New tax year tips for expats leaving the UK

By Will Grahame-Clarke, 10 Apr 18

The UK tax year has only just started but it is never too early to get into good habits, according to accountants Blick Rothenberg – especially if you are leaving the UK.

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Partner Lee Hamilton has put together his top pointers to watch out for in the 2018/19 tax year.

“Relocating from the UK can open up a whole world of complexity when it comes to tax,” Hamilton told International Adviser. “Over the last decade, this complexity has increased, with most countries legislating in order to tackle tax avoidance and also to ensure there are no loopholes leading to a loss in tax revenue as a result of people moving from country to country.

“With complexity, planning is key and the start of a tax year is often the best time to plan, rather than waiting until the end of the tax year and realising you should have taken action earlier.”

Below, Hamilton highlights one of the areas that people often overlook or get wrong – risking non-compliance or paying more tax than is necessary:

Check your likely future UK residence position before you set off. Don’t assume that you will become non-resident as soon as you have left the UK. You will need to meet certain qualifying conditions in order to claim a ‘split year’ (ie whereby you are resident for part of the year and non-resident following your departure) and also to remain non-UK resident.