suiko

Can anyone recommend someone to have a chat with? I'm in Portugal now but still working for UK company (and intend to try to get away with doing so as long as I can). Obviously needs to be someone who knows both GB and PT systems well.

liveaboard

Denis Swing Green at Eurofinesco.
Very knowledgeable person.

suiko

Many thanks! I did contact Eurofinesco about my NIF issue, but in the end they said they couldn't help me with t. Will see about a consultation.

qianh

If you are employed, it’s a bit complicated. I think it’s easier if you become contractor and invoice your London Employer as client. It’s what I am doing now.

suiko

Thanks, Qian, but they won't employ me on that basis. Might wait five years before they offer me any work, if then!

yevlondon

i am in the same situation. I plan to apply for NHR. then for 10 years i will not pay any Portuguese tax on my UK income provided i pay income tax in UK. which is fine by me.

christmasoompa

Where will you be living though? If you won't be living in the UK you shouldn't be paying income tax there, it sounds as if you'll be living in Portugal? You can't elect to pay income tax somewhere that you're not tax resident (if you could, everybody would just say they wanted to pay it in Monaco!).

yevlondon

it s more complicated than that. i will remain UK tax resident according to UK rules (they are quite complex), but also will be Portuguese tax resident according to Portuguese rules (living more than 183 days and/or having permanent home on 31 december). double taxation treaty breaks such ties. plus NHR rules will apply to me. so i m good.

christmasoompa

That seems mad to me, I don't understand how you can be tax resident in two places. So you get residency in Portugal, but can still use the NHS in the UK and choose where you can pay tax? I'd double check that with a tax pro or two, as that just seems really odd, if you'll be in Portugal more than half the year I don't understand how you can be tax resident in the UK personally, but I'm not a pro!

yevlondon

it's not mad. different countries have different rules regarding tax residency. case in point - "31 December" rule in Portugal. it does not exist in UK. sometimes one can be tax resident in two places as one satisfies rules of two countries simultaneously. large part of double taxation treaty is dedicated to what to do in such cases. i did my research and i have satisfied myself with what i need to do and i am confortable with it. i intend to declare my UK income in Portugal, but under NHR rules it will not be subject to income tax for 10 years. then i ll figure out what to do next.

dingg

I confirm, I was employed by UK company for first two years under nhr, resident in Portugal, paid UK tax on salary no further tax paid to Portugal.

Pistolpete2

It's pretty easy to be tax resident in the UK and Portugal at the same time per post #8 above, if you keep a UK property which is available for you to stay in as and when and spend over 90 days in the UK in any tax year. However, if you are in the UK for less than 90 days in a tax year and work full time overseas, you will automatically be non UK tax resident.

HMRC are running a beta Community Forum where you can discuss tax issues such as residence and it can be helpful.

There was a recent question regarding tax residence from a poster in Spain and it had this response from HMRC which is reference self employment:

"I'm not sure of the type of trade you have, whether you have been physically travelling back to the UK to carry out your duties or if these have been done in Spain for UK clients.

If you are not actually doing any of your work in the UK from a permanent base in the UK, your self employment is not a UK source of income.

The income arises from where you are doing the work, not where your clients are." - my bolding

Hence the current special immigration and tax (in the case of Barbados) concessions for IT workers in places like Barbados and Bermuda*.

*Bermuda only has payroll tax and not income tax

qianh

Yes I agree with the above, it's easy to remain UK tax resident as long as you have sufficient ties, although UK/PT tax treaties outlines where you should be tax resident so technically you can't be tax resident in PT/UK at the same time. However if your address with financas is PT address it would automatically consider you are PT tax resident and you need to fill tax return. According to financas portal FAQ, any dispute regarding tax residency (e.g you forget to change the address to overseas address etc) would have to be settled afterwards. Like dingg's situation it is possible, you report your foreign employment income and tax paid in foreign country, your PT tax will calculate this in, you may or you may not pay tax in PT, if you don't pay tax abroad, the income will add to your PT income and will be taxed here accordingly.I have done my first PT IRS return now, and I can tell you it's actually difficult to say precisely how the financas calculate your tax, you fill the number and they send you a bill, it doesn't show how the number comes up.

qianh

On another note, my personal opinion, from the practical side. double tax treaty and cross border tax are complex issues, you may do your research and happy with what you find, but at the end of the day it's what the computer in financas 'thinks' and the bill they send you matter, I wouldn't really want to spend all my time to chase up documents and having endless conversation with bureaucracy, keeping it simple is still the best option.