Returning To Blighty? Make Sure You Plan Ahead. Part 2

21.12.12

Please note that this article is over six months old. While Blevins Franks takes care to make sure that information is accurate on the date of publication, some content may change over time. You should not rely on the accuracy of legislation and tax information in this article; take professional advice for your circumstances.

If you are a British expatriate planning to return to the UK, in order to lower your UK tax liabilities it is important to seek advice and start planning before you leave your current

If you are a British expatriate planning to return to the UK, in order to lower your UK tax liabilities it is important to seek advice and start planning before you leave your current country of residence and become resident in the UK. In Part 1 we discussed income and capital gains tax, this week we look at UK inheritance tax, life assurance policies and when your UK residence starts.

UK Inheritance tax

UK inheritance tax is based on domicile, not residence and so many expatriates remain liable because of their UK domicile. If you establish a domicile of choice outside the UK you should escape UK inheritance tax, but this only applies if you have the intention to live in that country for the rest of your life.

Domicile is all about intention. To establish a domicile of choice in another country you must intend to live there permanently or indefinitely – i.e. have no intention of ever returning to the UK. If you do return, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can argue that you never lost your UK domicile of origin as you could not have had an intention of never returning to the UK (even if you genuinely didn?t at the time).

If you have any structures set up on the basis that you had a domicile of choice outside the UK, and want to be sure your estate will not unexpectedly be liable for UK inheritance tax, you need to seek advice to establish the best way forward.

Whether or not you are a UK domicile, it may be possible to lower your inheritance tax liability with careful planning and professional advice.

Life assurance policies

Approved single premium life assurance policies, in which you can hold your choice of investment assets, provide tax advantages in many European countries. Taxation in the UK is also favourable.

If you are non-UK resident and later return to the UK, you might be able to take advantage of ?time apportionment relief?. This is a unique tax break which only applies to life assurance policies. With this relief, you will only be liable to tax on the portion of the gain that relates to UK residence. The portion of the gain relating to non-UK residence is entirely tax free in the UK. This can be more advantageous than capital gains tax where you will be assessed on the whole gain if you are UK resident when you dispose of the asset even though you may have been non-UK resident for a large portion of the time you held the asset.

Dependent on individual circumstance, there are also other ways to structure life assurance policies so that they are not only tax efficient in the country in which you are currently living but also once you have returned to the UK.

When will your UK residence start?

Your UK residence will not necessarily start the day you arrive back in the UK to live. UK tax law does not have split tax years, so the strict legal treatment is that you are resident for the entire UK tax year of arrival. There is, however, an Extra Statutory Concession which can permit split year treatment for certain types of income and capital gains, and under the new Statutory Residence Test, due to apply from 6th April 2013, the split year treatment will become statutory.

So if you arrive, let us say, on 31st March in a given tax year, you are likely to be considered tax resident from that date.

It is possible to be UK resident at the same time as being resident in another country.

If you buy or rent property for your use in the UK before you leave your current country of residence, to use as a base while visiting the UK while planning your return, HMRC could decide that your residence started earlier than you believe it did.

Unfortunately you cannot ask HMRC for a ruling. It will not normally engage in such correspondence, and the most it may do is confirm you will be tested. HMRC can investigate your tax returns several years after you start filing them and disagree with your start date at that point.

This system does not provide any certainty, so you need to take professional tax advice before you go and after you arrive to avoid any surprises down the line.

Since carrying out the necessary arrangements may take time it is never too early to start planning for a return to the UK, even if you do not have any immediate plans. Contact an international tax and wealth management advisory firm like Blevins Franks to find out what options would be available to you. Blevins Franks has decades of experience advising British people moving from the UK to Spain, France, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta and vice versa on their tax planning and wealth management.

14th December 2012

The tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual should take personalised advice.

Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; individuals should seek personalised advice.