suebrennan

For all those clued up on finances - if I were to leave cash in a UK bank account and access that as and when I need it in Oz and obviously open and use an Oz bank account once I get organised in Australia what are the tax implications if any?

I have always used Nationwide Flex Account for overseas travel as they do not charge for using Credit cards or withdrawing from ATM's with Debit cards. Incidentally their customer service leaves much to be desired but----.

I have enough funds to keep me going for a couple of years if necessary but not huge amounts to transfer from a house sale etc.

Any thoughts???

Sue

Wendy

Do you mean to leave the money in the UK indefinately or just for a few weeks until you sort out an account?

suebrennan

Hi Wendy

I only want to use what I need - depends on how long it takes me to get a job and then just have it as a rainy day account.

Wendy

Hi

Just looking throught the tax website.

From what I can make of it, you will have to declare any interest you make on your money in the UK, but can claim back any expenses incurred.

So if you get say £5 a month interest but paid £2 in tax then you would have to pay Australian tax on the £3. ( I think, I'm a bit confused now LOL)

Here is the link anyway, you may be able to understand it better than me.

http://ato.gov.au/individuals/conten...1/002&st=&cy=1

http://ato.gov.au/individuals/conten...tent/18851.htm


I'm sure someone with a lot more knowledge than me will give you a better answer.

I now know why I'm taking it all with me

suebrennan

Thanks Wendy

Will look at that tomorrow when I am more awake than I am now.

Just seems a bit lousy that you pay tax here and tax on the interest here and then-----. Just have not get my head around the difference between doing what I said I was going to do and using Ozforex???

Cheers again!

Sue

Wendy

I may have it wrong. Tax was never my strong point (I used to do the wages )

I think if you put in a form at your bank here then you should be exempt from paying tax here as you will not be using your tax allowance. (I think)

Then you'd pay tax in Oz on the interest that you get from the bank.

Me and the hubby have decided we are going to get some financial advise when we get there, it's all very new to us and we are soooo confused it's untrue.

It may be easier for you to do what you said, but transfer all your money across at some stage.

sparkley23

Hey Sue,

Nice to see someone local to me on here! I am thinking along exactly the same lines as you here. I have money with Nationwide in an ISA and current account. I'm reluctant to bring it all over to Aus in the beginning in case (God forbid) it all goes wrong, I can't get a job or something and I have to come back and I end up losing loads in exchange rates and fees etc.

There is a form you can download from the Inland Revenue so you don't get taxed in the UK on any interest.

This is a good starting place for all non-resident tax issues for UK peeps
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/f...andlords.shtml

The form you need for this is the R105 link is on the page above or go straight to it at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nonresidents/fagr105.shtml


So as the previous poster says, you just have to declare this interest to the ATO when you do your tax return in Aus at the end of the year and they take it into account as part of your taxable income (so you will get taxed on it in Aus). Not sure whether the tax will be higher than if you were taxed on it in an Australian bank account or not, that's def one for the Financial Advisors?!

Make sure you also do a P85 before you leave if you have been taxed in Employment this financial year and you will get some back.

suebrennan

Hi Sparkley

I just noticed that you are down the road - actually even more so than before as I have just moved to Wallington! Thanks for that - will have to have a look at that when my brain is less scrambled. Also heading to Brisbane - in July.

Sue

PS checked re ISA here - can leave money in it for as long as you like but can't add to it once you are a non-resident!

sparkley23

I’m planning on keeping an ISA when I go to Australia for a while and just transferring money from it to my current Nationwide account and then withdrawing or transferring money from there. I thought it would be simple enough to move money from my Nationwide ISA to my current account online but they only let you do this if you go into a branch with your passbook!? I therefore asked if I could make my mum power of attorney so that she could do this for me and they will only accept a power of attorney from a solicitor. Seems to rather over complicate things! Most banks have a simple power of attorney form you fill in. I’m certainly not paying a solicitor fees for that!

So now I have to move my ISA to another provider who will let me transfer funds out of it online into my Nationwide account and Nationwide will be losing out on me having my money in their ISA. Very strange idea to me!!? Thought you might be interested to know. It seems if you leave money in your Nationwide ISA when you go to Oz, you have no way of then accessing it unless you come back to the UK