[CWP]

OK, here's my rather unusual situation.
I left South Africa last year after 9 years there, resident, all good up to then.
I took a job straight away working in a number of African countries, which I've been doing for a year. My contract is in Dubai and I'm paid from there.
But I'm not a full resident in any of the countries I've been working in, and I'm not a Dubai resident. So what happens with tax residency now?
Does my domicile automatically return to UK, even though I don't have an address there? I was born there but haven't lived there for 25 years!
I am looking to relocate to UK or Ireland so I'm guessing I'll need to file a return somewhere to make it all legit.
I haven't been in UK anywhere near 90 days in last year, so is best thing to do put a return in there? But I don't have an address

And of course there's the dreaded Common Reporting Standard to deal with at some point, so I guess I'll need an address somewhere! So then there's the issue of getting an address without having one at the minute, which is easier said than done!

Any advice on this

Thanks!

 

[Bevdeforges]

The rules for tax residence are many and varied. Tax residence in the UK is something completely different for what they may be in Europe, or in the US or in Dubai.

Some countries stress where you are physically located and for how long within the tax year (which also varies from one country to the next). So far, though, only the US and Eritrea insist on taxing based on citizenship - so if you haven't returned to the UK, chances are that you don't owe them any taxes, nor any tax filings.

The key things are normally where you are resident - i.e. where do you keep your stuff, your family or have some sort of base to which you regularly return? Then, where are you located physically while doing whatever it is you do for which you are paid? (Not where your pay comes from, but rather where you are while doing your work.)
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Dunedin]

It is easy to be tax resident in a country, and in fact easy to be tax resident in more than one country at a particular time. I cannot understand why CWP says he is not resident in Dubai if he is working there for more than a short period.

The best approach is as follows-
• Consider the UK domestic rules.
• Consider the tax rules of any other relevant countries.
• Look at any relevant double tax treaties.

The UK domestic rules for residence are set down the Statutory Residence Test. The SRT can be complex in its details. For individuals seeking to show that they are not UK resident the usual key information is whether he is working abroad on a full time basis, the number of days of UK presence and the number of working days in the UK. I attach a brief summary, but it does not cover matters such as gaps between jobs.

It is not necessary to have a UK address to be UK resident.

A non-resident is of course liable to UK tax on UK source income. This can cover UK rental income and liability even as a non-resident for tax on work done while in the UK.

The common reporting standard relates to exchanges of information between revenue authorities.

The rules relating to domicile are not likely to be of relevance in establishing whether there is any liability to income tax. If CWP is interested the domicile rules for returning UK individuals are being amended from 6 April 2017.