 125A— | ||
(i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “relevant contract”: | ||
“ ‘relevant contract’ means a contract of insurance (not being an excluded contract of insurance) between an authorised insurer and an individual (in this section referred to as ‘the relevant individual’) which provides for the making of in-patient indemnity payments under the contract and which, in relation to the relevant individual, the spouse or civil partner of the relevant individual, or the children or other dependents of the relevant individual or of the spouse or civil partner of the relevant individual, provides specifically, whether in conjunction with other benefits or not, for the reimbursement or discharge, in whole or in part, of actual health expenses (within the meaning of section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ), being a contract of medical insurance;”, | ||
(ii) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2): | ||
“(2) Subject to subsection (7), an authorised insurer shall, in respect of each accounting period and not later than the due date, deliver to the Commissioners a statement showing the number of insured persons in respect of whom a relevant contract was renewed, or entered into, during the accounting period concerned, where the insured person was— | ||
(a) aged less than 18 years on the day the relevant contract was renewed or entered into and the relevant contract provides for non advanced cover, | ||
(b) aged 18 years or over on the day the relevant contract was renewed or entered into and the relevant contract provides for non-advanced cover, | ||
(c) aged less than 18 years on the day the relevant contract was renewed or entered into and the relevant contract provides for advanced cover, and | ||
(d) aged 18 years or over on the day the relevant contract was renewed or entered into and the relevant contract provides for advanced cover.”, | ||
(iii) in subsection (4), by the substitution of “stamp duty” for “duty”, | ||
(iv) in subsection (6), by the substitution of “in addition to the stamp duty” for “in addition to the duty”, | ||
(v) in subsection (9), by the substitution of “Any stamp duty or interest charged under this section, or any penalty applied under section 134A in relation to a statement required to be delivered under this section,” for “The stamp duty, interest and penalty payable under this section”, | ||
(vi) by the deletion of subsections (10) and (11), | ||
(vii) in subsection (12)(a), by the deletion of “by an individual referred to in the definition of ‘insured person’”, and | ||
(viii) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (13): | ||
“(14) Where an authorised insurer is required to pay stamp duty pursuant to subsection (4) in relation to an insured person in respect of whom a relevant contract has been renewed or entered into during an accounting period, the authorised insurer may charge to the relevant individual an amount equal to the amount of stamp duty payable. | ||
(15) (a) Where, in respect of any accounting period— | ||
(i) an insured person is included in the number of insured persons shown on a statement delivered to the Commissioners pursuant to subsection (2) by virtue of a relevant contract having been entered into, or renewed, during the accounting period concerned, | ||
(ii) stamp duty is paid by the authorised insurer on the delivery of the statement pursuant to subsection (4), and | ||
(iii) during the period of 12 months commencing on the day the relevant contract was renewed or entered into (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘relevant period’), the insured person ceases to be insured under the relevant contract, | ||
the authorised insurer shall, on a claim being made to the Commissioners in accordance with paragraph (b) and subject to section 159A, be entitled to a repayment of stamp duty determined by the formula— | ||
A X (B)/(12) | ||
where— | ||
A is the amount of stamp duty paid by the authorised insurer, and | ||
B is the number of complete months that remain in the relevant period immediately following the date on which the insured person ceases to be insured under the relevant contract. | ||
(b) A claim for repayment of stamp duty under paragraph (a) shall be made by the authorised insurer in the statement that the authorised insurer is required to deliver to the Commissioners pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of the accounting period during which the insured person ceases to be insured under the relevant contract. | ||
(c) For the purposes of paragraph (a), if, on the date the insured person ceases to be insured under the relevant contract, a person (in this paragraph referred to as ‘the successor’) other than the authorised insurer that delivered the statement to the Commissioners on which the insured person was included carries on the business that required the delivery of that statement, the successor shall be treated as if it were the authorised insurer that delivered the statement. | ||
(16) Without prejudice to section 960H of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , where an authorised insurer is entitled to a repayment of stamp duty pursuant to a claim made in accordance with subsection (15), the Collector-General may, instead of making the repayment, set the amount of the repayment against any stamp duty that is payable by the authorised insurer pursuant to subsection (4) in respect of the accounting period during which the insured person ceased to be insured under the relevant contract. | ||
(17) Where, in relation to an insured person— | ||
(a) an authorised insurer is entitled to a repayment of stamp duty pursuant to a claim made in accordance with subsection (15), and | ||
(b) any of the following conditions is satisfied— | ||
(i) the repayment is made to the authorised insurer; | ||
(ii) the Collector-General has, in accordance with subsection (16), set the repayment against stamp duty that is payable by the authorised insurer; or | ||
(iii) the Collector-General has set or withheld the repayment pursuant to section 960H of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , | ||
then, the authorised insurer shall, to the extent that the relevant individual paid to the authorised insurer the amount referred to in subsection (14), pay to the relevant individual the amount determined by the formula— | ||
A – B + C | ||
where— | ||
A is the amount paid by the relevant individual to the authorised insurer in relation to that insured person in respect of the accounting period pursuant to subsection (14), | ||
B is the amount of stamp duty paid by the authorised insurer in relation to that insured person in respect of the accounting period pursuant to subsection (4), and | ||
C is the amount of the repayment.”, | ||
and | ||
(b) in section 159A(2)(c)— | ||
(i) in subparagraph (vi), by the deletion of “or”, | ||
(ii) in subparagraph (vii), by the substitution of “section 83DB, or” for “section 83DB.”, and | ||
(iii) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (vii): | ||
“(viii) for the purposes of section 125A(15), the date the insured person (within the meaning of section 125A) ceased to be insured under the relevant contract (within the meaning of section 125A).”. | ||
(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on 1 April 2027. |