Business services> Overseas Issues

If you are arriving or leaving the United Kingdom, you probably have enough to worry about, without having to think of tax.

However there are both opportunities to tax rebates to be
claimed and the risk of missing opportunities, especially with the holding of property. The following notes give outline notes of the main scenarios for persons:

• Leaving the UK
• Returning to the UK
• Overseas Visitors Leaving the UK

Leaving
If you are leaving the UK, even on a temporary work basis for six months or so, or perhaps

Firstly we need to establish if you will lose your residency in the UK. If you do lose your residency in any given tax year you may be eligible for a partial rebate as you are still entitled to your full years’ tax allowances in the year of departure. This can prove a useful bonus on your exit.

Paperwork
We can assist you by arranging your exit papers, advising on your tax position and securing any rebates due to you. We work on a fixed fee basis for this type of work, so you will know
how much everything will fee prior to the work commencing. Fees can start from as little as £50 per person.

Overseas Landlords
It is very common for persons emigrating or leaving for work purposes to rent out their UK property. You may be surprised to learn that the income received from this letting is still taxable in the UK, and if you fail to register with the Non-Residents Landlord Scheme, your letting agent is obliged to deduct 22% of the gross rentals in tax.

However because you are still for a full personal allowance, quite often little taxable income will arise. We can register you for the Non-Resident Landlords scheme and arrange all the
necessary tax returns, liaising directly with your letting agent if required. By getting your affairs in order you avoid having tax deducted and any worries of an investigation if and when you return to the UK.

Competitive Fees
By arranging this type of service on a regular basis, we are able to keep our fees low. A typical Fixed Fee husband and wife non-resident landlord would pay just £140 each for their tax return.

PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICE

Returning to the UK
As an expatriate returning to the UK after time spent overseas, we can assist you in a number of ways.

Most importantly from a financial point of view, is to ensure the timing of your return to the UK does not compromise any tax advantages that you may have due to your non-resident status.
For example you may be able to dispose of property free of UK CGT (Capital Gains Tax) if you have been non-resident for four complete years. Missing such opportunities, van prove costly.

Other general parts of our service include:
• Establishing exactly when your residence will restart
• Getting up to date on any missing tax returns
• Completing your re-entry forms
• Advising on and arranging any tax rebates due after the first tax year in the country.

By taking some professional advice prior to your return, you can ensure your return to the UK is smooth, and the tax man brings no surprises.

Overseas Visitors
We have a growing number of overseas clients, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa. Whether you are just thinking of coming to the UK, recently arrived, on the way home or already back in your home country we can assist in a number of ways.

• Forecasting your net income in the UK
• Advising on your UK tax liability, especially with respect to overseas assets
• Entry/Exit paperwork
• Obtaining a National Insurance Number
• Obtaining tax rebates
In the majority of cases overseas visitors are eligible for some form of rebate in the year of
arrival and departure from the UK. Regrettably many visitors fail to take the time to make this claim.

Reasons for Rebates
The tax rules are complex but there are two basic reasons for securing a rebate.

1. You are not resident in the year or arrival and/or departure
2. You have a full years tax free allowance (£4,745) in the year of departure and/or return that has not been fully utilised. This is very common as employers give you 1/12th of the allowance for every month you work for them.

The first instance commonly applies to clients who have come to the UK for less than two years, and would give rise to a full rebate of income taxes paid in the year. The second scenario would occur in almost all cases.

PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICE

Overseas Visitors

Fixed Fees
Unlike the other services often heavily promoted to overseas visitors, we work on a fixed fee basis, and will never take on your case unless we believe the rebate will exceed the fee.
The current exit fee is just £170 (single) and £275 (couple) to look at your case and secure a rebate if appropriate.

As well as the basic reclaim service, we act as your contact in the UK for preparing your annual tax return (if required) answering any tax queries and generally helping you find your way through the UK tax system.

Feedback
Feedback from our clients has been very positive, so if you would like us to take a look at your situation, please get in contact, there is no fee for an initial review of your affairs.