For most UK citizens, the question of what income and gains should be included on their tax return is easily answered because they are both UK domiciled and UK tax resident. Anyone domiciled and resident in the UK will need to report their worldwide income and capital gains on their return. However, what happens if you are either non-UK domiciled (non-dom) but UK resident, or UK domiciled but non-UK resident?
In these circumstances, different rules apply and the last four years have seen considerable change to tax legislation in this area as the Government seeks to expand the scope of what can be taxed within the UK.
Non-doms make a significant contribution to UK tax revenues, but their numbers are falling. The decline of this small but significant group of UK taxpayers has been partly attributed to tax changes surrounding ‘deemed domicile’, which made their status in the UK less attractive.
Brexit uncertainty has also led some to reconsider whether the UK remains an attractive base for them and their finances, or whether the UK remains an attractive base for them and their finances, or whether they should move to a different European country.
But it is not just these wealthy non-doms for whom Brexit has caused a rethink.
There are a significant number of UK citizens who now live abroad, whether temporarily on work contracts or who have permanently relocated.
More Britons than ever before decided to make Portugal their permanent home, with 2020 seeing a 34% rise in those living there, according to the latest data from the country’s borders and immigration service. Now that we have left the EU, UK buyers in Portugal qualify for a ‘golden visa’ – which allows visa-free travel throughout Europe. Coupled with Portugal’s non-habitual resident tax scheme, which offers foreigners low income tax rates for those able to spend at least half the year there, this is thought to have prompted more UK residents to make the move.
In most cases, non-doms leaving the UK are no longer liable to UK tax. However, for those leaving the UK who are domiciled in the UK, it is not as straightforward…
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Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the Author and other professionals may express different views. They may not be the views of Lambert Chapman LLP. The material in the article cannot and should not be considered as exhaustive. Professional advice should be sought in connection with any of the issues contained in the article and the implementation of any actions.