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Hi, I'm current on a casual contract working part time in the UK. The contract end date is in Septebmer but I foresee no more work going on in early August. At the same time I've got an overseas full-time job offer; I'm planning to head for it overseas in late July and stay overseas for a couple of years. If I'm leaving the UK to take up the full-time position overseas, I believe I'll satisfy case 1 for split year application, but there are a few points I'm still unsure of. 1. Does my casual contract in the UK matter with my calculation of when my overseas part of the split year starts? 2. If the casual contract is irrelevant, do I start counting the reference period the first day I work for >3 hours overseas? 3. I'm currently in self assessment; am I right that I need not report any overseas income for the overseas part of the split year? 4. As I'm expecting to spend at least several years overseas, how do I inform the HMRC of that, and when should I inform the HMRC? 5. Can I opt out of self assessment, and if so, should I do that any time in the same tax year when I leave for overseas, or as soon as I leave for overseas? Thank you.

Dear sir/madam, I am writing to enquire about how I can set up as a sole trader in my self assessment. I have a personal tax account and have submitted my self assessment for the 22/23 tax year. Only in the 23/24 tax year I started working as a sole trader, so I wanted to add that into my tax account. I clicked the "business tax" tab and navigated to https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/business-account. However, I couldn't find the option for "sole trader" from the list of tax I can add, and hence selected the "other taxes of schemes" option. Then I was instructed to set up a new organisational tax account for adding the tax I was looking for. After setting up a new organisation tax account, I finally found "sole trader" from the list of tax I could add to the account. However, after entering my UTR in the organisation tax account, I was told that "You already manage your taxes, duties and schemes online" and had to re-sign in with my personal tax account; I followed the instruction and re-signed in with the account I already had and had submitted self assessment for the 22/23 tax year, yet finding myself never able to add any tax as a sole trader in my personal tax account! This loop perplexes me. Please advise how I can set up myself as a sole trader online - how can I do it with my personal tax account, as setting up an organisational tax account provided no help but mandating me to re-sign in my personal tax account? Thank you.

Hi, Thank you very much for the reply. I would appreciate some guidance on how to properly complete the self-assessment form. Specifically, I have a question regarding reporting foreign income. The form allows for multiple entries of the same type of income (such as foreign bank interest). Should I calculate the total annual amount and enter it as a single figure, or should I enter the monthly interest amounts individually based on my monthly bank statements? Thank you once again.

Hi Thank you very much for the prompt response. I have two further questions: (1) are foreign savings interests prioritised over dividends when calculating the tax amount? (2) Do I need to declare "I have Capital Gains to pay" in the self assessment registration form if I had more capital losses than capital gains in the year? Thank you.

Hi Thank you for the response. I would greatly appreciate it if you could further clarify whether certain types of income are prioritized when considering them for the personal tax allowance. To illustrate, suppose my total income for the year comprises £5000 from a job in the UK, £6000 from freelance work for foreign companies, £3000 from foreign stock dividends, and £4000 from foreign capital gains. The total amount of £18000 exceeds the personal tax allowance. In this case, I am curious to know which portions of the income sources are eligible for further tax allowance and how I can calculate the taxable amount. Thank you for your assistance.

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I'm still confused how the allowances are applied and need further clarification. Could you please confirm if the personal tax allowance is the fundamental allowance that applies to all types of income, such as salary and investment returns? Additionally, are the other allowances (Interest savings and dividends at £1000 each, and capital gains at £6000) in addition to the basic personal allowance of £12570? In simpler terms, for individuals who both invest and earn interest from savings, would their total allowance be £12570 + £1000 + £1000 + £6000? Thank you.

Hi Thanks a lot for the confirmation. I would also like to know if I decide to take up a freelance position offered by a company out of the UK, am I required to set up myself as a sole trader for tax self assessment during or after the current tax year? Moreover, assuming that I have to declare all my foreign income, including bank interests, dividends, capital gains and overseas wages, am I correct that there is additional allowance for each category on top of the £12,570 personal tax allowance? If so, how much is the allowance for each category? Thank you.

Hi Thank you for the reply. Does this mean the Article 19 of the Double Taxation Agreement with Hong Kong only applies to students only if s/he is holding a Student Route visa, and that the article does not apply to any full-time student holding another kind of visa? Thank you.

Hi I am a full-time student at a UK university from Hong Kong holding a BNO visa. I have a part-time casual job in the UK that I work for a few hours a week and earn less than £500 a month. On top of this, I receive income from dividends and selling of shares in Hong Kong. Now that a company in Hong Kong intends to hire me as a freelancer, I am confused about tax issues. Being a full-time student, am I correct that I DO NOT need to report or pay UK tax on my foreign income, as all these funds are used solely for covering my course fees and living costs, even though I am holding a BNO visa rather than a Student Route visa? Thank you.