nissok

I am a British Citizen by decent. My mother was raised in London and moved later to Israel where I was born (In 1988),raised and currently live.

Can I open a U.K bank account as a legitimate U.K resident and fall under the regular TAX paying rules?



I Know U.K citizens who are out of the country for more than 168 days in a year are excused from paying income Tax. Do you think it is a good policy to go for a U.K bank account to utilize this privilege?

I am a security officer on a passenger cruise liner, and get payed as an employee of a U.S company, which is why I turn to this option, it is a difficulty and a painful procedure to bring my salaries and report them into my own country.

As I had never lived in U.K before I am sure there is some kind of process I need to follow to register as a resident, can anyone shed light about this process? Maybe it will bring forward more difficulties than I imagined?


Thank you for anyone who will share any thoughts on this matter!

sandralist

You should ask an international tax accountant for advice -- someone who understands the tax laws of both your home country and places where it might be advantageous for you to open a bank account. You are usually not required to be a citizen of any country to have a bank account in the country. But no one exactly gets "excused" from paying taxes anywhere you go. You pay to the country where you are deemed a resident for tax purposes, and if you maintain more than one home, ordinarily there are tax treaties between countries that prevent double-taxation (if you pay your taxes in one country, the other country recognizes you fulfilled your oblgation).

However, most countries have very strict tax reporting laws, and they can be complicated, requiring you to not only report your income, but all your other financial transactions, any inheritance, selling property or goods, etc. If you fail to obey the reporting laws, even if you don't owe taxes, the penalties can be very expensive.

So you need an accountant.

nissok

Thank you Sandra,

So the question remains, what is the procedure and where do I apply to become a U.K tax paying resident, since it is a little confusing, I am a British citizen but not listed anywhere in their books?

dotheboyshall

To be resident in the UK you have to live there. You aren't so you can't be resident.

UK banks are now very wary of anyone with links to the US (eg paid by US company) due to FATCA.

jamikins

To open a regular bank account in the UK you need to be resident and be able to prove it. This means you need photo ID (passport, not necessarily UK) and a utility bill in your name from the past three months showing your address as proof that you live in the UK. You may be able to open a special type of international bank account but I don't know. Being a UK citizen shouldn't gave anything to do with opening the account.

I am unsure of the tax implications, Sandra is right, you need to speak with a tax accountant about that.

sheila

You don't have to be resident to open a bank account. You do, t be "tax resident". So, move in. We'd love to have you.

flanneruk

Before going through all this - and especially before paying a consultant - do realise that you can't avoid paying income tax.

The people telling you they avoid UK tax are simply paying tax elsewhere - or tax-dodging in the country where they do live. If you're being paid a medium-level salary by a reputable country all you can do is influence which country that it.

No-one in history, as far as I know, has found that switching the country whose income tax they pay from the US to the UK confers any financial advantage.Britain makes no secret of being a relatively high-tax regime: it's low only if you, compare it to other European countries

There are circumstances in which foreign residents can move to Britain and pay less tax than the rest of us. They still pay British tax - and need to pay enough of it that the option makes no sense for people earning less than a few hundred thousand a year.

I really wouldn't spend real money being told I'm fantasising about legal tax dodging for ordinary earners.

jamikins

Sheila ��

jamikins

Sorry that was supposed to be

sandralist

For someone spending most of their time aboard a ship, they may need to declare tax residency somewhere, and even if they are being paid in US dollars, they may find they get a more favorable tax treatment by declaring residency in some other country, especially if they are not a U.S. citizen.

If you want to pursue this, you need to speak to an accountant who understands the laws of the country of which you are a citizen, the US (since you will have filing requirements there) and perhaps another country where you could open a bank account.

If you are unwilling to pay for professional advice, then you get what you pay for in terms of advice. No one here knows what your tax situation is or could be, and the ones who pretend they do are not worth listening to -- even for free.

sandralist

PS: It's possible your company offers tax advice services for free to its employees, so you could start by looking there.

DonTopaz

I thought there were only British subjects. Are they citizens as well?

thursdaysd

Yes. See:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/citizen

Tax rates are higher in the UK than in the US.

sofarsogood

Since 1983 few people have qualified as British subjects, it's a particular type of British nationality.

https://www.gov.uk/types-of-british-...ritish-subject

dwdvagamundo

As Sandra has repeatedly said, you need to talk with a tax accountant or tax lawyer with experience in complex situations about this. I am a US tax lawyer, but couldn't begin to answer your question without doing a lot of research. So don't rely on US--talk to a professional.

bilboburgler

Don, I know, I went to sleep as a subject and woke up as a citizen and you know, nothing had changed.