Advise on tax paid to a European country

[LadyFH]

In 2013 my birth mother, a French citizen died. As we had been close for many years she had wished me to be a beneficiary to her will. However she died before this was legally established. I had been born and adopted in England.

In 2015 her brother organised for her wishes to be carried out through a French notary. This was concluded in June 2015, with the succession tax being paid in full to the French government. The rest was transferred to me into a Euro bank account in the Isle of Man.

Late last year I had a letter from HM Revenue & Customs about this account. I wrote to them explaining that I had already paid tax on the money. They advised that if I was not sure if my tax affairs were up to date then I should seek additional advice.

I believed that because tax had been paid in full in France I didn’t think that it would be taxed further. Please can you advise whether I need to pay tax again on this money? Thank you

[AmanSood]

In 2013 my birth mother, a French citizen died. As we had been close for many years she had wished me to be a beneficiary to her will. However she died before this was legally established. I had been born and adopted in England.

In 2015 her brother organised for her wishes to be carried out through a French notary. This was concluded in June 2015, with the succession tax being paid in full to the French government. The rest was transferred to me into a Euro bank account in the Isle of Man.

Late last year I had a letter from HM Revenue & Customs about this account. I wrote to them explaining that I had already paid tax on the money. They advised that if I was not sure if my tax affairs were up to date then I should seek additional advice.

I believed that because tax had been paid in full in France I didn’t think that it would be taxed further. Please can you advise whether I need to pay tax again on this money? Thank you

You shouldn't have to pay any UK tax on the initial capital/amount inherited assuming your mum was not domiciled in the UK. However, any interest earned subsequently on the bank account would potentially have to be declared and tax paid accordingly. We have an article on this which can be accessed at the below link which includes a example letter from HMRC which I suspect is similar to the letter you received.

http://e-taxconsulting.com/onewebmedia/Taxation%20of%20offshore%20income%20-%201%20September%202017.pdf