Moving Abroad

[paulbarnet]

Hi ,

I am about to move to Australia in May 2008 but travelling from January before that.

Does anyone know the best way to manage my tax?

Any advice would be great.

Paul.

[Matthew]

I will hopefully be doing the same. Out of interest how long did your application take and what route did you go down? Skilled Migration?

Just so many obstacles and things to understand, not sure how best to go about applying.

Thanks,

Mat.

[plym77]

Hi Paul

I will be leaving a post in connection with your CGT question, however to tackle this issue, it will depend on what you will still have going on in the UK, how long you will be away for etc. However, broadly:

You may need to prepare and submit HMRC form P85.

Assuming that you will only have income from property then you will probably wish to make an application for your rental income to be received without the deduction of tax. For this, you will need to complete and submit form NRL1. Without this in place either your letting agent (or your tenant if no letting agent!) will need to deduct tax from the rent and you will receive the net figure. Any tax deducted would of course be credited on your self-assessment, however the money is surely better in your pocket and payable by self-assessment, rather than month deduction - additionally, by the time you take mortgage interest etc into account it is possible that far less tax would actually be due.

You will still be required to prepare a UK self-assessment tax return each year as you have a UK rental property. You will also be required to prepare non-resident pages to your tax return.

You will also need to check the tax rules of the country in which you will become resident.

My advice would be to employ an accountant. It is often difficult for a non-resident to keep track of their tax affairs whilst abroad. An accountant would receive regular statements of account from HMRC, ensure your tax return is done on time and and advise you of any tax payable. They will also be able to prepare the necessary forms for leaving the UK, know of whether allowances/ reliefs are due, how to complete the non-resident pages to ensure you receive any appropriate allowances, and advise you in connection with CGT, Principal Private Residence Relief (if applicable) etc.

Should you require the services of an accountant, please do feel free to email me to discuss this further. My email is sherena.glanton@horwath.co.uk. I have a large client base of which many are ex-pat. Many of my clients are dealt with largely by email and telephone which works well for those who do not live close by.

In the meantime, I hope the above information proves useful. Any further queries, please let me know.

Kind regards

Sherena Glanton CTA