7. Do you need to pay tax on any of the following? Income from outside the UK

I have not had any tax return / self-assessment before and this year I am checking if I need to file a self-assessment. In "Check if you need to send a Self Assessment tax return" at https://www.gov.uk/check-if-you-need-tax-return, question 7 is: "7. Do you need to pay tax on any of the following?" One of the options is: "Income from outside the UK (includes pensions)" I have no employment income. I have a small amount of interests from overseas banks: £50. No other overseas income. I also did not remit any of those into the UK. My total income with everything considered is way below all the tax free allowances so I determine I do not need to pay any tax. Certainly also no tax to that overseas interest part. My question is - the option "Income from outside the UK (includes pensions)" in that check is a NO to me, right? i.e. I do not pay tax on "Income from outside the UK (includes pensions)" in that Question7 Thank you.

Hi,

Any source of income from overseas, whether remitted to the UK or not, regardless of what it is or how much it is, is  a criteria for completing a Self Assessment tax return.

If you are in a position to claim for the remittance basis, being UK resident but not domiciled, you will still be required to complete a Self Assessment tax return. You can see the guidance below for more information on the remittance basis: 

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

Thank you.

Hello, thank you for your reply. Could you point me to where this is stated? "Any source of income from overseas, whether remitted to the UK or not, regardless of what it is or how much it is, is a criteria for completing a Self Assessment tax return." It doesn't seem to be stated clearly on any HMRC articles/guidelines. If it is the intention, then I would imagine the question on "check if you need tax return" should be "Do you have" income from outside the UK (includes pensions) rather than "Do you need to pay tax on" that hence I am looking for where specifically it is stated. Thank you.

Hi Andy,
Please see further guidance here: 
Tax on foreign income
Thank you. 

Hi, I have read this and I see only this: Reporting foreign income If you need to pay tax, you usually report your foreign income in a Self Assessment tax return. The wording is the same as the "do I need self assessment" check - it said "If you need to pay tax". It seems the intention is it is needed when I need to pay tax on foreign income and not needed if I don't need to pay (could be because the amount is just too small) So I would love to see if there is any mentioning of "if there is any foreign income no matter how small it is" Thanks.

Not HMRC, tax acct. https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/paying-tax , you need to meet all the criteria not to file a return...note, bank interest in not mentioned, so if you have foreign bank interest you need to do a return, even if no tax due

Hi Andy Chan,
As per the guidance - Reporting your foreign income
You usually need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return if you’re a UK resident with foreign income or capital gains. But there’s some foreign income that’s taxed differently.
You do not need to fill in a tax return if all the following apply:
Your only foreign income is dividends
Your total dividends - including UK dividends - are less than the £500 dividend allowance
You have no other income to report
Different rules may apply if your permanent home (‘domicile’) is abroad.                                                                                                                          As you state you receive interest, you therefore do not meet the criteria above and a tax return is required.
Thank you. 

Hi, Thank you for the further information. I was reading further regarding "Different rules may apply if your permanent home (‘domicile’) is abroad." Reference: https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/non-domiciled-residents // quote // Tax if you’re non-domiciled You do not pay UK tax on your foreign income or gains if both the following apply: - they’re less than £2,000 in the tax year - you do not bring them into the UK, for example by transferring them to a UK bank account If this applies to you, you do not need to do anything. //end of quote// I am non-domicile and I meet both of those conditions. Then I "do not need to do anything" Does "do not need to do anything" mean I do not need to even file a tax return? Thank you.

I agree with Andy that 'If you need to pay tax' is misleading. E.g. If tax has already been paid on rental income in a DTA country at the same rate as in the UK, it seems reasonable to conclude that this removes the 'need to pay tax' to HMRC and hence the requirement to report this foreign income in an SA return. As with much of the 'guidance' on the HMRC site, it's one page forward, two sideways for the reader with no financial background. See also the view of the Low Income Tax Reform Group (litrg.org).

Hi Andy,
You still need to complete the return to show the residence page and confirm that you are non domicile.
Thank you.