Visiting the UK: non UK or overseas tax resident - USERNAME: Kuribu - 19/12/2013

Tax Question:

After more than 20 years outside of the UK working in several countries with no UK work connection, we are planning to spend the first several years of our retirement in properties we own in thee different countries including one in the UK.

We believe that as long as do not spend more than 120 days a year in the UK we will not become resident there as our only ties are that time that we will spend and a house that we will use.

We seek confirmation that if we are not tax resident anywhere, this does not impact the UK tax authorities treatment.

Thank you

Answer:

Your residence position for 2013/2014 will be determined by the statutory residence test.

The Statutory Residence Test establishes some statutory rules that can determine when an individual is non resident - irrespective of foreign tax residence. For instance if an individual is in the UK for less than 46 or 16 days (depending on how long they have been UK resident for when they leave) they can be non resident for the given tax year. There are also as you state the sufficient ties provisions and if you have just one tie you could visit the UK for up to 120 days without being UK resident.

There is no mention in the legislation of needing to have established tax residence overseas to establish non residence under these provision.

I can see only one reference in the legislation to when foreign tax residence is taken into account for the Statutory Residence Test and this is only relevant in specific cases (see this Practitioner article for a more detailed analysis of the rules: Tax residence for a fiscal nomad - before and after 6 April 2013