What are your tax planning obligations?
The difficulty for many expats is that they may not be aware of the scope of their UK tax liabilities. This is why taking tax planning financial advice from a qualified financial adviser is essential.
Even innocent oversights can result in expats being asked to repay 200% of the liability owed. If you have UK-based investment portfolios, UK rental property or indeed overseas assets, all of these things can create a UK tax liability, particularly for those who live more than half the year in the UK.
Being fully aware of legal residency status and its impact can help prevent expats from unwittingly failing to pay their tax liability. Even once they are aware, there may still be plenty of work ahead as HMRC’s rules are complex and, without expat tax planning advice, can create unnecessary confusion.
UK resident or expat
You are deemed a UK resident in if you spend 183 days of the year in the UK and therefor have to pay UK tax on all of your income, regardless of where it was earned.
Expats only pay tax on income earned in the UK, although they may have a number of expat tax planning options to choose from depending on their circumstances. A person is considered a non UK resident if they meet certain “automatic overseas” rules such as spending fewer than 16 days in Britain and being resident in the UK for any of the preceding three years, or, in the case of those who have not been resident in the UK for three years, fewer than 46 days.
However, there are various other categories for tax purposes, so it is important to seek expat tax planning advice from your wealth manager in this regard.
Blacktower Financial Management
Blacktower FM offers a range of expat tax planning services to help you negotiate capital gains tax, inheritance tax, income tax and other liabilities.
For more information, contact our cross-border financial advice specialists today.
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
January 2018 will see the French government introduce several legislative, tax and other financial changes, some of which will be of interest to British expats living in France.
Keith Littlewood is Blacktower Financial Management’s Regional Manager covering Murcia and