BPS WONG

Hi HMRC Administrator, A friend of mine from Hong Kong moved to the UK in June last year and became a UK tax resident. He previously bought a flat in Hong Kong back in 1996 as his residence over the years and he is still owning the property. He would like to apply for Private Residence Relief when he sells the property in the coming months. He has the following questions about the period of absences for calculation of tax relief: - (1) He was sent by his employer to work in Australia for four years from 2000 to 2003 and then to India for two years from 2007 to 2009. Is it true that only the period of absence in Australia could be allowed for relief ? (2) Over the years in Hong Kong, he had vacation outside Hong Kong once or twice every year and the period of absence ranged from two weeks to a month. Does he need to add up all the vacation periods outside Hong Kong and check if the total period is within the three years for absence allowed for any reason? Most grateful for your advice.

Hi HMRC Administrator, I have the same problem and have waited for an hour without having someone picking up my call to the hotline. My address provided is correct and I could not understand why I got the email saying that it does not match the record. Grateful to know if I can just complete the form in hard copy and send to the HMRC by post for registration instead of doing it online.

Hi HMRC Administrator, In filling pages F2/3 for the interest earned from other currencies in overseas bank accounts, which of the following exchange rates should be used for conversion to GBP- - yearly average up to 31/12/2022 or - yearly average up to 31/3/2023 or - spot rate on 31/12/2022 or - spot rate on 31/3/2023 ? Most grateful for your advice.

Thank you HMRC. I would like to clarify that the allowance which I mentioned in my question is not a kind of government pension. It is more akin to social security benefits payable to permanent residents in Hong Kong when they meet the age requirement and certain conditions. In that case, is the allowance also free from UK tax. Most grateful for your advice.

Hi HMRC administrator, Many thanks for your reply. I have gone through the references you provided above. Regarding CG78300 which you mentioned, I note that the chargeable tax for profits gain apply for such kind of transactions up to 5 April 2012. In my case, the transactions were made after that date and the exchanges of currencies did not involve the investment in any other currency related assets like shares. Based on the above, should there be any profits tax chargeable in my case ? Please kindly let me know if you need any further information from me for your further advice. Thank you.

Hi HMRC Administrator, I newly became a UK resident during the 2022-2023 tax year and I only have income from interests earned in my bank accounts in the overseas. To reply to the question "When did you start getting this income?", I am not sure whether I should write 6 April 2022 (i.e. the start of the tax year), or the exact date when I landed in the UK if I am going to seek split year treatment. Grateful for your advice.

Hi, my mother newly became a UK resident during the 2022/2023 tax year. While she has already retired without any income, she has continued to receive a kind of old age allowance issued by the Hong Kong government because she remains a permanent Hong Kong resident and has satisfied the relevant conditions. The monthly payment is tax free in Hong Kong. Grateful to know whether this allowance received by her in her bank account in Hong Kong is taxable in the UK, and whether she needs to report in the self -assessment return. Thank you.

Hi, if I use Hong Kong dollars to buy GBP and then sell GBP for exchange for a larger sum of Hong Kong dollars under a more favorable exchange rate, all done through my bank account, is the increase in the amount of of Hong Kong dollars following the above transactions subject to capital gain tax? I am not employed and have no income other then interest earned in my bank accounts and the amount does not reach the threshold for tax payment. In that case, do I still need to complete and submit self-assessment for tax return? Thank you.