Received a MotoNovo Finance compensation payout? HMRC almost certainly deducted tax before it reached you — and you may be able to get it back from HMRC.
Check If You Can Claim
In practice, when a bank or lender pays out financial compensation, HMRC requires them to deduct income tax at the basic rate — currently 20% — from the statutory interest element of the settlement before any money reaches the customer. Consequently, this applies automatically to every MotoNovo Finance car finance compensation payment made under the FCA's redress scheme.
Typically, most people receive their MotoNovo Finance payout, see the deduction noted on their paperwork, and assume that is simply how things work. In many cases, it is not. However, if you were a basic rate taxpayer or a non-taxpayer in the year you received the compensation, that deducted tax may be reclaimable in full — directly from HMRC, and without you needing to contact HMRC yourself at any point.
Importantly, this is completely separate from your original MotoNovo Finance compensation claim and does not affect it in any way. Specifically, the mechanism is an HMRC R40 repayment form, which our HMRC-registered agents prepare and submit on your behalf.
Specifically, statutory interest is the interest portion of your compensation — added to reflect the time-value of money withheld from you. As such, HMRC treats this as taxable income and requires the lender to deduct 20% before it reaches you. Specifically, this is the element that may be reclaimable.
Estimate Your MotoNovo Finance Tax Rebate
Note: based on typical FCA payout ratios. Actual figures depend on the statutory interest shown in your Final Response Letter.
In your case, your rebate is recovered via an HMRC R40 repayment form. Moreover, we handle everything — you don't need to contact HMRC at any stage.
First, complete our short online form. In fact, this takes under two minutes and immediately confirms whether you qualify to make a claim.
Next, provide your personal information and a copy of your MotoNovo Finance Final Response Letter showing the compensation and tax deducted.
We then prepare your HMRC R40 application, compile all supporting documentation, and submit your claim — and no action is required from you.
Finally, HMRC pays your rebate directly to you, typically within 6–8 weeks of submission. Overall, no win, no fee — our 39% + VAT applies only on recovery.
By way of background, MotoNovo Finance is the UK's largest motor finance lender, part of FirstRand Bank. For many years, MotoNovo Finance arranged car finance through franchised dealerships — many of which involved discretionary commission arrangements that customers were never properly told about. Additionally, the dealer received higher commission if the lender placed the customer on a higher interest rate, creating a clear and undisclosed conflict of interest.
As a result, the Financial Conduct Authority's review found this practice was widespread. As a result, FirstRand Bank set aside £1.95 billion to compensate affected MotoNovo Finance customers, covering agreements entered into between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024.
In particular, customers who received a compensation payout under the FCA scheme should be aware that the statutory interest element of their settlement attracted a 20% tax deduction at source. Where that deduction applies, you can therefore make a tax rebate claim directly to HMRC — entirely separately from the original MotoNovo Finance compensation process.
In general, you may qualify if all three of the following apply to you:
You received compensation from MotoNovo Finance — via the FCA's formal redress scheme, a standalone complaint, or a Financial Ombudsman Service decision.
MotoNovo Finance deducted tax from your payout. Additionally, this is confirmed in the Final Response Letter from MotoNovo Finance, which sets out both the compensation amount and the tax deducted.
You were a basic rate taxpayer or non-taxpayer in the year you received the compensation. Indeed, we confirm this as part of your free eligibility check — no guesswork required.
However, higher rate taxpayers may not be eligible. In some cases, additional tax may be due instead — we assess this before we submit any claim.
Common questions about the MotoNovo Finance car finance tax rebate
If MotoNovo Finance deducted tax from your car finance compensation, the reclaim process is straightforward — and our HMRC-registered agents handle everything on your behalf.