Paul Weller

Colleagues - In the circumstances above, where one has in general been told that one no longer needs to complete a self-assessment return unless HMRC make contact to ask one to resume doing so or "your financial circumstances change", would the latter include the new receipt of (even if only very small) amounts of interest from a foreign bank account(s)? And if one starts to receive such foreign bank interest income, is it so that one can only go about reporting such income via going back to completing SARs? And, if so, what is the best way of informing HMRC of this specific potential change/need? Or does one simply revisit one's HMRC portal and complete and submit a new SAR when the reporting time for the relevant financial year opens?

Mmmmm....yes, this really does need clarification, since the reply by HMRC Admin25 above states: " you would only be declaring income that is taxable in the UK" which seems to suggest that, even if the lower income partner had, in total, more income than the UK tax threshold, a claim would not be precluded if that income was not taxable in the UK, but only was only subject to tax elsewhere - whereas the quoted section of the SA100 above seems to contradict that when stating "your worldwide income (in UK pounds) must be less than your personal allowance" WITHOUT qualifying that by reference to UK taxable income?

I have a question about any possibilities that may exist for securing the carrying back of tax reliefs against Gift Aid payments after someone ceases to be a higher rate tax payer? In a concrete example relating to this, what might be possible for an individual tax payer who (1) was a higher rate tax payer in the tax year 2020-21, and (2) for whom a tax adviser supported, computed and submitted a tax return for the tax year 2021-22, and in doing so entered the amount of that individual's gift aid and which, in previous tax years, would have resulted in some tax relief set again the individual's income, but (4) with the submission of the self-assessment the individual moved from being a higher rate tax payer to a standard rate tax payer, however (5) the adviser did not draw attention to what it seems might, in such a circumstance (?) have been a possibility for such Gift Aid payments to have been set against, and attracted relief from, the tax year 2020-21 when the individual was a higher rate tax payer.

Colleagues - my understanding is that there are some professional/union fees/subscriptions which HMRC allows to be set against income when completing a self-assessment tax return. It appears that the normal place where one would enter a claim for the relevant amount is in the employment pages. Does this mean that, even if one continues paying such fees/subscriptions after one is no longer employed that one is no longer eligible to claim for these in one's self-assessment? Or can one still claim, but provide relevant details in something like the "any other details" section of the self-assessment claim form?

Subsequent to my post of five days ago, I see from the HMRC double tax relief application form for Germany that, in relation at least to the UK-German DTA (and of course may not be the same in other DTAs) that: "Relief from UK tax under Article 17(1) will only be available for pensions that do not exceed the limits on contributions in Article 17(3). These limits mean that a UK-source pension or annuity paid to a resident of Germany will remain taxable in the UK if the tax relieved pension contributions were made in the UK for more than 15 years – unless the relief on the contributions has been clawed back, or the contributions also got tax relief for more than 15 years in Germany." So am I correct then in thinking that this means that, even though the USS is considered a "private pension" and therefore normally taxable in Germany for someone who is subject to German taxation requirements but with the possibility of reclaiming double tax paid in the UK and stopping future UK payments of tax at USS source, that such would then NOT apply if one had paid into the USS for more than 15 years? - and in which case, even though a "private pension", it would be payable ONLY in the UK.

Thank you for this very helpful clarification on the questions that I asked, which I can imagine will be helpful for many living outside of the UK if they might not previously have been aware of the possibility of still claiming the marriage allowance. Just for full clarity, re the issue that in using the online tool to apply for such that one is offered only the options of whether one lives in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland and your advice in relation to that to "provide feedback at the bottom of the page", can I cross-check if you mean "at the bottom of the page" ONCE THE TOOL HAS BEEN USED AND ONE OF THE FOUR NATIONS OFFERED HAS BEEN CHOSEN, that there is THEN a feedback option in which one can explain one's situation relative to what one has chosen?

OK - thank you. So I am correct, then, that from the list you specify above, in relation to having "lived abroad as non-resident" you mean that in the technical sense of someone who has, under the "tests" set out as such to be treated as not tax resident resident in the UK and has had this approved by HMRC? - Rather than in the case of someone who is "living abroad", but is still paying UK taxation on parts of their overall income, while being potentially subject to tax abroad on parts of their overall income?

In my understanding then, which I would be grateful if could confirmed: following the posts on this matter by HMRC10 and HMRC25, since this will be potential relevance to ALL those who are in receipt of USS pensions but living outside of the UK and subject to taxation in another country, it seems that: (1) it will be necessary to pay tax on such a pension in the country concerned (which depending on the country may be at higher or lower rates than basic rates or higher rates in the UK) but also (2) if, in between, the USS has already deducted tax at source in the UK, it will be possible, under any DTAs that cover this to (a) request HMRC to repay the tax already paid in the UK and (b) to request HMRC to notify the USS to in future not deduct tax at source on these pension payments unless and until the recipient no longer becomes subject to tax in the other country concerned? Is this correct?

When looking within one's Personal Tax Account at help details for who can and who cannot use the filing service from within one's Personal Tax Account, it appears to say that "non-residents" cannot use this. But would I be correct in presuming that this refers to the technical tax meaning of "non-resident" rather than its more general "normal life meaning"? Ad that, therefore, those who currently live primarily abroad, and may also submit tax returns there, but nevertheless are still required to complete self-assessment returns in the UK because they are also considered still to be UK tax resident, would still be able to use this method for filing the self-assessment returns required of them?

I have two questions relating to the circumstance where a husband and wife would, if simply living in the UK and both being taxed in the UK be eligible for the Marriage Allowance transfer between spouses, but in a circumstance where, as things currently stand, both spouses are mainly living outside of the UK but are for the moment still being required to complete UK self-assessment returns (as well as completing tax returns in their country of primary residence): 1.) In the circumstances above, is it possible for the lower income person of the spouse couple above to claim such? And, if so: a.) If the above is in principle possible, and the spouse in the couple who wants to transfer their Marriage Allowance to the higher earning partner would the spouses need to include into the online tool that asks for information on their income, details of their worldwide gross income? Or, if they have only some income that is taxed in the UK and other income (for example, under a double taxation agreement, a social security pension from the other country, or a Royalties from the UK that are subject to taxation in the other country rather than in the UK) only their gross income that is currently subject to taxation in the UK? b.) Again, if the above is in principle possible, the online tool asks a question about in which country one is living, and offers only England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But if a claim is in principle possible, and one's main residence is in another country than the UK, should one give the UK nation that is where one continues to be required to complete UK self-assessment? Hopefully these queries are clear and can be answered by an HMRC colleague, as although I have looked, I can't seem to find anything to clarify them on the HMRC website, and I can imagine the question would also be one where the answer would be of broad interest and relevance to those living primarily overseas but still being required to complete UK self-assessments and to pay tax in the UK on a proportion of their worldwide income. 2.) If it is possible, the online tool for claiming such asks