Where in Europe to relocate for remote work?

**Paddy** · 12 July 2011, 16:39

Originally posted by yasockie View Post

I have finally managed to convince my clients about the benefits of teleworking (hint: slightly less $$$ required), now to maximise the rate I am getting, I am thinking of relocating somewhere nice and sunny with little tax to pay and living expenses on the low, but still commutable to major cities in Europe.
My plan is very simple: to maximise the amount I take home, if that's in a picture it would be great to be able to claim in full for long-term rental (works out cheaper than hotels) overseas and travel.
I have read a bit about Cyprus, I have visited Malta and obviously know about the Channel islands and Luxembourg, but not sure where to get started and whether my levels of income make it worthwhile...

Has anyone tried anything like this and can recommend a good place to get started?

There are a few EU countries with flat rate tax of around 10% therefore you would not be able to claim for your accommodation. Do some reading up first on taxation. Internet connections can be expensive a slow and take months to get connected.

**Greg@CapitalCity** · 12 July 2011, 18:14

Sounds great

Sounds like a nice way to spend your days. Issues to consider are;

(1) Will you sufficiently break ties with the UK to ensure you are no longer a tax resident? There are new UK residency rules being discussed at the moment - have a read of them to ensure you will be OK;
(2) Will you continue to work through your UK limited company? Probably tax residency issues there too - and you will need to set-up a new offshore trading entity of some form - which is fine - just spend some time looking into this, and importantly you should ensure your client is OK with you working/billing through an offshore entity;
(3) Probably no claim for accommodation or travel possible. If you choose to move outside the UK, and your pattern of business is always in the UK, it will probably be difficult to show the travel is business related (because you moved overseas for personal reasons, not business reasons). This one of those grey areas, but on the face of it I don't think the tax office would find it palatable.

**yasockie** · 13 July 2011, 16:56

Originally posted by GregCapitalCity View Post

Sounds like a nice way to spend your days. Issues to consider are;

(1) Will you sufficiently break ties with the UK to ensure you are no longer a tax resident? There are new UK residency rules being discussed at the moment - have a read of them to ensure you will be OK;
(2) Will you continue to work through your UK limited company? Probably tax residency issues there too - and you will need to set-up a new offshore trading entity of some form - which is fine - just spend some time looking into this, and importantly you should ensure your client is OK with you working/billing through an offshore entity;
(3) Probably no claim for accommodation or travel possible. If you choose to move outside the UK, and your pattern of business is always in the UK, it will probably be difficult to show the travel is business related (because you moved overseas for personal reasons, not business reasons). This one of those grey areas, but on the face of it I don't think the tax office would find it palatable.

Ad.1. Definitely yes - I would only be staying in UK ca 20 days/year
Ad 2. I can, but I don't have to, the client is fine with whatever that has a bank account

Also at least some of the dealings will be with mainland EU clients, so there's the efficency of dealing in Euros...
Ad.3. That sucks, but currently I can't really claim much either so it makes sense to switch just for the lower flat rate. While I know a bit on HMRC, I have very little info about how tax havens tax offices treat expenses. Still, seems worthwhile for the rate alone.

I know this is a UK forum, but I also know many have moved overseas since, so I am very interested in how others are coping. I am very tempted to keep my UK Ltd running - the basics of running Ltd are relatively simple compared to some other countries that I have seen and of course it's all in English

So I'm weighting my options for now...

**Greg@CapitalCity** · 13 July 2011, 23:18

Nice one

Great. Good to see you are giving this plenty of thought. I would suggest that you might now be in a position to start paying for advice. Our clients have used Contract lawyer (UK) Roger Sinclair Egos Ltd in the past with very good results. His name comes up on the forum from time to time also. He will be able to help you get a rock solid foundation established to ensure you operate legally, and tax efficiently.

Good luck!

**maxima** · 18 July 2011, 12:43

depends on the daily rate. Gibraltar is the most sensible, Monaco is most expensive.

**PandyLegend** · 18 July 2011, 13:11

I too am considering similar relocation, however I am self-employed - no limited company or anything. Presumably I would need to unregister my self-employment with HMRC (and complete a tax return) and then register as SE in my new country of residence.

Also, I believe insurance could potentially be an issue in tax havens, as insurance companies are often wary of the reasons why people are in business there (e.g. tax evasion rather than tax avoidance).

**BlasterBates** · 18 July 2011, 13:43

Set yourself up as a local business in whatever country you decide to settle in. Don't use an "international" tax expert. There's no such thing. They're self-named international experts, there's no accountancy body certifying what they do is correct, and they can give you all sorts of BS advice without any legal recourse. Use a local accountant to set you up and register, an accountant who would have to answer to the local tax authorities. In some countries, such as Germany, some local businesses actually use a UK Ltd because it's cheaper than a GmbH for example. However they are setup as German companies, not UK companies, except for the initial legal setup, i.e. the centre of their activities is in a foreign country. But in any case follow the advice of a local accountant and select the appropriate business setup. Proabaly best not to use your existing UK Ltd as it will just confuse issues.

Then deregister from the UK.

If you do return to the UK careful, nothing wrong with the odd day visit, but if you're working for several weeks then you ought to consider billing yourself from the UK Ltd for a part of your work. No big deal, and in the UK you would only be taxed on UK earnings, even if you were there less than 183 days per year. There will almost certainly be a Double taxation treaty, which means you only get taxed once. But take advice for working in the UK, even if it is only 20 days a year from a UK accountant. The risk of not taxing yourself correctly far outweighs any small benefit you might have by not declaring it, and usually tax on earnings where you are not resident, often works out beneficial, as you take advantage of tax free allowances and no NI. If for example you earnt 4 grand in the UK there would be no tax to pay and probably none either in your new country. Not many people realise that splitting the income, is not only how it should, and will avoid you getting into trouble, it may actually be tax efficient.

**yasockie** · 18 July 2011, 17:05

A very interesting approach indeed as I indeed plan to get income from UK and for that I would love to keep my Ltd shell and then charge other clients via a different company in another country.

**yasockie** · 20 July 2011, 13:20

OK, so I have been thinking much more about this and generally I think I need to split this into two areas:
a) where my company is located
b) where I am located as a physical person, where I am tax resident for my personal income

As for a) it's quite simple - anywhere where Corporation Tax is 0%, I'm thinking Isle of Man.
As for b) it then becomes a bit less relevant as, all business related expenses can go straight from my Ltd coffers and I would only pay myself a minimal salary to support myself and that I can keep low enough even in UK, or Spain?

Any flaws with this plan?

Where in Europe to relocate for remote work?