When living overseas, understanding the difference between domicile and residence is critically important. Unfortunately, the two are often confused. The resulting tax implications can be significant and wide-ranging.
The start of a New Year is always a good time to review one’s finances. In fact, with 2021 behind us and the pandemic still rumbling on, a financial check-up may be more important than ever this year. With that in mind, here are some ways to make sure that your financial situation is on the right track.
With Christmas a few days away and an onslaught of New Year resolutions not far behind, this super article from Morgan Housel is a reminder that the relentless pursuit of more often leads to just more disappointment.
Prior to April 2015, retirement options for those who had a personal pension or self-invested personal pension (SIPP) were fairly limited. You were able to take a pension commencement lump sum equivalent to 25% of your pension fund, which was tax-free, and the rest had to be used to purchase an annuity that would provide you with a set income for life. However, since then the rules have changed and there is now a lot more flexibility if you have…
The EU Succession Regulation (EU 650/2012), also known as Brussels IV, came into effect on 17th August 2015. The aim was to resolve the complex cross border probate disputes that had arisen as an unintended consequence of the freedom of movement of workers and retirees within the EU.
Earlier this week, Utmost Group acquired Quilter International from Quilter plc. Quilter International will become a part of Utmost International, their international life assurance and investment business. The price tag is £483 million. Following on from the acquisition, the combined group will manage £54 billion for 220,000 clients.
The rule used to be that as long as an expat had been non-UK resident for five consecutive tax years, then they would not be taxed on any gains made when they sold UK property. However, as of 6th April 2015, that ceased to be the case. Now, if you are an expat who owns UK property, you will potentially need to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT). It doesn’t matter how long you have lived outside the UK or even…
Do you consider your pension an asset in the same way that you think about assets like property, bank accounts, cars, and investments Some people see pensions differently to those types of assets, but the truth is that your pension is another valuable asset (in many cases it can be worth even more than the family home). That’s why planning for what happens to your money when you die should include planning for what happens to your pensions along with…
As the old saying goes, it is better to give than to receive. But did you know that when you give your loved ones a gift you can also benefit as well as the person you’re giving to? It may come as a surprise, but when you make gifts as part of your overall inheritance tax planning, you can have the pleasure of giving, bring joy to your loved ones through your generosity, and even reduce your inheritance tax liability…
We all know that Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are incredibly tax-efficient savings and investment vehicles for UK residents. However, for those of us who leave the UK, things become more complex. Here are answers to some of the most common expat ISA questions that I have come across.
Home country bias occurs when investors concentrate their portfolios in shares and bonds from their home country. For example, while the UK stock market now represents only 3.2% per cent of the value of global equity markets (in 2006, it was 10.4%), British investors tend to allocate considerably more than this to UK stocks. It is a phenomenon that can often be detrimental to investment returns. Especially as the UK has lagged other world market in recent years.
Currently, those who are in receipt of UK State Pension and resident in the UK or certain overseas jurisdictions, are protected by something known as the “triple lock”.
As the old saying goes, the only sure thing in life is death and taxes. Having a Will in place can at least help mitigate the emotional stress of the former. However, it is crucial that any Will is kept up to date with changing personal circumstances. In this post, we will look at the impact of marriage and divorce on an existing Will.
Have you ever thought about how you would like your affairs to be left in the event of your sudden death? Apologies for such a dramatic lead-in, however when one of my clients passed away suddenly (he was the same age as me), it got me thinking about how I can help others make sure that their financial affairs are better organised in case of such an event. As expats, it is not uncommon for us to be less than…
A Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) can be a low cost, flexible and straightforward way to save for your retirement. It allows you to take control of how your pension funds are managed by providing access to a wide range of different investments.
According to Action Fraud, over £78 million was lost to ‘clone firm’ investment scams in 2020 with victims reporting average losses of just over £45,000. Clone firms imitate genuine investment firms to trick people into putting money into investments that don’t actually exist. They use the name (or a name that is very similar to), address and reference number of a real, properly authorised, investment company.
When you invest in a globally diversified portfolio, you are harnessing the profits from thousands of companies around the world. You are investing in the company that makes the toothpaste that you use to clean your teeth in the morning, the company that makes your breakfast cereal, the company that makes the satellites that allow the Uber driver to find you via your cutting edge smartphone, the company that makes your office chair and the company that makes the pillow…
Studies show that expat divorce rates are much higher than average. In addition, while divorce is complex at the best of times, for expats it can be even more challenging. For example, there is the matter of where to get divorced. In the country of residence or the home country? What happens if the 2 parties have different nationalities? Where then? At the end of the day, every marriage and divorce is different. There are no hard and fast rules…
The formal definition of domicile is “the country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has a substantial connection with.” However, domicile and residence are not the same. It is entirely possible to have lived in the same country for many years, even decades, and consider it your “home”, but still be domiciled elsewhere. This is because once you acquire a domicile, you retain it until you replace it with another.
In 2021, the UK taxman collected GBP5.7 billion from inheritance tax (IHT). You shouldn’t think that, because you are an expat, this doesn’t concern you.
