Working Remotely from another country

Hi, I've been working in the UK for the last 8 years, obviously all my taxation is done here. I'm Portuguese but have been granted settled status. Due to this whole pandemic situation, I now have to temporarily (not sure how long), go back to Portugal for family reasons. But I'll still have to work remotely while I'm there, for my company which is UK based. All my taxes are still going to be payed in the UK, all my income is still received in the UK and I still hold my residence in the UK. My main issue here is that I'm going to go this month, but not really sure when I'll be back, could be one month... could be more. I'm trying to understand what I need to do. Should I contact the HMRC? Will there be any change in my tax situation?

Hi,
Whether there will be a change in your tax situation will depend upon your UK residency status during the 2020/21 tax year.
This is something which we cannot comment on until the full circumstances are known.
You can in the meantime find out information regarding residency rules here:
RDR3 Statutory Residence Test

Hi, thank you for your reply, additionally how can I let the HMRC know how long I will be working from abroad? all the best

Hi, 
Once you come back to the UK you will then work out your residence status for the year.
If it turns out you are non-resident then you my want to complete a P85 form.
Otherwise if you are classed as resident then no action would be needed unless you needed.

thanks

Hi, No. She will only need to register here if she is tax resident here and needs to declare the income to us. If she is non UK resident then she would only be subject to tax on the UK income if the duties were carried out in the UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-residence-test-srt

Hi, No she will only need to register here if she is tax resident here and needs to declare the income to us. If she is non UK resident then she would only be subject to tax on the UK income if the duties were carried out in the UK. Please see link. RDR3 Statutory Residence Test

Hi, could I pose a scenario? Could a UK employee go out to another home in another country and work for their UK company there for say 4 weeks? Would they have to do anything tax wise if they are a full UK tax citizen and have paid tax throughout the last few years?

Yes a UK resident could work at home abroad for their UK employer for a short time. This would not affect their tax position and the income would still be liable for UK taxation. Kind Regards

Hello, I will shortly be in a similar scenario to the original poster, but resident for a much longer period. My wife is taking a transfer and will become an employee of her employer's Swiss entity. We will move to Switzerland, and remain there for at least 2-3 years. I am a UK citizen and pay PAYE and NI in the UK, and am employed by the UK entity of a multi-national company. Although we have a Swiss office, my employer is not prepared to offer me a Swiss contract due to the relative cost of offering me an equivalent salary, so I would continue to be paid in the UK, in sterling, into a UK bank account. I am able to do the near-total majority of my work remotely, and when I do have to be physically present, I am at a customer site almost anywhere in the world. If I move physically to Switzerland, what is the impact on my UK employer in terms of UK vs Swiss taxation and NI contributions? What is the tax liability on me as an individual? Thanks and regards,

Hi, If you are moving outside of the UK to live and work, but will still be paid by a UK employer you would need to inform HMRC of this and apply for an NT tax coding to be sent to your employer.  You would need to contact the Swiss authorities to inform them that you are working in their country and they would advise on any tax liability there. You can direct your employer to review our guidance on gov.uk here Employees working abroad You can find guidance for yourself on gov.uk here https://www.gov.uk/tax-right-retire-abroad-return-to-uk and also regarding national insurance here National Insurance if you go abroad

Hi, I work for a large multinational. I have a few questions that you may not be able to answer due to them having a crossover with German tax but i'm hoping you can address from a UK perspective. One of my team currently works remotely in the UK but has asked if they are able to work remotely from Germany for the next 3 months maximum. They are originally from Germany but now have settled status in the UK. Would the employee/company be liable for both UK & German taxes and National Insurance payments? Would the following factors increase the risk of any tax/ni obligation? • German; • holds a German passport; • has visited Germany (for business or pleasure) over the past 24 months; • has a permanent home in Germany; • holds German investments; or • Germany is a country where the majority of their friends and family are based, Would the German tax authorities expect to payroll the UK employer to operate payroll or have any requirement for my company to set up a German entity? Kind Regards,

Hi Thank you for your enquiry. To discuss this situation you should contact an international case worker on 0300 200 3500. Regards.

Hi, My situation is similar to the one described by bruno, at the beginning of this thread. I am Portuguese as well, living and working in the UK since July 2019. I work for a UK company, my taxes are paid in the UK, income is received in the UK and I hold my residence in the UK. Due to COVID-19, I have been working remotely since March 2020 and, for personal reasons, remotely from Portugal since June 2020. There is no precendent for this situation and no foreseeable date to return to the office. My employer is worried about employer and employee legal obligations on this matter. As far as I could find, I already fulfill the criteria for "3.2 Second automatic UK test". As long as I keep in mind the 183-days rule in the Portuguese tax year, I would not be considered a resident in Portugal, and just only in the UK. Can you please provide some insight on the employer obligations regarding remote working on this extraordinary circumstances? Kind regards

Hello

Thank you for your enquiry, unfortunately we cannot go into the depth of advice required on this forum and would therefore ask the employer to call the employers helpline on 0300 200 3200 for assistance.

Regards,

 

Hello, I’m looking for advice on very similar case described by bruno. I currently live and work in the UK and have UK job contract. I’m planning to continue working for the UK company but split my time between the UK and either Italy, Spain or France and work remotely from there. I will continue to have accommodation available to me in the UK for the entire year (either renting or owning a property) I will be in the UK for at least 90 days per year but less than 183 days. While I’m in the UK I will be mostly working (at least 31 days). I will spend more than 183 days in either Italy, Spain or France and will have accommodation available to me there (either renting or owning a property) I have EU passport and I do not have nationality of any of those countries. I’m looking for help with: 1. Will I remain tax resident in the UK? a. Going through Statutory Residence Test I’m not clear how to interpret point 2.3. i. If I spent more than 91 days in the UK regardless off working remotely abroad for most of the year do I automatically fail this test? 1. 2.3 Third automatic overseas test a. You’ll be non-UK resident for the tax year if you work full-time overseas over the tax year and: b. you spend fewer than 91 days in the UK in the tax year c. the number of days on which you work for more than 3 hours in the UK is less than 31 d. there is no significant break from your overseas work 2. Assuming I will remain UK tax resident, are there any implications for my employer from the fact that I will be physically located in different country for most of the year but remaining UK tax resident status at the same time?

Hi Lukasz,

Unfortunately we are unable to determine your residency status for you. According the the third automatic overseas test, yes you would fail this if you were spending more than 91 days in the UK, or working for 3 hours in the UK on more than 31 days.

If you remain UK tax resident, then nothing needs to be done if your only income is from a UK employer.

If you get income from any of the other countries while you are there, then as a UK resident this would need to be reported to HMRC as foreign income through a self assessment tax return.

Thank you. 

Hi, Similar situation as above as to pehi - but moving to Germany. As the German tax year runs Jan to Dec, I have calculated I won't become a German tax resident for the current tax year there. And, as the UK tax year runs April to April, I have calculated I won't be a UK tax resident this year - assuming I remain in Germany. My understanding is that the DBA won't apply, and hence I will just continue to pay full UK tax on UK earnings. (And German tax on German earnings - unless I return and then remain a UK tax resident). Can you correct me if I'm wrong here. Can I remain on the same tax code with my UK employer? And do I still need to promptly fill a P85 if there will be no change? I believe I will want/need to pay the German social insurances (health, loss-of-work, pension, etc) - can I ask my UK employer to stop making National Insurance Contributions? The CA3821 and CA3822 are not relevant since this is not a posting for business reasons. I realise that Brexit may affect all of this, and am happy with answers that only consider the remainder of the year. Thanks

Hi, We have an employee who already works fully remotely in the UK, and is a UK resident. They want to spend some of their time each year working remotely abroad in Portugal. We understand that if they remain a UK Tax Resident, then we don't need to take any action, and can continue paying/employing them as usual. My question is, whose responsibility is it to determine whether they are a UK Tax Resident each year? Is it us, the employer, or the employee? Thank you, Max