kateg60

This is good to know as I expect it will be what I will do. So have you never been contacted by HMRC during this time? From what I can tell as long as I maintain aUS address as my primary I will be not be UK tax resident, even if I live there for 90 days or more in each tax year. I won't have any UK income or family with me.

Do you have a UK bank account?

robin1234

I have offshore (isle of man) accounts with Lloyds dating back many years. More recently, I have a UK account, with Barclays. As for HMRC, I did take the initiative to start paying UK tax on one UK source of income, a relatively small final salary pension. HMRC refunded all my tax payments after a couple of years. I think they looked at my self-assessment & judged my income was below the threshold. As I mentioned, I’ve been retired eight years but have only a minimal income stream so far (mostly US Social Security,) but unfortunately that changes this year, I’m 72, and must start taking required minimum distribution from my retirement savings. Income will be significantly higher from now on.

kateg60

So are you paying US taxes because you have a primary residence there?

countrygirl33

Hi Kate60, I am a dual citizen and have had a flat in UK for ten years. My husband passed away and I have been back in UK for about 7 mths last year and plan to be here a bout 9 mths this yr. I have a home in the USA that is being checked on by a friend . I'm thinking of renting it for 9mths of year so I will still be able to go back and visit . I contacted a UK accountant in March when I returned here and gave all my USA tax returns . I was told that they would get back to me later around October .. If you want o private message me anytime , I will be haooy to discuss . I have so many questions and not sure what is the best way to go. I have NHS coverage as the UK is my main residence now, but I"m still paying as normal in US to maintain my home there. Are you in UK now?

tdrinker

http://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/...-flowchart.pdf

Looks like if you split your time between the USA and UK you will be non-UK resident if you stay for a maximum of:

1. 120 days if you have a home in the UK - you have 2 ties (having a UK home you stay in 1+ nights; you are in the UK for 90+ days in either of the 2 previous tax years)

2. 182 days if you don't have a home in the UK - you have 1 tie.

Read the Government guidance notes on the definition of a home, but I assume you have one if you stay in an owned or long-term rented property, and don't if you stay in hotels / Airbnb or similar when you visit the UK. And remember, it's based on tax years not calendar years.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...dence-test-srt

Regardless of the the replies you receive (including mine), make sure you read and understand the rules, or take advice from an expat tax adviser.

countrygirl33

Thanks for info

tdrinker

countrygirl, I found this online regarding US taxes:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/inte...sidency-status

But you are absolutely doing the right thing in your circumstances by employing an accountant, just ensure they are experts in US and non-resident taxation.

jenninedinburgh

Hello, I have been looking into this as well. I am a US/UK citizen and am a professor in the US. As I miss Edinburgh so much, I am thinking of buying a property there and staying during winter and summer breaks (approximately 4-5 months a year). I've read a lot since my thoughts started on this topic and was very concerned at one point that I'd be considered tax resident due to some things I read online. I then took that quiz you referred to a few times and it consistently noted that I would not be considered a tax resident (phew). Now...bigger questions (for me at least) are how to successfully own a property in two countries and all that goes with that!

jenninedinburgh

This is a really helpful flowchart. So, I read that I would need to spend less than 120 days per year in the UK after the first year (where I could spend up to 180) in order to consistently be considered non-resident - i.e., owning a home (1 tie) + more than 90 days (1 tie) = 2 ties (first year would be only 1 tie as the previous year would have less than 90 days).

tdrinker

This is my understanding.

But anyone should be wary of thinking they can consistently spend 6 months in the UK if they don't own a home, because a person doesn't have to own the accommodation to create an accommodation tie. The test states "Accessible UK Accommodation stayed in ≥ 1 night" - so if accommodation is available to someone, they only have to stay in it for 1 night to create an accommodation tie. These are examples from the guidance notes:

Example A14
Mary has lived and worked in the USA for many years. Her uncle has a holiday houseboat in the UK where he has agreed Mary can stay any time she wishes, for as long as she wishes, when she comes here. Mary’s uncle does not allow other people to stay in the houseboat. .... Mary ... visited the UK twice, spending her five-week summer holiday on her uncle’s houseboat. ... Mary has an accommodation tie as the houseboat is available for a continuous period of at least 91 days and she has stayed on it for at least one night.

Example A17
Hyo lives and works in Poland. He is his company’s European sales manager. This year he will be responsible for launching a new product in the UK and will need to spend time here. His sales force are on the road the last week of every month so he books a room in the same hotel for the first three weeks of June, July, August, and September.
Hyo has an accommodation tie this year.

Therefore I'd say that if someone books a hotel, Airbnb or similar for >90 days they will have an accommodation tie if they stay in it for even a single night. But if they make short-term bookings and move from place to place, they won't get this tie. Of course, this isn't necessarily a comfortable way to live, which I suppose if the intent - the more comfortably settled someone is, the shorter period they can stay before becoming resident.

I'm not a tax advisor or expert, it's just my understanding of the rules.

jenninedinburgh

Very interesting. I've read about buying property in France and Portugal as an alternative and, at least on the surface (which means little), they seem to have a straight up 180-day rule without all of the ties (but they have their own issues as well, of course). I travel a lot when not lecturing and the Airbnb life is inconsistent and tiring. It is a privilege for sure, but I'd love to have a little place of my own over on that side of the pond. I really wish we had not sold our house before leaving the UK. When I left, the world was a different place and the US was most certainly a different place (at least in my mind it was - having been back here since 2016, I wonder if it was always the same and I just did not see it for whatever reason). I feel like I have to get out of it each year to just enjoy being more of a pedestrian as a part of existence rather than being in a car all the time, have access to food that isn't full of crazy pesticides or additives, have real conversations with people without feeling like every interaction is a transaction of sorts (transactional friendships for example) and just the constant chaos! Thanks again for sharing this information. It helps one to try and think things through (for me it's do I buy there or just move back over for good and try and fly back to the US once or twice a year for visits with family).

not2old

justify this ...

only you can determine or figure out if you are tax resident.

you haven't mentioned if you have taxable or earned income in the US that may be eligible for dual tax under the US/UK tax treaty.

are you getting income from any source in the US?

do you remit a 1040 tax return for income from any source in the US including paying tax?

are you, will you be?

https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income

do you want to be tax resident or not?

in the link below provided up thread link this to the tax treaty for for foreign income - that is if you have any.

or that you have no income, just a zillion dollars of capital in a zero interest chequing account that you draw from to support your lifestyle.

https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/...es-same-income