Chrisjcox

Hi 'Kitty Kat', thanks for the reply and it sounds as though you have an exciting move imminent? Good luck with that. I wasn't asking for any specific practical reason - just thought it would be nice to make contact with someone from my home town if there happened to be any living in Brisbane. Worcester is of course close enough

Hi folks, I'm interested to know if there are any people who moved to Brisbane from Evesham. It would be good to get to know people who have a shared local knowledge of somewhere back home. Chris

Sorry, I meant Alan not Allan!

Thanks - I'm very glad I posted and it looks like I may have to drop Allan a line

Thanks Allan - all information is gratefully received. I would be delighted if I can forget about UK CGT - although I think I need to investigate that a little more. I haven't read anywhere about being safe so long as we don't "return within 5 years". I don't think we have an plans to do so. I do understand that once PR comes (assuming it does) the house will become subject to Australian CGT, although goodness knows how that must be abused as the ATO don't even know I have a house in the UK - they've never asked! I am hoping thought that they take the value of the house on the day PR comes through (and let's face it, there's no science to a valuation at all - they are all just made up on the spot!) and CGT would only be liable on an increase in value compared to that when we actually sell. Is that correct? Given the current state of the UK markets I'm sure the value of the house will continue to slide rather than increase.

Hi Meaks, Thanks for taking the time to reply. We do not yet have PR but do expect that to come through prior to us selling the house as we're not even off the starting blocks with that yet! I do know that once we have PR our house in the UK becomes subject to CGT if the British treasury doesn't get their hands on some first. My main concern though is how many years we can be living overseas and renting the house out before British CGT becomes liable.

Thanks NWM for taking the time to reply I do appreciate it. The link you sent isn't that clear to me still. In one section it talks about getting full personal exemption if you are not absent for more than 4 years and in another it mentions three years.

Hi everyone, I have been reading this forum for quite sometime with interest but never actually got around to posting - even though after 3.5 years of living in Brisbane I do have quite a few thoughts as replies to many posts and look forward to sharing my threepence worth in due course. My first post is rather prosaically about finance though I have read quite conflicting responses on this and other forums relating to my situation and would therefore like to get a definitive answer if possible and Im quite sure someone here will know, so please do share. We moved to Brisbane - the best place in Australia - oh dear, hope I haven't already spawned a whole raft of new postings in September 2009. At the time we were really not sure we would be staying here for the duration and so decided not to sell the house. In any case the GFC ensured falling value and limited selling potential; it just didn't seem sensible. I am now potentially regretting the decision! A simple calculation will show that I have been non resident for tax purposes from the Uk for over 3 years and during that time the house has been rented out whilst we have been in Brisbane on a 457 visa. Finally, and somewhat belatedly we decided to apply for PR, submitting the application in September 2012 - we expect a decision within the next few months; hopefully a positive one; fingers crossed! The bank have now imposed a new gratuitous 1.5% levy on the interest rates, declaring it a commercial buy to let mortgage. I know most do this now. Of course I make a tax return each year in the UK and declare all the rent, but we are always beneath the personal tax threshold. If we are staying here we would finally like to buy a house and that almost certainly means selling the UK one. Stupidly I never thought to check if there was a time limit after which CGT would apply. On this forum I have read that so long as you sell it within 6 years and it is your only UK house you are not liable for CGT, but elsewhere I have read the time limit is 3 years, which we are now just outside. Does any one actually know if we are liable and if so, is that for the entire difference between what we paid in 2004 and the sale value whenever that is? Thanks in advance to anyone providing answers and also for the enjoyable time reading other posts. I promise to reply to a few myself in future Chris