International Tax Advice
The location of individuals and assets will dictate the amount of tax payable, the date it is due and any required reporting requirements. If one party will be leaving the UK (or has already left the UK) greater consideration will need to be given to the structure of the order. In some countries spousal maintenance is not taxable and in some countries it is regarded as taxable income. Expert advice can ensure that income which has already been taxed will not then be subject to further taxes in the hands of the recipient.
International Tax Advisor
With residency being such a determining factor for taxation purposes in the UK we undertake a lot of work opining on residence and domicile status.
If your client is non UK domicile there is still quite a bit of planning which can be done to optimise the settlement by reducing the tax implications of remitting the money into the UK.
Residence and Domicile
Individuals are taxed in the UK according to their residency and domicile status. UK residents are taxable on their worldwide income, however non-residents are usually taxable on their UK sourced income only. Non-residents do have some exemptions for capital gains tax but they are subject to capital gains tax on the sale of UK residential or commercial property. It is important to understand your client and their partner’s residency position because this will directly effect their tax position.
Non Resident CGT
No matter if you live in Spain, Italy or the Caribbean, any individual who sells a property (commercial or residential) in the UK will be liable to UK capital gains tax. The tax is payable within 30 days of the disposal. If part of your divorce settlement involves you or your ex-partner living outside the UK, transferring UK properties to the spouse who has remained in the UK; you are potentially exposed to tax.
Offshore income and gains
From September 2018 HMRC introduced harsh penalties for individuals who have had offshore income and gains and failed to declare these in the UK. The maximum penalties are 200%. If your client is worried about their historic position we can help them to make a world-wide disclosure and mitigate against penalties. The disclosure is made via the World-Wide disclosure scheme.
