Paying Stamp duty on a foreign house purchase?
Discussion
We are selling our house in the Philippines and have an English friend interested in buying it. Financial exchange will be done in the UK hopefully, in GB£, bank to bank.
What will be the legal ramifications of this, does he need to pay stamp duty, do wife and I need to pay income tax, or capital gains, or what other surprises would there be?
We could say it is just some land we are selling him, rather than a house, or does the long arm of the English law extend far enough to realise what is going on. Price would be less than £200,000 but still not finalised.
What will be the legal ramifications of this, does he need to pay stamp duty, do wife and I need to pay income tax, or capital gains, or what other surprises would there be?
We could say it is just some land we are selling him, rather than a house, or does the long arm of the English law extend far enough to realise what is going on. Price would be less than £200,000 but still not finalised.
Welshbeef said:
King Herald said:
We actually have to pay Philippines CGT on the house when we sell it, 7% I think. Will that affect anything the UK tries to wring out of us?
How much capital gain have you actually made?Berw said:
Are you tax resident in the UK? I have a few properties in SEA but all the ones I sold have been in wifes name,so no UK issue. I thought your house in the Philippines was your main residence why would the be CGT on that? Is the house in your name? everyone I know with a house in the Philippines the house is in the wifes name. See what your bank/solicitor says, my wife was thinking of selling her house in the UK last year, our solicitor asked a sew questions on residency and then said it was our only uk residence and they would release the funds from their client account to our bank in Singapore tax free.
I do a tax return every year, but basically we are both non resident due to simply not being here for more than a month or so in the last six years.The house is in my wife's name.
Alpinestars said:
What income are you declaring on your tax return?
If you're non resident, the sale of the property won't be subject to CGT in the UK. There are detailed rules on working out your residence position and it gets more complex where you have a home in the UK. Do you have a home in you UK and have you agreed non residence with HMRC?
I was declaring my US salary and rental income from the UK house, and I paid no tax as I was a seaman.If you're non resident, the sale of the property won't be subject to CGT in the UK. There are detailed rules on working out your residence position and it gets more complex where you have a home in the UK. Do you have a home in you UK and have you agreed non residence with HMRC?
But, I retired last November and now have a small US$ pension, so next tax return will be the one that decides exactly how the future lies. Hopefully the house will be sold, paid for, and we will be back in the UK by the time the tax return for last financial year has to be in.
Berw said:
my lawyer was happy that as the uk house was our only uk residence and we may choose to live in the uk in the future we could sell it tax free as our residence. I am qualified as a uk accountant, and my position was when i got the answer I wanted I stopped asking, in the end we did not sell, as we may infact choose to return, i have a written statement from revenue saying I do not need to a annual return in the UK, dated 1996, and there is nothing there in my name, kids all have foreign passports, bank accounts are in wife's nane and she is not a citizen, and has allowed her residency permit to expire.
I think I need to speak to my UK tax lady, but she hasn't answered my last two emails.... I was back in the UK last month, for a week, should have gone in and asked then. 
However, at the time I wasn't planning on selling the house and actually getting paid in the UK.Eric Mc said:
Do you have to complete UK tax returns at the moment?
Will you be selling the property BEFORE you move back permanently to the UK?
Yes, we plan to sell it before we move, but once we arrive in the UK we will then be considered residents I assume. Will you be selling the property BEFORE you move back permanently to the UK?
I thought it was going to be a smart move, getting paid in the UK, in pounds, from another UK bank, but now I'm thinking it may have been easier to get paid in foreign dingbats, in some remote corner of the world......
However, there is a goodly chance the English guy may not buy anyway, so wife will stay in the house in the Philippines until it sells, daughter and I will move back to UK to get her in the school system as soon as possible. She is 15, so it will be a trying time for her I fear.
Alpinestars said:
I don't have the law with me at the moment, but I think it's S10A TCGA 1992, and temporarily non resident rules are set out near the start of FA 2013 Part 4, Schedule 5.
Some HMRC guidance here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tempora...
Damn, that looks complicated, I'm lost before I begin. Some HMRC guidance here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tempora...
I think I'll find some sand to bury my head in for a while, see if anybody comes and digs me out.
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