We advise on all aspects of UK taxation including overseas aspects. We do not advise on tax regimes outside of the UK.
A UK resident person is by default taxable in the UK on their worldwide income. Whereas a non-UK resident is only taxable in the UK on income arising in the UK.
UK individuals working outside of the UK
If you are working outside of the UK, you may still have a UK tax position. It will be important to establish your tax residence status. It is perfectly possible, and not that uncommon, to be tax resident in more than one country or in no country at all. If you have left the UK then it is necessary to establish if your residence status has changed, and if so what that is.
If you continue to have UK income including investment income, letting income and business income, then you will still need to pay UK tax, even if you are not resident here. We provide a tax return service for many such individuals.
Non-UK individuals working in the UK
When arriving in the UK it has to be established if and when you become tax resident here. Once you are tax resident in the UK then you are taxable on your worldwide income here. However if you are not domiciled in the UK, it may be possible to claim not to be taxed on overseas income which is not remitted to the UK, for example savings or lettings income arising and remaining in your home country.
If your un-remitted overseas income is less than £2,000 the remittance basis applies automatically. No claim is needed and no additional payment is made. You can simply leave your un-remitted overseas income off of your tax return and pay no UK tax on that income.
If your un-remitted overseas income is £2,000 or more, then a claim can be made to be taxed on the remittance basis. If no such claim is made then all overseas income including that not remitted to the UK, is taxable on your UK tax return. If the claim is made then you will not be taxable on your overseas income, however you will lose your entitlement to personal allowance (tax free amount). It is therefore important to carry out calculations of whether a remittance basis claim is beneficial.
If you have lived in the UK seven or more years of the preceding nine years, and a remittance basis claim is made, then a fixed charge of £50,000 must be paid.
We advise many individuals who are not domiciled in the UK. As with any tax issue there are many factors and points which a simple web page cannot cover. The definitions of resident, domicile and remitted can be complicated.
Please contact us for advice on any aspect of the overseas aspects of UK tax. We prepare many tax returns for UK individuals working abroad, and non-UK individuals working or staying in the UK.