Employee work remotely in UK for an overseas employer

Dear sir, I work for a HK employer when I was in HK. I moved to UK since last summer with BNO Visa and I am still working remotely in UK for the same HK employer and same employment contract. The HK employer has no presence in the UK and my salary will be paid to my HK bank account. Do I need to make NIC with my monthly overseas income? if yes, how? Thanks.

Hi,

To qualify for UK benefits you will need to pay National Insurance.

You can find guidance at:

National Insurance: introduction

As this income will be classed as foreign income you will need to complete a tax return.

Tax on foreign income

Thank you.

Thanks HMRC Admin. Let me put my question this way: Is it mandatory to contribute NI if I work for an overseas employer with no UK presence? If I give up UK benefits, is that mean I dont need to contribute NI in this case? I read the guidance but that didn't mention what should I do if my employer is in overseas. Good day to you. Thank you.

Hi,
 

Yes the NI  is manadatory. You pay mandatory National Insurance if you’re 16 or over and are either: an employee earning above £242 a week . Self-employed and making a profit of more than £11,908 a year .  Thank you.

Hello! I am in the same situation as you, almost. I came from Türkiye to study my masters here with tier 4-student visa. And my former employer in Türkiye wanted to hire me back. I know that I have 20 hours work permit so this will be on the contract. Now I am actually going to start working remotely with my salary paid to my Türkiye account and also the company does not have any presence in the UK, as well.. So in terms of the info provided in the website: ------------------------ You pay mandatory National Insurance if you’re 16 or over and are either: an employee earning above £242 a week self-employed and making a profit of more than £11,908 a year You do not pay National Insurance, but still qualify for certain benefits and the State Pension, if you’re either: an employee earning between £123 and £242 a week self-employed and your profits are between £6,725 and £11,908 a year ------------------------ It is a part time job and also because of Türkiye's very low currency value, the amount is between £123 and £242 a week. I don't know what self-employed means by the way but if I were a self-employed, it would still apply for this as well: "You do not pay National Insurance, but still qualify for certain benefits and the State Pension," In addition to all of these: Here it says that (https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/study-in-the-uk): You may need to pay tax on your foreign income in the normal way if you: are from a country without a double-taxation agreement for students (it seems that Türkiye has a double-taxation agreement for students so I guess I don't have to pay tax on my foreign income?) have other income that you do not bring to the UK (I do not have any other income apart from this job) bring it to the UK and spend it on things other than living costs and course fees (If I bring it, of course I will be spending this the living costs..) plan to stay in the UK as your permanent home (‘domicile’) ( I did not understand this.. I plan to stay in the UK after my graduation with the Graduate Visa?) Also it says: If you work in the UK Some double-taxation agreements mean you do not pay UK tax on your income if you work while you’re a student. So what should I do? I am fully confused. Should I apply as a self-employed and pay taxes for the income? Thank you! I would appreciate your help. Kind regardsa

Hi,

If you state you meet the conditions in the following guidance then you do not need to declare the income in order to pay tax on it.

Tax on foreign income

Thank you.

Hello! Thank you so much! Yes actually. I meet these conditions. But what about after graduation? Thank you, Kind regards,

Hi,

After graduation you are no longer a student so any income earned is taxable income and would be taxed accordingly.

Thank you.

I have the same situation with CliffKCLee. I also working remotely in UK for the same HK employer and same employment contract. The HK employer has no presence in the UK and my salary will be paid to my HK bank account. My question is: Do I need to make NIC with my monthly overseas income if I claim the remittance basis on my tax return in tax year 22/23? i.e. I will not bring the HK salary to UK Or can I apply for an exemption of paying NIC if I claim for remittance basis on my tax return in tax year 22/23? If yes, how to do so? Thanks for your help.

Hi CatLiz,

If you are claiming the remittance basis and not bringing the income to the UK, there will be no NI to pay.
Should you wish to pay voluntary contributions  please see guidance here:
Voluntary National Insurance
Thank you, 

Hello! I have the same situation with others here except the territory of the employer. I am working remotely in UK for a US employer that has no presence in the UK, and my salary is being paid to my US bank account without any change in the employment contract. I'd like to confirm that I nor my employer do not have to pay NI based on the totalization agreement. I appreciate in advance your assistance. Thank you!

Hi,

Unfortunately we are unable to give a specific answer. Generally speaking if you live and work in the UK, you should be paying UK NIC, but if you are posted by a US employer you may be liable to continue paying into the US system.  

In order for us to establish where your NI Liability would lie, you will need to write to:  

International Caseworker
PT Operations North East England HMRC
BA9 1AN.  

Please provide the following information: Full name, date of birth, UK NI number (if you have one), your current address in UK, name and address of employer in UK (or name and address of employer in USA if no place of business in UK), where your contract is held, contract dates and periods spent working in UK and the nature of the business.

Thank you.

Hi HMRC Admin, Thank you very much for confirming that if we are claiming the remittance basis and not bringing the income to the UK, there will be no NI to pay. That would be the temp arrangement for me as of now. I would just like to double check that, IN SUCH CASE, is it still mandatory for me to apply for NI number, and whether the application for NI number would undermine my adoption of the remittance basis (e.g. are NI number and remittance basis "mutually exclusive"?) Thank you very much and I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Hi Dian,

Your first steps to take would be to write or call HMRC Income Tax: general enquiries to establish where your National Insurance liability would lie, as we have previously advised.  
Depending on your personal circumstances, you may be told to apply for a UK National Insurance number.
Unfortunately, I am unable to be more specific and you may need to put your query in writing in order to receive the correct advice.

Thank you.
 

Hi HRMC Adim My situation is I have an appointment contract with my HK employer that has no presence in the UK, when I moved to UK by using BNO VISA May of last year , the contract was changed to commission only, no basic salary, no benefit. Pay is once a year as agree, for tax year 22/23, the income is less than £1,500 , my question is do I need to pay UK NI monthly? what status I should delcare? sloe trader or self employee? in fact, I have full time job in the UK, and I keep paying NI and pension. Many thanks in advance.

Hi,

You will not pay NI on this as you are paying this with your PAYE employment. You will need to register as a sold trader to declare the income via a tax return.

Thank you.

So it is possible to claim remittance basis on employment income if it is paid abroad? I am in a similar situation to the above commenters and was planning to do that and remained on US payroll and had US income tax and social security withheld this year, but was recently told by a tax advisor that if I performed the services while physically located in the UK, it would be treated as UK source income. I made a self-assessment payment online but was told by HMRC that it would only be allocated to income tax as it is not possible to pay National Insurance unless registered as sole trader.

Hi,

If you are UK resident and UK domiciled, you cannot claim the remittance basis. You will be taxable on your worldwide income and capital gains in the UK on the arising basis on a Self Assessment tax return, whether it is remitted to the UK or not.  

If you are UK resident and not UK domiciled, you can elect to use the remittance basis instead of the arising basis. The remittance basis allows you to declare a foreign income, and, or capital gains that you have not remitted to the UK and so will not be taxed on it. You can see guidance below for more information on the remittance basis.

Residence, domicile and the remittance basis: RDR1

Thank you.

Hi HMRC Admin, I am Jordanian living in Jordan and working remotely for a German company based in Germany. I get my salary transferred to my bank account in Jordan. If I plan to move to UK under a spouse visa, would I be considered a 'Non-domiciled' resident and be exempt of paying tax on my foreign income? if not, can you please specify what income tax and national insurance to expect? Thank you.

Hi Zlatan,
HMRC cannot comment on future events as legislation may change.
Your residence status is also for you to determine based on guidance available.
For current guidance please see:
RDR3 Statutory Residence Test
Thank you.