Residence status

**kellycell** · 27 October 2008, 21:19

Anyone?

**pmeswani** · 27 October 2008, 22:17

Originally posted by kellycell View Post

Good morning,

My accountant is preparing my tax return for 07/08. He is asking me of the number of days spent outside the UK, since I got back in the country, and whether I intend to stay in the UK for 3 years from the date of my return.

My question is, how will they be able to check how many number of days I spent outside the UK?
And, secondly, I don't think I will be staying in the UK for 2 more years (I have already been here for 1 year from the date of my return). Will that put me in a higher tax rate? Or shall I just say that I intend to stat in the UK for 2 more years?

Many thanks.

I'm not sure where the difficulty is. All the HMRC needs to do is to ask you to show them your passport as proof. If you refuse, you could be liable for something. Tell them the truth... remember it would hurt a lot less.

**TykeMerc** · 27 October 2008, 22:22

Passport won't necessarily help, getting entry and exit stamps is almost a thing of the past and certainly is in the EU.

**kellycell** · 27 October 2008, 22:50

I am from another EU country, so they will not be able to see when I was in and out of the UK anyway...
So not sure how they will use the information that my accountant asks..

**Unicorn** · 28 October 2008, 07:34

Residence Status

Kellycell,

You ask 'Will that put me in a higher tax rate?' the answer is yes depending on your residency status. Your accountant seems to be seeing if you meet the requirements for being not ordinarily resident in the UK for that tax year.

Try reading this pdf from Hector the taxman

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/ir20.pdf

which tries to explain the details.

In terms of days in the country, is your passport swiped at each entry and exit ?, I'm a UK citizen and my passport is inserted into the machine each time. Whether this is actively recorded and shared with HMRC I don't know but it's enough to think they could be aware of when you entered/left the country.

**NotAllThere** · 28 October 2008, 07:39

If a criminal activity such as tax evasion is involved, the police will be able to get access to those records.

**expat** · 28 October 2008, 08:12

Originally posted by Unicorn View Post

Kellycell,

You ask 'Will that put me in a higher tax rate?' the answer is yes depending on your residency status. Your accountant seems to be seeing if you meet the requirements for being not ordinarily resident in the UK for that tax year.

Try reading this pdf from Hector the taxman

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/ir20.pdf

which tries to explain the details.

In terms of days in the country, is your passport swiped at each entry and exit ?, I'm a UK citizen and my passport is inserted into the machine each time. Whether this is actively recorded and shared with HMRC I don't know but it's enough to think they could be aware of when you entered/left the country.

At least at Heathrow these days, the passport is not swiped on exit: the only routine passport check is by airline staff on boarding.

**Skillo** · 19 November 2008, 11:50

Your details are logged when you enter the country, and when you re-enter the country - do the math.

You need more than 90 days out in one year, but given fat cats take 3 months holiday a year this does not wash.......need to show no permanent residence in UK - so pay your 40% and enjoy the best of British education health, security, politics and bureacracy........saludo!

**kellycell** · 19 November 2008, 23:10

Originally posted by Skillo View Post

Your details are logged when you enter the country, and when you re-enter the country - do the math.

You need more than 90 days out in one year, but given fat cats take 3 months holiday a year this does not wash.......need to show no permanent residence in UK - so pay your 40% and enjoy the best of British education health, security, politics and bureacracy........saludo!

So it is more tax efficient to show that I am out of the UK a lot?

Residence status