JBinhungary

Bear with me while I try to explain my question.. A couple, living in Hungary pre Brexit.. both with Irish passports but having lived & worked most of their lives in the UK want to move to another EU country, are they treated as EU citizens & therefore no issues. Or are they treated as a post Brexit & therefore would lose all their protected rights under the WA? Just throwing it out there while considering future options.

BritInParis

If they have Irish passports then they’re EU citizens and Brexit doesn’t entered into it.

JBinhungary

They do but pensions come from the UK..

Peter_in_Hungary

That should be no problem. UK pensions (state or private) are payable anywhere in the EU. However the tax situation will vary between countries, e.g. in Hungary pensions are free of tax. (Pensions are taxed in the country in which they are received not in the country from which they are paid).

JBinhungary

Thank you for the replies. Seems like it should be ok to move in which case. I can't find any official information yet to confirm but certainly can make further enquiries.

Peter_in_Hungary

Don't over complicate the enquires, Simply what does an EU citizen have to do to live in Hungary. Where pensions come from are not relevant.

JBinhungary

No, it is EU citizens moving from Hungary to another EU country, having worked in the UK for most of their lives. In which case, the WA would not apply?

NataHH

Sorry I don't agree with you here. I get a very small pension from Germany which I used to declare on my annual UK tax return form for several years. Suddenly I received a tax demand from the German Finanzamt. I told them that I declare all my income to the UK Inland Revenue. The reply was: "Tax on any money earned in Germany has to be paid in Germany". So I requested a refund from HMRC which was more than the Tax I transferred to the German Revenue Department.

Pulaski

It does depend on both the tax treaty and the type of pension being received - [1] generally pensions are taxed where they are received, but [2] government pensions (pensions earned from working for the government, such as civil service, military, etc.) are taxed where they are paid.

There are exceptions, and taking local citizenship can change the applicable rules. Also, per multiple posts on BE, there are many examples of bad advice, even from government tax offices, notably in Italy, and to a lesser and declining degree in Spain, where British emigrants have attempted to pay tax locally where they live, and have been rebuffed by tax officials.

I suspect that in your case, the German official who sent you a tax demand may be unaware of what the German tax treaty with the UK says on the subject of pensions.

NataHH

Thanks for explaining the two scenarios. To be quite honest Pulaski tax leaves me absolutely cold. After being showered with papers in English and German including an excerpt from the Double Taxation Relief Manual quoting Article 17(3) I wonder if it is actually worth the hassle getting the few Euros. I am glad we have free banking in the UK.