Victor Meldrew

Good evening (it is here anyway!). Looking to return to UK next summer and have some issues/questions/problems I need addressing before I come back. I am looking at the idea of investing some money (that's how I see it) in getting accurate up to date advice as follows:

1. Chartered accountant - Tax on income brought back, potential CGT on my house if I sell it within a short period
2. Careers Coach. At 57 and an experienced teacher (with a good track record) I anticipate that I may have to diversify and need advice about how to do it/what might be suitable
3. Immigration Specialist. Married in for 10 years to a non EEA spouse (we came back to UK to marry in 2001 on a 2 week holiday when I was non-resident). Possibility she may be able to get a Portugese passport instead of the ILR/ILE route which seems to have become onorous, expensive and unreliable.

Has anybody else used any of these 'experts'? how did it work out? where did you find them from? was it worth it?

Any advice or info appreciated.

Victor

Mummy in the foothills

If you are going the way of a visa for your Non EEA spouse to move to UK you may want to get going on the app before the new income requirements come into play on July 9th.
The other stuff I don't know about but I'm sure someone will.

englishguygoinghome

Can only comment on the immigration specialist. We went to an specialist solicitor for advice twice and picked someone who had very strong recommendations and was listed as "the top specialist company" for immigration law in the legal directories.

They didn't research our position and the advice was at times simply wrong (looking at the wrong rules, advising us against an appeal etc). We found the best investment was time - reading, re-reading and understanding the rules for ourselves.

Pistolpete2

Ref item 1. Chartered Accountant -

I'm surprised nobody on these boards can come forward and answer your queries regarding becoming ordinarily resident again and therefore subject to Capital Gains Tax. You had a query regarding the issue on here a while back and I threw it open to the forum but got no response. I'm thinking that you get your property valued at your date of arrival and only gains from the point of again becoming ordinarily resident are subject but I too want this clarified. This because you have not been domiciled and resident or ordinarily resident for years and as I recall you did not own the property when you left the UK AND you are not a regular visitor for more than three months per annum average or have maintained family ties so that they could argue that you never left in the first place - right!

As for income concerns, Extra Statutory Concession A11 allows for splitting of your income in your year of arrival so that you only pay tax on income after you've arrived, so remittance of the prior income is irrelevant.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/eim42850.htm

IF you were claiming that you are still a non-dom and therefore only subject to UK tax on a remittance basis it could be very different.

Pistolpete2

I fear this seems to answer the CGT question:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/helpsheets/hs278.pdf

"Gains in the year of arrival:

Where an individual arriving in the UK has not been resident or ordinarily
resident in the UK at any time during the five tax years immediately
preceding the tax year in which they arrived in the UK, split-year treatment
is available under paragraph 1 of ESC D2. In such cases chargeable gains
from disposals made in the year of arrival, before the date of arrival, are not
charged to Capital Gains Tax. Split-year treatment does not apply if the
individual was previously resident in the UK and there were fewer than five
tax years between the year of return and the earlier year of departure.
The chargeable gains from disposals made at any time in the year of arrival
are charged to Capital Gains Tax."

Relief only appears to be available where the property has been your principle residence for a period of time.