Firestyle Magazine Issue 7 - Spring 2017 | Page 14

Finance
In this feature Paul
Brady Dip PFS a partner
in St James Place
Wealth Management
takes look at
living
abroad
I am considering living abroad. What are the tax considerations?
While the thought of going abroad
to work or retire may be exciting,
the months leading up to departure
are likely to be highly stressful.
Finding somewhere to live in your
chosen coun-try, arranging the
necessary visas and booking a
suitable removal firm, are just some
of the issues you are likely to have to
deal with.
Nevertheless, during this mad rush,
it is vital that you pay adequate
attention to financial planning. In
particular, the tax consequences of
leaving the UK are quite complex,
so it’s es-sential that you seek
professional advice.
Your residence status will be the
main factor in determining your
continuing liability to UK tax.
Previously, it could be quite difficult
to become non-UK resident for tax
purposes, but since 6 April 2013 a
set of statutory tests have made it
much easier to establish your resi-
dence status.
Your residence status must be
determined separately for each tax
year, so even if you are treated as
remaining resident in the UK after
going abroad, it may be possible to
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change your status in subsequent
years.
There are three aspects to the
statutory residence tests; the
starting point is whether you are
automatically non-resident or
automatically resident. If you are
deemed to be neither, then your
residence status will be determined
by how closely you are still linked to
the UK. You will automatically be
treated as non-resident in the UK:
primarily when you stay in the UK
for fewer than 16 days during the
tax year or, when you leave the UK
to work full-time abroad. (You are
allowed to visit the UK for up to 90
days each year, of which 30 can be
days when you are working.)
However, you will still treated as
resident in the UK when you stay in
the UK for 183 days or more during
the