Offshore Banking

Old Aug 17th 2013, 12:32 pm
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Default Offshore Banking

Banking Advice

I want to start saving money for a raining day and was thinking about the following:

Save into a local Qatar bank account.

Then once I have saved up the required deposit, open and transfer to an offshore bank account in say "Jersey" - ie deposit required Barclays GBP 5K or HSBC GBP 25K.

Any other suggestions or locations for most tax efficient savings?

Then continue to save into this account.

I have a property in Dubai which I eventually intend to sell and keep the money offshore. Hence hopefully avoiding any UK capital gains Taxes, if this is possible.

I will be returning to the UK sometime in the future.

Any recommendations or advice appreciated.
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Old Aug 17th 2013, 12:35 pm
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Your laibility to CGT depends on your residency status and how long you remain out of the UK in total. not where you are keeping the money.
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Old Aug 17th 2013, 8:33 pm
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Lloyds TSB Offshore minimum balance required within 3 months of opening to avoid charges is just £2,500
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Old Aug 18th 2013, 11:18 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Plenty of good Offshore banks these days, even some of the UAE banks are opening separate branches in the Channel Islands. They are a good way to keep money away from UAE law (the dreaded freezing of accounts is a well known reality for all sorts of things) but they do tend to have higher minimums and often high charges for use too.

Keeping some money aside for emergencies is always good, as a benchmark I'd say 3-6 months of income but everyone has their own ideas.

The wife is in banking, I can ask her what their offshore offering is like. I broker an offshore bank myself but it's not very good as anything other than a place to store money safely. If you need to use it regularly the charges do tend to get a bit silly.

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Old Aug 18th 2013, 11:20 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Plenty of good Offshore banks these days, even some of the UAE banks are opening separate branches in the Channel Islands. They are a good way to keep money away from UAE law (the dreaded freezing of accounts is a well known reality for all sorts of things) but they do tend to have higher minimums and often high charges for use too.

Keeping some money aside for emergencies is always good, as a benchmark I'd say 3-6 months of income but everyone has their own ideas.

The wife is in banking, I can ask her what their offshore offering is like. I broker an offshore bank myself but it's not very good as anything other than a place to store money safely. If you need to use it regularly the charges do tend to get a bit silly.

Meow's quite right about Capital Gains Tax - I believe the rule of thumb is now five years offshore to gain exemption but don't quote me on that.

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Old Aug 18th 2013, 11:33 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Originally Posted by Norm_uk
Meow's quite right about Capital Gains Tax - I believe the rule of thumb is now five years offshore to gain exemption but don't quote me on that.

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An individual needs to be UK non-resident for tax purpose for five tax years to avoid paying CGT.
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Old Aug 18th 2013, 5:16 pm
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

I am looking for a place that can give me a reasonable amount of interest on a lump sum - the interest rates in UK are going down every month so I expect the offshore accounts won't be any better - am I right?
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Old Aug 19th 2013, 4:21 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Originally Posted by soukie
I am looking for a place that can give me a reasonable amount of interest on a lump sum - the interest rates in UK are going down every month so I expect the offshore accounts won't be any better - am I right?
I suppose a lot depends on what you consider to be a reasonable amount of interest and how big the lump sum is but you would be right about Offshore Accounts not being much better for the most part.

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Old Aug 19th 2013, 5:45 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Originally Posted by soukie
I am looking for a place that can give me a reasonable amount of interest on a lump sum - the interest rates in UK are going down every month so I expect the offshore accounts won't be any better - am I right?
The interest rates payable on most deposit accounts are less than the rate of inflation so you would be losing money in real terms. That said, everyone should have a substantial cash reserve and then the only way to make your money grow is by investing it.

As to what you should invest in, well that depends in numerous factors such as your views, appetite for risk, timeframe, tax situation etc.
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Old Aug 19th 2013, 7:54 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Originally Posted by mrfish7

I want to start saving money for a raining day
Cash is not an asset class as it does not generate superior returns
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Old Aug 19th 2013, 7:58 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Originally Posted by UKCityGent
Cash is not an asset class as it does not generate superior returns

Cash is an asset class, albeit one with neglible returns and everyone should have enough cash to fall back on in case of the proverbial rainy day, especially with the lack of security of working in the ME. Once an emergency/rainy day fund has been set up, then it is appropriate to consider 'real' investments.
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Old Aug 26th 2013, 7:43 am
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Default Re: Offshore Banking

Originally Posted by Meow
Cash is an asset class, albeit one with neglible returns and everyone should have enough cash to fall back on in case of the proverbial rainy day, especially with the lack of security of working in the ME. Once an emergency/rainy day fund has been set up, then it is appropriate to consider 'real' investments.
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