Moving back to UK
 

Hello expats!
I never thought I would be doing this but circumstances necesitate that I move back to live permanently in the UK.
I have been in the USA since 1978 and have both social security and my UK pension since they were available to me. I started the process of becoming a US Citizen back in August, and it looks like it will happen sometime in January/February 2025, and I'm looking at April or May for a moving date.
I have been advised that, as a citizen moving back to the UK, I am entitled to receive my USA SS into a UK bank account, in perpetuity. I have also been informed that I may be taxed on that USA SS because I need to file a US tax return each year and the rules change from being a resident in the USA and a resident of the UK. Some of this "information" is confusing, contradictory and generally designed to drive a person nuts!
I realize that I will be financially worse off in the UK, looking at property prices, both to puchase and for rental is staggering. During regular visits to the UK, I have always been aware of how much more expensive things are. However, I'll have to get around it somehow.
I would welcome advice from anyone who has made this move, or is in the process of doing it.
Thanks. John V.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

That depends on where you are and are going to. It's MUCH more expensive for me here (Boston) that it was in the UK (Berkshire). My grocery bill alone is three times the price, utilities are higher, wifi is higher, and we pay a heck of a lot more to rent a house much smaller than our UK one. Everything costs a lot more here other than gas, but I'm guessing you live in a cheaper area than Boston (i.e. pretty much anywhere else). :lol:

You may be taxed on your SSA but it depends on your earnings. You will need to file a return each year though. Do you get a full UK pension?

You may also be eligible for benefits in the UK, again depending on your earnings, there are calculators online you can use to check that.

Best of luck.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Thanks for the reply. I have heard that Boston is an expensive place to live, however I am in Greensboro NC and find it affordable.

With regard to taxation, I have no other earnings aside from SS and my full UK pension. Well, I do have interest earnings on high yield savings accounts but they don't amount to much, and for the last 3 years I have not paid any tax on my yearly filing, nor have I got a refund!

I am a UK citizen but I don't own, or rent, any property there. When I have my USA citizenship I will have dual nationality. Thanks for the tip on possible UK benefits, I'll look that up.

Thanks again

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Costs will depend largely on where you plan to settle in UK. Any clue where that might be yet?

Re: Moving back to UK
 

My wife and I are also dual citizens living in the UK and my wife is in receipt of SS, paid directly into our UK bank - works great. I have applied for SS but they are many months behind as the application has to be reviewed by the Federal Benefits Unit in the London US Embassy.

Your SS will only be taxable in the UK due to the tax treaty so if you had enough income to file an IRS return the taxable portion will be shown as zero on the 1040. (The gross amount of your SS is taxable by HMRC).

We also find it much cheaper to live in Yorkshire than where we were in Texas. Our daughter recently moved back from Mid City, LA and finds it incredibly less expensive here than LA. She still works for the same company, but is paid by their UK office, and has to go back to LA 2 or 3 times a year and always comments on how much more expensive basic things like groceries costs. All the other usual expenses such as WiFi, phone plans, property tax, insurances of all types, including private health insurance are much cheaper here.

She sold her small house in LA and bought 2 larger houses here with the proceeds. (The one she lives in is huge and the other is a 3 bed detached house that she rents out)

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Thank you for your input. I was thinking about north Derbyshire, the Dales, which is almost Yorkshire, and I was raised in Duffield, just north of Derby so I'm quite familiar with that location. Presently I'm living in Greensboro NC, which I have found to be affordable and a very pleasant place to live.
As I understand it, as a US citizen residing permanetly in the UK, your SS is payable, in perpetuity, into a UK bank or Building Society (if they still exist.) Should you return with Permanent Resident status (Green Card) they shut you down after 6 months. Is this still so?
Being a UK citizen, I understand you are entitled to the NHS after a brief period that establishes your residency/permanance. However, I worked for about 10 years in the UK before residing in the USA, do you know if this counts toward that? I emigrated in 1978 and worked full-time until my retirement in 2008.
You mentioned that the the gross amount of your SS is taxable by HMRC, at what rate is that tax? My gross amount for 2025 has $185 deducted to fund my Medicare Advantage Health Insurance, about 13.5%, would that amount to the same principal of HMRC.
Although retired, I have a couple of gigs on a self employed status. I always declare it on my tax filing but I have not paid any taxes in the last few years, nor have I received a refund. Are such things common in the UK?
Thanks again

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I don’t know for sure about green card holders and SS once you move back, hopefully someone else will confirm yeah or neah.

NHS has no delay period, you will be covered on day 1 of returning to live. Done that, no issues, brought my prescription from the USA and had it immediately prescribed by my new GP the first week here.

HMRC will tax your SS before any deductions for Medicare. Pretty sure that Medicare Advantage will not provide any cover once you leave the USA so I guess you will be dropping it once here. SS is taxed like regular income at your marginal tax rate. It is added to your other sources of regular income such as OAP, interest etc including income from self employment. If that total income is greater than the personal allowance of £12,570 then the excess will be taxed at 20%. If you are fortunate to have income over £50,270 then the excess will be taxed at 40%.



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

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Thank you.

I appreciate your time and information. As a matter of interest, when you sold up in Texas, did you ship your furniture etc to UK, or did you buy new in the UK?

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I've done both (I've moved back US to UK twice) and probably the most important consideration is that UK houses are generally smaller than typical US houses, so some US furniture items will be too large to fit comfortably. Especially beds. I brought back most of my furniture the second time, and although it was convenient because I didn't have to buy new furniture, over time I've sold off almost all of my US furniture.

It's also important to decide if you will buy a house (so, unfurnished) or rent (usually furnished, but not always). Obvious implications for bringing furniture back with you.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Yes we did ship a lot of furniture to the UK, but not our beds or appliances or other electrical goods. However, we moved first to a rental house and then bought a big 4 bed house by UK standards (and bigger than the 2 bed apartment we were moving from) so we knew the room sizes etc. As dunroving points out, it’s an easy mistake to make to discover stuff doesn’t fit after you have shipped it.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

You do not lose your SS if you return to the UK with Permanent Resident Status, nor do you lose it if you surrender the Permanent Resident Card. I returned in 2016, surrendered the I-551 in 2018 and started claiming benefit in 2020. Still get paid, like clockwork every month.

As a non US person I only have to worry about UK taxes. If you are both a US and UK citizen you would have to submit two tax returns although you should only be taxed once.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Hello kfbell.
Thanks for that information. I have already started my US citizenship application and paid the fee. This was back in August and I was told it would take about 5 months to complete the process, however, having done so, I do not have to renew my I-551. Which was good as it was due for renewal.
I'm assuming that you were still working in 2016, however, at what age did you start to claim SS? The later you wait, the more you are entitled to. I started at 62 as I was ging through a rough period and it was income, and have now been claiming it for 14 years.
As a UKUSC, you say I have to file a tax return for both the UK and the USA but only pay taxes once. Whcih one takes precedence? In the last 3 to 4 years in the USA I have not paid any taxes, nor received any refunds, my "Personal Allowance" is great enough to cover any taxable amounts. I understand that the UK "Personal Allowance" is £12,570 which is comparible to the US one, depending on convertion rates, is it likely that I would not pay any UK taxes if my SS and UK State Pension are my only incomes?
I really appreciate your input, I have been in the USA since 1978, and have completely lost touch with UK taxation.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

The IRS website has useful Q&A interactive pages to determine if you should file an IRS return.

for non-resident aliens see below:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-re...ual-tax-return

If you are a US citizen then you should use this option below as you are always considered resident in the USA for tax purposes and from what you say then if your income is low enough from all sources you don’t need to file a return: (your SS taxable income in the USA is zero by treaty while living in the UK)

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/do-i-ne...e-a-tax-return

Re: Moving back to UK
 

And for additional clarification - Green Card holder is treated the same as US Citizen for tax purposes.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

[QUOTE=durham_lad;13288772]
NHS has no delay period, you will be covered on day 1 of returning to live. Done that, no issues, brought my prescription from the USA and had it immediately prescribed by my new GP the first week here.
/QUOTE]

Well..in theory. But I would advise anyone to take at least a month of medication with them.

I agree with you that access to the NHS is immediate for anyone who has the right to live in the UK (as the OP does) with the intention of living there permanently. Doesn't matter about how much tax one has paid on the past. A quick Google and you'll find this on the NHS website.

But people may well find that the individual doctors will try to put barriers in the way because they say that they only cover specific postcode areas, and ok they'll ask for proof of address etc. They can't really do this (after all homeless people or people on holiday are entitled to see a GP if necessary), but it's easier not to argue and just be prepared for this in advance, and getting this evidence can take a while.

Then there's the bureaucracy of the GP practice.

In my experience, registering in Derbyshire at a temporary address earlier this year and then in Yorkshire at permanent address last month, it took a month on both occasions. And involved several trips to the doctors and basically camping out in their waiting room on the day my medication ran out.

It shouldn't have to be that way, and it depends on how lucky you are with your choice of GP. But as I say I think it's best not to rely on getting medicine within a week.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Good advice, and definitely post code dependent on ease of getting appointments etc.

I did bring a month’s supply of medicine with me, plus this was back in 2016 when we still had a functioning NHS. When our daughter moved back in November 2022 (same town as us) she also registered the first week she arrived. Registration is handled by reception where we live so no GP appointment needed to get on their list with an NHS number and assigned GP.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

[QUOTE=C.2s;13289431]Most GPs have a catchment area and that info should be available on their website. To find which GPs are in the area you plan to move to, there's a search feature on the NHS website where you can search for GPs near a postcode. You can also register (basic details) for many GPs on the NHS website before you start the often frustrating task of contacting the surgery to try to get a first appointment..... Having said that, my GP office was happy to give me a one month prescription of my US medicine to tide me over before my appointmen but I made that request well before getting close to the end of the month's supply I'd brought with me.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Wherever I end up that information about GP's and postal codes will be usefull. I have a Medicare Advantage Insurance which keeps me supplied with at least 3 months of my meds, so that will help. Prescriptions and medical records will be an essential but if you have the container with all the information on the label, would not that substutute for a prescription?

Re: Moving back to UK
 

No, in terms of you wouldn't be able to just take the bottle into a pharmacy and ask for a refill. It might even be helpful to ask your US doctor to write a brief letter outlining your current prescriptions (even if they charge you $50 for the privilege). One thing that really struck e about the UK compared to the US is that the "jobsworth" mentality is more common here. When it comes to important meds, you want things to go smoothly.

Another thing to check is whether the same meds are available in the UK. When I returned, one med was not available in XR (extended release) form in the UK.

Also, check if there are any NHS recommendations for the meds you are on. After a brain injury, I was put on several meds until the GP found one that worked to reduce the extreme headaches I was having (still have). After being on it for a year, the GP had to take me off because NHS gave out a warning that people addicted to opioids were using it as a synergistic drug to enhance the opioid high. I wasn't even on opioids, so it seemed a bit daft, but as per my comment "josbworth", etc. The replacement meds were not as effective.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

My primary care physician is very co-operative and would gladly give me a letter containing the prescriptions they write. Having looked through the NHS website, all the meds I take are avalable but a couple are listed as controled substances, as they are in the USA, I can see that I would have to have some discussions with the GP of my choice. However, being in the UK and over 60, prescriptions are at no cost. Thanks for the suggestions, at this stage anything is helpful!

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I took my most current US information label to my new GP office and they were able to give me the month's prescription based on that. Whole process took about a week from walking into the practice to picking up from chemist (pharmacy) but I'm in a rural area so everything takes longer. I don't know what kind of checks the GP might have run prior to providing that prescription, but mine is a fairly routine / low risk maintenance drug. I imagine it might be (should be) more difficult with some other meds.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Taxation in the UK for a ukusac.
Do I file a UK tax return as a UK citizen, and is there a website that explains the process?
Do I then file my US tax return, notating that I permanently reside in the UK?
I understand that the US Tax year is from Jan to Dec, and the UK tax year is from April to March, and has to be pro-rated for US tax puposes.
This sounds draconian in the extreme! I should probably hire a tax accountant!
Any feedback on how difficult and time consumung this is?

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I do hire a tax accountant to do our UK and US tax returns because I do find it complicated and draconian. The UK-US tax treaty determines which country has primary tax authority over which income stream and you use foreign tax credits to ensure you are not doubly taxed.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

That's sad! I have always done my own US taxes myself, with the aid of a program. Very easy and not expensive.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

So have I but my wife is totally clueless about such things so having a relationship with a tax accountant is really for her benefit. I expect that you will be able to figure it out, but maybe pay for an account for the first year or 2 after you move back.

Compared to US tax returns a UK return is much simpler and I’ve helped my wife’s sister do a couple of HMRC self assessments after her husband died and she was advised that she needed to do a self assessment. After the second year HMRC told her that she no longer needed to file and could go back to PAYE.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

We moved back in August, and after checking with a couple of local FB community pages, signed up with a doctor's practice with no problems. Get your current Primary Care provider to send you your medical records. I downloaded them to a thumb drive, but the new practice couldn't accept them in that form, so I just emailed them. A lot of lot doctor's practices over here, have their own pharmacist who deals with prescriptions, and they will check if your medications are provided with the NHS. I can a couple that needed changing, one they didn't do the imtermediate dosage, so I had to take the higher dose, as I had already tried the lower dose without success. I was surprised to find that my allergy meds were available on prescription, as it bought over the counter in the USA.
Regarding part B, it has taken us months to get that removed. It might not be an issue for you, but as my husband was recently retired, his income incurred an additional charge which was for the both of us, and amounted to a couple of thousand every 3 months. You cannot keep up part B once you are resident in the UK, but you need to complete a form to stop it. Part of our problem was we sent the forms back to the SS in the USA, but the US has a dedicated department for US SS claimants at the embassy in London which is where the form should have been send.
In the new year, we have the joy of completing our first tax return. I am surprised you are not a US citizen after spending so long in the US, if you aren't intending on returning to the US, I am not sure it's worth taking it up. My husband has been looking at various investment companies, and he is finding that all of them so far, are not available to US citizens. We had to open a HSBC expat account, to access his 401K. Neither of our US bank accounts accept an address outside of the US, so we have kept a US cell phone number with Mint( good advice from here) and changed our address to one of our kids. It's seemingly small things like that, which keep tripping us up.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I think I lucked out with banks as Bank of America had no issues with my having a UK address. I'd called their customer service department a few times to check and consistently got the same answer so I took that as a good sign :-) Additionally, one rep did recommend that I set up a yubikey for additional security while still in the US (easier than setting it up from overseas) rather than rely on text verification (because they can't text 1-time passcodes to non US numbers.) That has worked smoothly, though it does take more steps than receiving a text. Having said that, while I was still in the US I set up a Google Voice account (VOIP) and used it for voice and messaging while still in the US to get it 'established'. Then when in the UK I closed out my regular US cell plan and ported the number to Google Voice. Since then I have received automated messages from both Bank of America and my US brokerage on that number without any issue. I know many/most financial institutions won't accept a VOIP number for customer contacts but it doesn't seem to be a problem with a regular cell number (ie was established with a non-VOIP carrier) that is subsequently ported to Google Voice.
The thing that tripped me up here was trying to get a credit card. I'd been an amex customer for a couple decades in the US and was 'assured' by several customer reps in the US that I would not have any issues opening an amex account in the UK. But that turned out to be untrue, because they insisted on current year proof of income in the UK which I could not provide due to living off savings for the first few months. However, I already had a HSBC Expat bank account, which enabled me to open a HSBC UK bank account without having to jump through any more hoops, and fromt there it was easy to get a HSBC UK mastercard. Long way for a short cut, but it means I do now have a traceable financial footprint in the UK.