luceo non uro

Hi all,

I've been reading some of the threads and keep seeing tax (April, 1 full year etc.) being mentioned for returnees to the UK.

I don't have any immediate plans to go UK-wards for now, but I can't find any specific information on the situation when I return. Will they suddenly deduct a third of my savings when i move it back to a UK bank... will they know I've moved it from an offshore to a Uk bank?!

I've been here for 19 months but never told any authorities I was leaving... again, can't find any specific info on this. Is it deliberately vague so they can shaft us when we go back?

I tried asking in the bank about it but they didn't know either! They did say I might be entitled to money back from the government though which confused me a little! Not bothered about that really, but I do want to make things simple and legal for my eventual return... and obviously want to lose as little cash as possible when moving it back.

A long-winded and rambling posting i know, but if anyone can help please let me know.

Thanks

busybee2

you have to fill out a form... i am a housewife and they kept sending me the form every year to my parents address, so i had to fill it in, of course it was nill because i am not working... but in order to be tax free you must be out of uk for april to april, so depending on when you leave it can be a lot longer. but are you saying that you are paying tax? or that you dont want to be paying tax if you have to return. once you have been out of the uk for the whole tax year they cannot charge you.

luceo non uro

hi busybee, thanks for the reply.

I'm not paying anything (as far as I know!) and I have been out of the UK since May '07. I'm just not sure if I
a) officially need to inform anybody in the UK that I'm not there
b) will be taxed on money that I take back to the UK

I've asked friends and colleagues and nobody seems too sure on the whole thing... or isn't sharing the info!

My savings are currently in a IOM offshore account, but I guess if and when i go back to the UK I'll move that cash back too. Although at the moment I'd feel safer if it was under my bed!

busybee2

dont you fill out a form each year? declaring your income etc? yes you should inform them that you are non resident. if you left in may 07 your year would not start until april 08 so you would need to be out of the country until april 2009. but i am sure somebody who is more knowledgeable about this will be on.

luceo non uro

uh-oh, no I've never filled out any form

I asked my previous UK employer about it before i left and they said i didn't have to do anything as they would inform them I was no longer employed there. When i got out here I asked my my employer and they said it wasn't a problem. My workmates don't know either!

So is it the Inland Revenue I need to contact about this form I need? Maybe Citizen's Advice bureau is the way to go to ..

Again thanks for the help.

benzonar

Go to the inland revenue site and download and fill it form P85, then send it off to them. They will then lose it but not tell you this fact for 6 months.

Eventually when you call someone they will give you some half arsed excuse and tell you to fill out another form and send it to them.

This form will then sit in someones intray for 3 months until after repeated irate phonecalls someone decides to look at it. When you call again they will tell you it has been sent to their technical team and that there is no way to find out its status.

The next day you will then receive a letter declaring you tax free, and you may even get a cheque.

luceo non uro

Sounds like fun... I'll start that ball rolling next week when I have to renew the car - will make for a stress-free time haha

Right then... a P85 you say? I'm on it, thanks for that.

MacScot

UK Inland Revenue motto:

We've got what it takes to take what you've got !

Meow

Some slightly misleading information here.

Just because you have been out of the UK for a ful tax year (6th April to 5th April) does not not mean that you are not subject to UK income tax on monies earned overseas during partial tax years. You are also not exempt from Capital Gains Tax when remitting monies to the UK, unless you have been non-resident for tax purposes (& have bothered to advise HMRC!) for 5 years.

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Hello.Kitty

... and there's also something about you having to pay tax on any property rental in the UK even if you are non-resident.

Anyhow, P85 for saying Toodle-oo and P86 for saying Hi again.

The P86 is a real "argh" of a form - asking things like "on average, how many days have you spent in the UK over the last 5 years" etc...

lanarkwitch

Yes but I don't think too many of us need to worry, in fact many people who didn't fill in the P85 will probably be entitled to a tax refund at this point.

It's quite simple to do I did it when I left for Ireland a few years ago and never had any problems.

Richard_T

How confusing is all this.....

I thought that if you were out of the country for part of a tax year then it had to be for about six months [cant remember the specific number of days] to be tax free. If the part year was less than the specified number of days then you have to be out of the country for the whole of the next tax year in order to avoid tax liability for the part year.

I cannot remember where I got this from so some of it might be tosh!

MrsHaps

i left in June 08 - i did get a rebate because of the tax i paid, i returned in January 09 and we are being made to pay tax on all overseas earnings. They told us you need to be out april to april to qualify for no tax on EARNINGS. Savings is a totally different subject.

harrywebb

That looks right to me regarding income tax.

Meow

That is correct.


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