Hong Kong Cash Payout Scheme (2020) and other matters

Hi all, I am a British citizen who was living and working in Hong Kong for 9 years during (2006 to 2015) and in that time acquired Hong Kong Permanent residency. I returned to the UK in mid-2015 and have been tax resident here since. However, I did maintain a HSBC bank account in Hong Kong including an investment account which contained some shares accumulating nominal dividends (less than £350 a year) and some gold (worth less than £3000) and my MPF (HK pension fund) In 2020, the Hong Kong government issued a Cash Payout Scheme worth HKD10,000 (around £1,000) to all HK Permanent Residents which i applied for and received into my HK bank account. In 2022, i closed all my accounts (sold all my shares and gold) including my MPF (my HK pension) and transferred the money back to the UK. I have since used the money as a deposit on my current residence. A couple of weeks ago i received a letter from HMRC regarding overseas assets, income and gains. Through its tax information exchange agreements, HMRC noted that I may not have paid the correct amount of tax. So, my questions, having read the many useful threads on this site: 1. I am pretty sure that i should have declared my dividends (albeit less than the UK threshold) on my tax returns since 2015. Am i correct? 2. I'm pretty sure that the money transferred from my MPF did not need to be declared. Am i correct? 3. Finally, should have i have declared the the HK Cash Payout of £1,000 (even though it was a tax-free handout in HK)? Thanks

Hi Almoore,

1. Yes, you should declare foreign dividends in the appropriate section of the Self Assessment Foreign pages (SA106).  
2. You are correct is stating that the transfer of money from an overseas bank account to a UK account has no income tax implications (though any interest or dividends generated may be taxable).  
3. As regards the HK Cash Payout, I would suggest that you provide details in the 'Any Other Information' box of the relevant Self Assessment tax return.

Thank you.