OrangeMango

Would moving back to the UK mean, I would have to pay some unexpected tax?

Here is my background:

- Haven't lived in the UK in the past years only returned for brief visits
- Would move back to the UK bringing back personal effects, like furniture, clothes, some electrical goods from an EU country
- Would sell a property in an EU country and transfer a larger amount of funds to a UK account.

Any ideas?

C.2s

I'm not sure if this would count as 'unexpected' for you, but we've just been surprised by Stamp Duty for buying a UK property. My fault because I started reading the UK gov website on Stamp Duty but stopped reading because it says Stamp Duty doesn't apply to properties under £250,000...I should have kept reading because much further down the page it says:
1. You have to pay a % if you haven't been resident in the UK for a set number of days before you buy
&
2. You have to pay a % if you haven't yet sold your other property

Okay, it's then possible to claim both of those back at a later stage (once you have sold the foreign property and been resident for the prescribed period of time) , but I am annoyed with myself for not having researched properly

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OrangeMango

So how am I to understand this?

- I am to sell the property overseas prior to returning to the UK?
- I am to spend x amount of days in the UK renting before buying a property in the UK?

And this is all irrespective if I have my own finances due to a property sold overseas or a mortgage ? ( don't think I get a mortgage that easily in the UK anyway, but don't need one as I would have my own finances )

Are there any taxes on personal goods entering the UK? ( nothing commercial, nothing for re-sale and not a car )

Helen1964

Firstly, thank you C2.

To elaborate on the reply you kindly gave to Orange Mango:

“- I am to sell the property overseas prior to returning to the UK?”

Provided you do not own a principal residence (anywhere in the world) at the time when you buy your new principal residence in the UK, you will not be liable to the 3% surcharge on top of the usual stamp duty rates.
And if you do still own your former residence when you buy your new principal residence, you can claim back the 3% surcharge as long as you sell the former residence within 36 months after buying the new one.

“- I am to spend x amount of days in the UK renting before buying a property in the UK?”

If you’re not present in the UK for at least 183 days (6 months) during the 12 months before your purchase you will usually pay a 2% surcharge if you’re buying a residential property in England or Northern Ireland.

But once again, you can claim a refund.
Buyers are able to claim a refund of the 2% surcharge if, after the purchase, they are present in the UK for at least 183 days during any continuous 365-day period that falls within the 2 year period:

• beginning 364 days before the effective date of the transaction
• ending 365 days after the effective date of the transaction

“And this is all irrespective if I have my own finances due to a property sold overseas or a mortgage ? ( don't think I get a mortgage that easily in the UK anyway, but don't need one as I would have my own finances )”

How you finance the purchase is irrelevant.

“Are there any taxes on personal goods entering the UK? ( nothing commercial, nothing for re-sale and not a car )”

Not that I’m aware of.


Returning to the subject of stamp duty, here’s the link to the relevant UK government website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of...n-uk-residents

C.2s

I agree with everything Helen said.

With respect to the particular point about "principal residence" I can give you an example: We own one property abroad at the moment and are buying a property in the UK, so what this means for us is that although our foreign property will be classed as a second home in the country where we live at the moment, and we will pay second home taxes in that country, it still counts as a "primary residence" for the purposes of UK Stamp Duty...so we have to pay the 3% now and IF we sell the foreign property within 3 years we will claim it back

Helen1964

I knew about the second home rule but had no idea about the residence rule. So am very grateful to you C.2s for pointing that out.
Just when I think I’ve wrapped my brain around this whole moving-to-the-UK process, another complication pops up.
Here was me thinking we could meander over from France, buy a little house in England at our leisure and then come back to France and take our sweet time about selling the French flat. OK, the rule just requires us (or one of us) to be physically present in the UK for at least 183 days (in total) in any continuous 365-day period immediately preceding or following the purchase. But it does mean we’ll have to be careful about tax residence. Hmmm.

C.2s

I'm aware it's a "First World Problem" (having to pay tax cos one owns two homes) so I am not complaining, but it's worth knowing about when one sets a budget for moving.

A related issue (but not tax) is the anti-money laundering rules in the country where you live and in the UK. Were finding it a bit difficult establishing a paper trail and showing the appropriate ID to the appropriate person at the appropriate time. For example for my UK solicitor I have to show my passport (ok) , and two forms of proof of address, but a lot of the things on the list are things one doesn't have if one lives abroad in the 21st century! :-)

durham_lad

As to the question above of paying taxes on goods you bring in, the answer is “no” if you have owned them for at least 6 months. There is a Transfer of Residence form you complete when moving your goods to the UK.

dunroving

I remember typing a long, itemised list with values for every single item ... and as far as I know, nobody even looked at it. For the OP and anybody else, I'd say don't make the job more difficult than needed - I think you can safely assume it's OK to group similar things together with approximate quantities (books ca. 150, value $450, hand tools value $350, etc.) Only individually itemise large items such as rugs, furniture, or valuable items.

durham_lad

That is just what we did. Our daughter has some expensive musical instruments and she shipped them separately but used the same ToR form for all of her belongings.