Making a Statutory declaration to establish non-UK domicile
If you leave the UK, you may well be looking to avoid Inheritance tax. One of the best ways to achieve this is to lose your UK domicile status.
As regular readers will know, if you're a UK citizen 'born and bred' you will be likely to have UK domicile of origin. In order to lose this you will need to establish a domicile of choice overseas.
This is a combination of actually having your chief residence overseas and having the intention to remain there for the rest of your days.
Establishing your intention is a matter of fact and the Revenue/courts would be likely to look back at your life and attempt to infer your overall intentions.
Your expressed intentions are not conclusive as the courts would look at your actions to determine your intention, not your statements (ie you would need to act as though you wanted to live overseas forever rather than simply saying that your intention is to reside permanently overseas).
Nevertheless your express statements are certainly taken into account, and therefore if you do wish to lose your UK domicile by establishing an overseas domicile of choice, making a statement to this effect can be persuasive.
One of the preferred ways of making such a statement is by making a statutory declaration. It's more formal than a simple deed and would need to be notarised (eg by a solicitor). When taken with other evidence that actually supports your overseas domicile it can be highly advantageous in persuading the Revenue that you established a non UK domicile of choice. A sample statement showing the kinds of things that could be covered is shown below.
Sample Statutory Declaration
I XXX [NAME] of XXX [ADDRESS]
DO SOLEMNLY AND SINCERELY DECLARE as follows:-
I absolutely and entirely renounce relinquish and abandon my domicile of origin, established in XXX [ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND] and assume adopt and determine to take my domicile of choice in XXX [OVERSEAS COUNTRY] in substitution for my former domicile of origin in XXX [ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND].
I consider my domicile to be hereafter [OVERSEAS COUNTRY] on the following basis:
XXX [BRIEF HISTORY OF THE REASONS TO SUPPORT THE OVERSEAS DOMICILE OF CHOICE]
I shall at all times hereafter in all records deeds documents and other writings and in all actions proceedings as well as in all dealings and transactions on all occasions whatsoever use my domicile in [OVERSEAS COUNTRY] in substitution for my former domicile in XXX [ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND] so abandoned as aforesaid.
I authorise and require all persons at all times to hereafter designate and describe my country of domicile as[OVERSEAS COUNTRY] and not my previous domicile in XXX [ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND]
AND I make this solemn Declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835.
SIGNED AND DECLARED at XXX
in the County of XXX
this day, the XXX of 2016
Before me
Solicitor/Commissioner for Oaths
About the Author
The Author of this article is our site Editor, Lee Hadnum. Lee is a rarity among tax advisers having both legal and chartered accountant qualifications. After qualifying a prize winner in the Institute of Chartered Accountants exams, he also went on to become a chartered tax adviser (CTA).
He worked in Ernst & Youngs Entrepreneurial Services department for a number of years before setting up his own tax planning practice. He is now a full time tax author.
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