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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet

Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

rich017
Posts:7
Joined:Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:01 pm
Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

Postby rich017 » Tue Jun 25, 2019 2:06 am

I am living outside the UK for many years and am non-resident for UK tax purposes.

Recently I received a letter in the UK from the HMRC to my parents address stating that they have received information that I have 'offshore income and gains' and that my tax position needed to be clarified by filling out a certificate of tax position.

I don’t have any assets neither in the UK nor abroad where I have resided permanently for the past 10 years, I only earn regular income here where i reside.

The two options on the certificate are either to register and declare UK tax regularities using Worldwide Disclosure Facility, or declare that my tax affairs do not need updating and that I have declared all my offshore income assets or gains.

Has anyone used the Worldwide Disclosure Facility and is there anyway within the process to declare that I am non-resident for tax purposes? Obviously I don’t want to resister for a service which may be unnecessary or cause future complications. Although on the gov website it does state that if you are non-resident you can still register if you meet the criteria.

Thank you.

hendersontax
Posts:33
Joined:Wed Jun 19, 2019 5:04 pm
Location:Manchester
Contact:

Re: Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

Postby hendersontax » Tue Jun 25, 2019 9:01 am

Did you ever notify HMRC that you left the UK or have you ever declared you are non-resident? It sounds like they are under the impression you are resident in the UK. If you have never earned any non-UK income while you were resident in the UK (going back up to 20 years) then you will not have anything to declare under the WDF. There should be an option to declare a statement to the effect of 'I do not have any offshore income, assets or gains on which UK tax may be due' and you should explain your circumstances as to why this is the case, in a covering letter if necessary.
Tom Henderson ATT(Fellow) CTA
tom@henderson.tax
henderson.tax

rich017
Posts:7
Joined:Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:01 pm

Re: Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

Postby rich017 » Tue Jun 25, 2019 3:43 pm

I never notified the HMRC when I left the UK around 10 years ago and I couldn't find any official method or web service to do so either, not sure if there exists anything now. When I lived in the UK i never earned any overseas income either.

hendersontax
Posts:33
Joined:Wed Jun 19, 2019 5:04 pm
Location:Manchester
Contact:

Re: Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

Postby hendersontax » Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:05 pm

You would typically advise HMRC you are leaving the UK on a form P85 (which is a non-statutory form, principally used to claim a refund for taxes paid in your year of departure) or on your Self Assessment tax return for your year of departure. If you didn't file either and HMRC have you down as living in the UK (at your parents' address) then I'm not surprised if they still consider you resident in the UK. Hopefully they will accept that you have been non-resident in the UK for the period you say, though it's possible they may ask you to demonstrate it (for example, by asking you to confirm your circumstances in those years and possibly how many days you spent in the UK in each tax year - or at least an upper limit, if you don't have the information). Bear in mind that your UK tax residence is assessed under the Statutory Residence Test for 2013/14 onwards and under HMRC6/case law prior to that.
Tom Henderson ATT(Fellow) CTA
tom@henderson.tax
henderson.tax

AGoodman
Posts:1738
Joined:Fri May 16, 2014 3:47 pm

Re: Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

Postby AGoodman » Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:45 pm

You could try ringing them up and telling them you have been non-resident for X years. They may accept that or insist on a letter (no right to insist but better to comply and get rid of it).

rich017
Posts:7
Joined:Wed Mar 08, 2017 4:01 pm

Re: Worldwide Disclosure Facility for non UK resident.

Postby rich017 » Wed Jun 26, 2019 8:27 pm

Thank you for your advice, I also phoned a couple of overseas tax specialists based in the UK today and they concurred with the above as well, so I will include a cover letter in addition to the tax certificate.


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