Tax & Accounting News

Establishing Non-UK Residency

25/06/2010

The continued crackdown by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on wealthy individuals moving their income or assets abroad means that extra care should be taken by those who are genuinely moving overseas for work purposes.

As well as the high-profile Gaines-Cooper case, where HMRC successfully argued the wealthy businessman should pay a £30million tax bill as he had not completely severed his ties with the UK, there have also been cases involving other entrepreneurs, airline pilots and people who left the UK to work abroad full-time.

An individual’s residency status was previously determined largely by how long they spent in the UK each year, but HMRC now argues this is less important than an individual’s actual links with the country. Golf club membership, owning a car or even having a mobile phone number in the UK is likely to arouse the department’s suspicion.

Anyone going to work abroad on a full-time basis would generally be considered to have left the UK once they have been abroad for more than a year, but if they maintain either work or family connections, the person concerned may attract HMRC’s suspicion, and the onus will be on them to prove that they have cut their ties with the country.

The Gaines-Cooper case did rule that HMRC must follow its own published guidelines when determining residency, although since the question of whether someone has cut their ties with the UK being a subjective one, it may still be difficult for individuals to achieve certainty over their tax status.

It is expected that HMRC will devise a statutory residency test in future, although it has not been able to arrive at an acceptable set of rules to date. Once this is done, it may become easier for individuals whose work takes them around the world to be clearer on their UK tax position.

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