Excess reportable income is one of the stranger bits of UK tax admin for investors who hold accumulation ETFs or offshore funds in a general investment account. You may have taxable income even though no cash arrived in your broker account, and that same amount may also need to be reflected in your capital gains records so it is not taxed twice.
Short version
ERI is normally an income-tax record first, not an SA108 capital gains entry. Keep the ERI statement from the fund manager or broker, report it in the right income section if required, and retain it because it can reduce the gain when you later sell the fund.
What ERI means
In everyday investor discussions, ERI usually means "excess reportable income". HMRC's offshore funds helpsheet uses the phrase "excess reported income". The idea is the same: a reporting offshore fund reports income to UK investors, and some of that income may not have been paid out as a cash distribution.
HMRC's HS265 offshore funds helpsheet says UK investors are taxed on their full share of reportable income from a reporting offshore fund, even where it has not been distributed. This is why an accumulation ETF held outside an ISA or SIPP can create Self Assessment work even without a cash dividend.
Where ERI appears on Self Assessment
ERI is usually reported as income, not as a capital gain. HMRC says income from a reporting offshore fund, including excess reported income, should be returned on the Foreign Pages (SA106) in the relevant category. Depending on the fund, that could be foreign dividends, foreign interest, property income, or another income category.
If you do not know which category applies, use the fund manager or broker statement as the source. For many equity ETFs the income is treated as dividend income, while bond or money-market funds may be different.
When ERI is treated as received
ERI is not normally reported on the date you personally notice it in a broker statement. HMRC explains that excess reported income is treated as received on the fund distribution date, which is usually six months after the last day of the fund's reporting period.
That timing matters because it determines which tax year the income belongs to. If the fund manager has not issued the report before your filing deadline, HMRC says you may need to use a best estimate and amend later when the report becomes available.
How ERI affects capital gains
ERI can also matter when you eventually sell the ETF or fund. HMRC's HS265 guidance says any excess reported income that arose while you owned the shares or units can be deducted when calculating the capital gain. The point is to avoid taxing the same amount once as income and again as capital growth.
In practical record-keeping terms, many investors treat ERI that has been reported as income as an adjustment to the holding's CGT base cost. You should keep the ERI records with your broker exports, especially if you use Section 104 pooling across several years.
What if the fund is not a reporting fund?
Be careful with non-reporting offshore funds. HMRC's offshore funds guidance says gains on disposal of a non-reporting offshore fund may be taxed as offshore income gains rather than normal capital gains. FiscalFox is built for ordinary share, fund, and ETF CGT calculations. If you are unsure whether a fund has UK reporting status throughout your holding period, check the fund manager's documents or ask a tax adviser.
Broker documents and common traps
Broker tax packs are useful, but they do not all present ERI in the same way. Some platforms include a consolidated tax certificate or ERI schedule; others leave you to look up fund-level reporting data. This is why the same ETF can feel simple inside an ISA and unexpectedly fiddly in a taxable account.
- Inside an ISA or SIPP, ERI normally does not create a personal Self Assessment entry.
- In a general investment account, ERI may need income reporting even when no cash was paid.
- When you sell, keep ERI records because they can affect the capital gain calculation.
- Do not mix ISA trades into your taxable CGT calculation.
Where FiscalFox fits
FiscalFox focuses on the CGT calculation: disposals, allowable costs, the same-day rule, the 30-day rule, and Section 104 pooling. It produces support figures for the SA108 capital gains pages.
You should still keep separate income records for ERI, dividends, and interest. If your broker export includes ERI adjustments or you have ERI reports from the fund manager, keep those alongside the FiscalFox report so the income and CGT sides of your Self Assessment tell the same story.