I have just spoke to my accountant about what would be the best place to leave our money untill the exchange rate goes back up.

What he has said would be to leave it in a offshore account as the interest will be paid gross. Then would have to declare interest as income on oz tax return.

If we leave it in uk then the interest gets taxed but not sure if then we will have to pay tax on it again in oz and accountant not sure as well.

Has anybody left there money offshore.

many thanks

phillip.

Aus will tax worldwide income, and take into consideration the tax already paid (to the UK) on that income.

we were planning to transfer our money into bank, just so we have it available if needed.

Worthwhile considering the interest rate difference between Australia and anywhere else you would put the money. You may find that will offset any benefit to offshore investment rates and exchange rate differences which ultimately you are going to pay tax on anyhow.

The exchange rate isnt THAT variable and although it seems an immediate loss that could well be offset by interest you can earn in Australia over a couple of months depending on the amount.

Just a thought.

Consider first whether or not you are going to be taxed in terms of world wide income. Not all tax residents in Australia are.

We have left a large amount in offshore accounts and are getting similar rates to that in Oz but are not subject to worldwide income reporting.

You may or may not also consider the need to use the money for house purchase? business setup?

If you have any money left in the U.K, why not consider buying premium bonds? You can cash them in at any time and as you don't earn interest, it won't be classed as taxable income. Admittedly I think they are a pain to cash in if you need the money urgently, but they are worth having. For those of you who don't know what they are visit www.nsandi.co.uk. Every month there is a kin of lottery with 2 prizes of 1 million pounds plays 3-4 million of smaller prizes. We won about 500GBP throughout the year which is much more than we would have ever earned in interest.

Would you have to pay Australian tax on any winnings though?

Looked into the interest rates not much differnce in rates so it would take about 12 to 14 months to get back what we would lose. I say lose thats if the rate goes back up which i think it will. Would like it to go back upto around the 2.45 2.47 mark which is a good average. If we changed up now we would lose about $80k just need to be patient.

We have PR visa so will have to pay tax on world wide income. Will needed money to buy a house but are going to rent first 6 to 12 months.

The best offshore i can find is with Alliance + Leicester 6.4%.

there are some forms you can fill in so you are taxed in the UK as "non resident". The tax as mentioned above is used as a credit against tax liability once resident in Oz. Most likely when you arrive in Oz it will be a part year therefore your first year tax will be low and most likely work out to be a tax refund.

This offshore fund may (might?) not need to be "declared". ie legally tax free because technically the funds are in somewhere like the Bahamas.

Remember that such funds are not usually protected should the bank go under.

(Just some more pluses and minuses for you )

Well we will be needing the money to buy house, but like you, we will be renting for the first 12 months, so the money will be in the bank for at least this time.

what about if yr on a 457 visa

temp res in oz

not a res in uk

were do you put the money then

we are selling the house after we come to au and then will be renting for a while

where do you put the money that you have made from the sale of your house and who if any one do you pay tax to????

It's "resident for tax purposes" not immigration purposes...two different things.

Oh my poor head's spinning with all this tax stuff.

I will be going on a spouse visa, and neither of us will have jobs to go to. Can anyone tell me if I will be taxed on my interest, as this will be my only income to start with. OH has a pension.

Is there a lower limit on income with no tax liability? When we (Me and ex)originally went on a 457, tax was paid on every cent, but we had jobs then, of course.