shexpat

Bit of an urgent question, are UK expats living in China supposed to submit UK tax returns? I got sent a UK self assessment form which has a deadline of the end of this month or a penalty... but I wasn’t in UK during that tax year, I was living in China firstly on F visa now on a Z visa with a local job. I did have a company in UK but closed that down at the end of 2007. Do I just submit the tax form and put 0’s in all the boxes, or do I need to unregister with the Revenue somehow? I've got a feeling I should have told them before I left

Thank you for any advice.
James

andrewrh

You should firstly have applied for an 'NT' tax code as you were preparing to leave and work abroad. Then they know not to expect any tax payments from you. Basically, they are making sure that you did not return to work during the year or have earnings from investments or property rental)
You must still fill in a tax form every year - your employer might help you. Otherwise you should be ok.
You only have to pay a penalty if you owe them money.

I think there is a website (one of those '.gov' sites) you can check out.

If I remember rightly, your completed form would be a lot of '0's

shexpat

Thanks a lot for your reply, I'm a bit worried I didn't tell the revenue before I left, do you think I should just submit the form they sent me online and put 0 income, adding that I wasn't living in UK? Problem is one of the first questions they ask on the online form is whether I was resident in UK for that tax year, if I check box that then I can't submit the rest of the form.
Are they going to give me a fine or anything if I tell them now that I wasn't in UK and that I forgot to register this fact with them? I know I should have told them before but it's too late now.
Thanks again for your help.

andrewrh

It's not serious to not tell them, though they will know you have not been paying tax and wondering why.

Just tell them you want an NT code and the date you left UK. See what they say.

MonsterP

Hi James,
Very simple, give them a call, they're very helpful. You need to speak to the Non Residents department. Give them your National Insurance number.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/index.htm

I'm also doing mine online rather late too.... purely because I rent my old house in the UK. Otherwise I wouldn't need to do one.

The GBP 100 fine is automatic for anyone later than 31st Jan 2010 including me if I don't get it done in time...!

regards, MP

andrewrh

I was fined, twice I think, 2 years ago. A misunderstanding with my employer's tax consultant. Anyway, the money was reimbursed because I was due a tax rebate. The fine only seems to apply when you owe the IR some money.

rsaunders

I don't know if this thread is still active but there is some incorrect information in it. As far as I know

tax return: if you receive one you should fill it in and return it. you may not need to do it the following year, but if you have UK income you have to make a return. If you have no income I'm not sure if they would fine you.

online: for some reason you cannot do your tax return online if you are non-resident.

andrewrh

They fine you if they think you have not filed a tax return, when you should have, i.e you have missed the deadline. I didn't write any incorrect information - only stated my experience.

rsaunders

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that wasn't your experience. I thought the rule was that you had to file the return when sent one regardless of whether tax due or not - sounds very soft to me

re "I'm also doing mine online..." - I was not able to file online (I think a couple of years ago) as it said the non-resident pages were not available online. Were you able to fill in the non-resident pages online?

andrewrh

I honestly never tried to complete it on line. Our company filled in the pages and I reviewed and signed the document.

You are right- on one occasion I was sent a tax return form, very unexpectly - probably because I visited UK during that tax year (and they had even sent me a letter at the time, asking whether my tax status was changing).

MACS83

Hi all

I am new to forums but fortunately not to tax!

rsaunders you're right if a return has been issued, even if the tax man made a mistake, he will expect it to be filed.

It's also still the case that if you are non resident you can't file the return online using HMRC software I'm afraid!

rsaunders

MACS83 have you come across any forums for expat tax matters?

MACS83

Not specifically dealing with tax matters although, sadly, I used to do this for a living!!

Any queries you have please feel free to let me know and if I can help I will.

sunnydays

We are non residents and have pension and rented accommodation income to send details of to the tax man. We have been doing this on-line thru the Gateway since moving overseas, looks daunting at first but actually is very straight forward.
My boring pension income needs no more tax info to send them (not needed they say). Property is registered in my Filipinas wife's name but the is British national now. 1 hour every year on the internet site and its done until next year. Love the way they give you instant figures of what you can owe them or not as the case my be.

rsaunders

Sunnydays

re: "We are non residents and have pension and rented accommodation income to send details of to the tax man. We have been doing this on-line thru the Gateway since moving overseas"

I can't see how you can complete the Non-Resident pages online, please explain.