UK Tax Laws

[Geewizz 0]

Can someone tell me the rules on paying tax in the UK if you live in LOS?

 

For example if you have savings in a bank or let out your house can you get the interest gross if you live in LOS.

Are there rules on how many days you can stay in the UK in any 1 year?

[Eneukman 1]

To qualify as a non-resident, you are only allowed to visit the UK for an average of 91 days per year. In one tax year, you are allowed up to 180 (or 181 days), but be careful that this doesn't bring the average over 91 days.

 

Any income that arises in the UK will be liable to tax, though you will be entitled to your nomal personal allowance.

 

Tax is a somewhat compliacted subject so - check out http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/moretma.shtml#individuals for more detailed information.

 

Once you have non-residence status, interest paid on a bank account, say in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands will not be liable to UK income tax. You will, however, have to sign a form stating that you do not live in the EU or European withholding tax will have to be deducted.

 

Alan

[Munchin glad rags 0]

To qualify as a non-resident, you are only allowed to visit the UK for an average of 91 days per year. In one tax year, you are allowed up to 180 (or 181 days), but be careful that this doesn't bring the average over 91 days.

 

Any income that arises in the UK will be liable to tax, though you will be entitled to your nomal personal allowance.

 

Tax is a somewhat compliacted subject so - check out http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/moretma.shtml#individuals for more detailed information.

 

Once you have non-residence status, interest paid on a bank account, say in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands will not be liable to UK income tax. You will, however, have to sign a form stating that you do not live in the EU or European withholding tax will have to be deducted.

 

Alan

 

 

Alan,

 

Thanks very helpfull, If you retrun to the Uk can you get health cover ?

 

I read somewhere you give that up, seems a bit much bearing in mind you will have paid tax and NI for 30 plus yearS.

 

Can you shed any light

[Geewizz 0]

Thanks Alan,

 

Very informative.

 

In response to the health care issue, surely they can not stop treating for an illness if you are still coughing up! (xcuse the pun) tax in the UK?

[Eneukman 1]

Alan,

 

Thanks very helpfull, If you retrun to the Uk can you get health cover ?

 

I read somewhere you give that up, seems a bit much bearing in mind you will have paid tax and NI for 30 plus yearS.

 

Can you shed any light

 

 

Thanks Alan,

 

Very informative.

 

In response to the health care issue, surely they can not stop treating for an illness if you are still coughing up! (xcuse the pun) tax in the UK?

 

 

There's a thread somewhere, can't remember immediately whether it's here or on another board, but it seems to be that if you leave the UK, you lose the entitlemnt to free healthcare after 91 days away. You would recover your right to free treatment if you were to return to the UK to live.

 

If this is correct, I would not entitled to free health care in the UK even though I'm paying voluntary National Insuramce contributions!

 

Alan

[Owen` 2]

Always interesting to see what the Brits are doing for taxes and health care. You seem to be converging to the same rotten deal the US imposes.

 

There has been talk of some US expats in Mexico trying to get US Medicare (equiv to your NHS past age 65) to be willing to send money for medical reimbursement outside the US. You may want to start nudging your MPs to support a similar thing. I assume you still vote in the . . . region (riding?) . . . you left when you went to Thailand? If you can find 5 or 10 other guys from that same place then a joint letter might get attention.

[jacko 8,775]

If this is correct, I would not entitled to free health care in the UK even though I'm paying voluntary National Insuramce contributions! but, your illegal immigrants will get it!

Yes I am in the same boat. The voluntary NI contributions only really cover your pension.... it is possible that will be taken off us, for non residents, before reaching 65 too! You never know.....

They now take your health care off you a lot quicker than you qualify for non-resident status for tax purposes!!

 

As an aside, offshore banks will now be obliged to inform the UK government of those holding accounts with EU addresses. Beware those not paying tax on interest. ( I realise a non-resident does not have to, but if like me, you retain a UK mail address, expect future aggravation)

Edited July 9, 2007 by jacko

[Eneukman 1]

As an aside, offshore banks will now be obliged to inform the UK government of those holding accounts with EU addresses. Beware those not paying tax on interest. ( I realise a non-resident does not have to, but if like me, you retain a UK mail address, expect future aggravation)

 

I have an account in the Isle of Man. They contacted me about the new European ruling that withholding tax at some ludicrous rate will have to be deducted if you lived within the EU. I gave them a note of my address in Thailand and they confirmed that I will continue to receive my interest without this new tax being deducted. My mailing address is my brother's but before I left the UK, I cmpleted a form claiming non-residence status as for as income tax was concerned. The Inland Revenue also have my address in Thailand as my mailing address. I rekoned that it could be seen as suspicious if I was claiming non-resident status but had a UK mailing address!

 

Alan

[jacko 8,775]

I have an account in the Isle of Man. They contacted me about the new European ruling that withholding tax at some ludicrous rate will have to be deducted if you lived within the EU. I gave them a note of my address in Thailand and they confirmed that I will continue to receive my interest without this new tax being deducted. My mailing address is my brother's but before I left the UK, I cmpleted a form claiming non-residence status as for as income tax was concerned. The Inland Revenue also have my address in Thailand as my mailing address. I rekoned that it could be seen as suspicious if I was claiming non-resident status but had a UK mailing address!

 

Alan

Thanks for all that Alan, it relaxes my mind somewhat! It is so long ago since I left the UK... over 25 years, that I can't remember whether I claimed non-residence status or not prior. Most letters from them get thrown in the trash.. ... I did answer one once, basically telling them, as I lived overseas, to fuck off and mind their own business and stop wasting taxpayers money chasing me..... . (I hate the ?£^NTS). I worry about giving a Thai address now, mainly as I feel mail might be lost. You have to keep your wits about you, an ever expanding government expenditure makes them look hard for other resources. Edited July 9, 2007 by jacko

[dacah 0]

Great information Alan....thank you,

 

Did not know that legal savings outside the EU could be tax free,

 

What about the money coming into Thailand if earned outside the country....

 

Any tax liability....?

 

Has made me think of rearranging my finances completely,

 

We pay a lot tax here in Ireland....and after my last fiasco with the Revenue...

 

(They won... now compleatly tax complient...)

 

Without the tax burden I could "retire" a lot earlier...:)

Edited July 12, 2007 by dacah

[Eneukman 1]

Great information Alan....thank you,

 

Did not know that legal savings outside the EU could be tax free,

 

What about the money coming into Thailand if earned outside the country....

 

Any tax liability....?

 

Has made me think of rearranging my finances completely,

 

We pay a lot tax here in Ireland....and after my last fiasco with the Revenue...

 

(They won... now compleatly tax complient...)

 

Without the tax burden I could "retire" a lot earlier...:)

 

dacah, I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that so long as you do not remit income into Thailand, there will be no tax liability here. All my income is paid into a UK account, from where I transfer funds from time to time to the Isle of Man. Funds are then transferred from there as and when required to Thailand.

 

Funds held outwith the EU can only be completely tax free if you don't live in the EU. If I was still in the UK, there would be no point in my having an account in the Isle of Man as the interest would still be liable to income tax. Also, you would have to be treated as being non-resident in the EU.

 

Alan

Edited July 13, 2007 by Eneukman

[Bazle 1,450]

To qualify as a non-resident, you are only allowed to visit the UK for an average of 91 days per year. In one tax year, you are allowed up to 180 (or 181 days), but be careful that this doesn't bring the average over 91 days.

Alan

Take care here. The rules which Alan is quoting are the ones which cause an erstwhile non-UK resident to become UK resident. It is a mistake to think that the converse of the rules causes a UK resident to become a non-resident.

 

"Residence" has no technical meaning for UK tax purposes - it takes on its normal meaning, albeit with reference to previously decided legal cases. That means, in very broad terms, that a man on the proverbial Clapham omnibus would need to think that you did not reside in the UK if he knew of your circumstances. For a period of at least a complete UK tax year, you need to give up your UK home and, in reality, demonstrate that you have a home in another country - your country of residence.

 

Once you have done that, then you have to make sure that you do not become UK resident again; you do that by obeying the rules which Alan has mentioned.

Edited July 14, 2007 by Bazle

[Eneukman 1]

I'm not certain whether I've mentioned this above, but once I knew my address in Thailand, I completed a form from the Revenue cliaming non-residence status.

 

Also, before I left the UK, I wrote to the Inland Revenue and asked a few questions. They called me back as I hadn't said where I was emigrating to, which gave me the chance of asking a few questions. They were actually very helpful.

 

Alan