willyburg

Hi - I am employed by a UK company and going on maternity leave soon....does anyone know if I have to pay UK taxes during my leave? I currently only pay National Insurance and US taxes.

Any help would be totally appreciated.

Thank you.

ian-mstm

Maybe... maybe not.


What is your immigration status in the US? If you're going on maternity leave, in which country do you plan to have the baby?

Ian

willyburg

I'm on a L2 visa - we plan to go back to live in the UK in a few years.

I currently pay US tax with my job (UK company) but as there's very little on US parental leave and laws, I have no idea whether the maternity leave I am entitled to in the UK (I still pay National Insurance) will be US tax deducted!

Bob

There is no maternity leave in the US by law, so basically, whatever your tax situation, it doesn't change.

christmasoompa

If you're paying tax in the US then are you even entitled to UK maternity pay? I've no idea, but as its all done via PAYE and you need to give your UK tax info, I'm not sure you would be?

You also need to submit a MAT B1 form to claim it but if you're not under the care of a UK doctor I don't know how that would work either (as your doctor gives it to you)?

I think you'd actually need to be working in the UK to claim it, paying NI won't make any difference, just as paying it alone wouldn't entitle you to NHS care, child benefit, etc.

But I could be completely wrong!

willyburg

Thank you for your advice.

As my employer is still paying NI contributions on my behalf I can collect SMP, they've only requested an equivalent of a MAT 1B form so far.

As I'll be officially on leave (ie not working), and bearing in mind that the US does not have a stance on maternity leave, does this mean that I won't have to pay US tax on these earnings?

Tricky situation!

Jerseygirl

At a guess....I would think you will have to because it's income and you are now based in the US. You will need to enter it on your US tax return.

Don't know how you can claim SMP when you are no longer a UK resident. My husband paid NI contributions for years...but the child benefit was stopped as we were no longer UK residents.

Bob

What's your current US tax status? Chances are, you'll be paying tax on it, if you're in the US.

willyburg

OK looks like I'll be paying tax - thank you! I'm paying US tax at the moment Bob - and as Jerseygirl correctly pointed out, I will still be employed by the company. Thank you - makes a difference with budgeting ahead for baby!

Englishtart

When we were in OK, I belonged to a British wives club, all the wives were married to US military guys and no longer UK residents. There were lots of them that still claimed Child benefit from the UK, they thought it quite ok to do so. They got around it by using a UK mailing address and bank account for direct deposit of benefit.

Jerseygirl

We notified the Benefits Office several times...but they still kept paying the Child Benefit into our UK bank account. 7 years later...they asked for it back. Fortunately I had never withdrawn it and left it in the account.

Englishtart

Wow! I never applied for it, we spent 10 yrs (combined) in the UK, but I never felt I was entitled to it.

Jerseygirl

When I had my daughter...many new mums used to sign on unemployment and received benefits for a year. I didn't do that because I chose not to go back to work...therefore I didn't think it was right to claim unemployment benefit.

Sally Redux

Yes it didn't occur to me to do that - I was pissed off when I found out I could have.

jeffreyhy

Clearly you have not been in the USA long enough to participate in the You Know You've Been In The USA Too Long When ... thread.

Regards, JEff