over_the_pond

Hello,

I am a British citizen living in the US as a permanent resident (what they call green card). I will be dual citizen soon but I think that is besides the point and should not change relevant circumstances for this question.

I have a flat in London which I rent out. I also have a mortgage (getting an expat mortgage is a pain, but that is a question for other thread).

I am slightly in loss or breaking even most years due to expenses and mortgage. But since, UK government doesn't consider interest payments for landlords, they still think I am making gain by renting out property.

As per that selective calculation, I have rental income and I have to file a tax return (SATR) every year in UK. Tax return is pretty simple as my only income in UK is from renting out one flat I used to live in, and I don't end up paying any tax because my gain is less than the standard Personal Allowance (which I can avail as a British citizen, unless they change rule on that as well).

I pay my accountant close to £200 every year for this - it started with £150, five years ago. I wonder if there is a cheaper way of doing this? Is there a website where I can file this myself? GOV.UK website doesn't allow filing SATR for Non-residents.

I wonder how do other british expats file SATR?

Thanks!

Glasgow Girl

I used to be in the same position, and filed my return by paper. After several years of this, HMRC contacted me and told me I did not need to file taxes any longer as there was never any tax due, and to start filing again if that situation changed (which it did not). Perhaps contact them and see if they still require a tax return. In any case this link should help you file by mail which you can do yourself fairly easily. Remember that you still need to declare the income in the US.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...x-return-sa100

over_the_pond

Thank you. I will contact HMRC and see if I can get a waiver.

Yes, US tax return is a different process - and a very elaborate one. It is probably about 5 times more effort for me due to my arrangements.

durham_lad

I also don’t think you need to file a return since your only UK income is so low. Also, if the profit from your UK rental is less than £2,500 you don’t have to report that at all.

https://www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return

PetrifiedExPat

For US tax purposes, we pay ~1000 USD year, worth every penny (cent, even though they call it a penny)