C Swingler v HMRC

In C Swingler v HMRC (TC01106 – 5 May) a bank employee (S) signed an agreement in December 1997 that he would retire in January 2000. Although the bank continued to pay his salary during the intervening period he was seconded to a charity. From January 2000 he received a pension including medical benefit payments.

These payments were treated as non-taxable until 5 April 2006. From 6 April 2006 the pension scheme treated them as taxable following the changes to ITEPA 2003 which were enacted by FA 2004 with effect from 6 April 2006. S included the payments in his tax return for 2006/07 but in 2010 he submitted a repayment claim contending that they were not taxable and that he had included them in his return in error.

HMRC rejected his claim and S appealed contending...