Sending money from abroad to UK account

Hello, My wife who is now a UK national is looking to send some money from her country of birth - Vietnam - to the UK. The sum of money is over £50,000. What are the tax implications on receiving this money? Will she have to pay income tax on this money received? The money has increased due to interest over the last 10 years, so does this affect the amount she could be taxed? She paid income tax in Vietnam on the money she put into the account. Thanks

Hi,

There are no tax implications of transfering capital from a foreign bank acccount to a UK bank account.  

It is only of the capital generate income, such as interest or dividends, that this would be taxable.  

There are limits to the amount of cash brough into or taken out of the UK.  

(Take cash in and out of the UK).

Thank you.

I’m a UK national. I’m looking to send £200,000 from my foreign bank account to my UK bank account to buy a house in the UK. Source of funds is selling land I inherited from my deceased father who is not a UK national. Do I pay tax on that amount?

Hello, Thank you for your reply. Can you confirm by the savings generating interest, do you mean being taxed on interest that is gained once the money is in the UK? Or do you mean tax interest that has been gained in Vietnam prior to it being received in the UK? Thanks

Hi Salman Al Assaf
As you inherited the land and have now disposed of it, you may be subject to capital gains tax in the UK.  
You would need to consider whether the land is residential or not.  
The guidance at (Tax when you sell property) will help work out any gains.  
You will need to report the disposal in a self assessment tax return (SA100) and declare any gains in SA106, if foreign tax was paid on the disposal and you want to claim foreign tax credit relief.  
You will also need to report the gain in SA108.
Thankyou.
Regards.

Hi Chris Horn
Interest arising in the tax year that you are resident in the UK (6 April to 5 April) includes the interest generated in Vietnam and the UK, in that period.
Thankyou.
Regards.

Hello, Thanks again for your message. Can you clarify the below: - She moved to the UK nearly 9 years ago. Does this mean tax will have to be paid on the interest gained on the savings in Vietnam during that whole 9 years? - What does being resident in the UK imply in this case? She was here on spousal visas etc for the first 5 years, and became a UK national in 2020. Does the residency period cover the whole time she was in the UK? Or only since she became a British National? Thanks again for your advice! Chris

Hi,

The remittance basis can be used where an individual is UK resident, but is not domiciled. If that persion chooses not to remit income arising outside the UK, while they are UK resident, then it is not taxable in the UK.  

If the income is remitted to the UK in a later tax year, it will be taxable in that tax year. The remittance basis rules change when someone has been resident in the UK for 7 or more of the preceeding 9 tax years.  The individual will lose their personal allowance / annual exempt allowance and be taxed on a fixed sum of £30000.00, plus their UK income and gains. The rules then change if the individual has been resident in the UK for 12 or more of the preceeding tax years. The individual will lose their personal allowance / annual exempt allowance and be taxed on a fixed sum of £60000.00, plus their UK income / gains.  

Finally, once a non domiciled person is resident in the UK for 16 years plus, they become 'deemed domiciled' and become subject to tax on their 'world-wide' income in the tax year that it arises. There are guidance noted on residence, domicile and remittance here.

Guidance note for residence, domicile and the remittance basis: RDR1

Thank you.

I have recently moved to the uk on a tier 2 visa. I have some savings which I have accumulated over the years before moving to the uk. I registered a company in the uk for real estate investment. I wish to bring my savings to the uk to use as capital for the company I just registered for real estate investments. Would my company have to pay tax on the money which is intended to be used as capital when I bring it to the uk?

[Display name amended - Admin]

Hi ikewunone
Thank you for your query. 
Your limited company does not pay corporation tax on personal savings that you bring to the UK. 
 

Dear All, We have pre-settle status and have been in UK for two years. In addition, we are planning to sell our property which is located overseas and was purchased in 2010. Out of this transaction, we are planning to transfer GBP 150K from overseas bank account to UK bank account. Shall we subject to tax tax in UK due to this bank transfer? Best Regards, 

Name removed admin . 

Hi Serkan Kayhan
Yes.
Please refer to guidance at:
Paying tax on the remittance basis (Self Assessment helpsheet HS264)
Thankyou.

Hi, I am originally from Portugal, now live in the UK for 8 years with settled status. I inherited properties a couple years ago, which I then sold and paid taxes in Portugal for. Now I would like to transfer that money to the UK, do I need to pay taxes in the UK? Thank you!

Hi,

Possibly.  You may have generated a Capital Gains Tax liability, when you disposed of the properties. The double taxation agreement allows Portugal first right to tax any gains, but as a resident of the UK, HMRC also have a right to tax an gains arising from the disposal property in Portugal. You will need to work out if there is a UK gain. You will need to convert all figures to pounds sterling, using the official exchange rate in operaton at the time of inheritance and at disposal.  

The official exchange rates can be found at:

Exchange rates from HMRC in CSV and XML format

There is a calculator below that can help you work out any gains.

Tax when you sell property

The gains will need to be reported in a self assessment tax return on SA106 and SA108 and submitted with SA100.

Thank you.

Hi, I am a UK national but have lived and worked overseas for 20 years. Each year I have spent less than 16 days in the UK during his time. I have no property or spouse/dependents in the UK and I am not planning to return to the UK for the foreseeable future. I would like to invest some money in National Savings bonds. Would I be taxed on any money that I transfer into the UK? Do I get a personal tax allowance for any interest I would earn? Thank you.

Hi, im a uk resident and I have a company in portugal and I want to transfer £500.000 to my uk account to purchase a house and I pay taxes in portugal as well. Do I have to pay more taxes in uk

Hi, I will be moving to UK from UAE by mid September this year. I have around GBP 150k saved from my work in UAE over the last 10 years. Will this money be taxable if I transfer it to my UK bank A/c?

Hi alexhewitt,

The transfer of money from an overseas bank account to a UK bank account has no Income Tax consequences, unless bank interest or dividends are generated:                                             

Tax on savings and investments: detailed information

Thank you.

Hi Mariosantos1979 Rocha,

You will not pay tax on the actual capital but will need to declare any interest or dividends that it generates. 

Thank you.

Hello, I am a UK national with a parent based in Poland (she is a polish national). She wants to transfer approx. £200k to my UK bank account which would be used as a deposit for a mortgage. From answers above I understand I will not need to pay any tax, unless I gain any interest from the base sum; which I potentially would as my current account has a 4.6% interest rate. My question is does it matter where she obtained the money from - it's nothing illegal, she just sold her fathers house. I saw in one of the answers that inheritance/selling house would be subject to a capital gains tax? I'm assuming this doesn't apply in my case as I was not the person that inherited/sold the house...