Gilllian Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Planning on ping ponging back to Oz (for good this time!!) around March 2013 but wondering if there is a time limit before I have to transfer all my £ over to Oz before I get hit with penalties - I'm guessing capital gains tax? I'm guessing someone on here might know! I thought I saw somewhere there was a 2 year time limit but I can't seem to find that info anymore. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Have you asked your bank? They might be able to tell you if there are penalties or charges to be paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Which visa are you on? There is no tax in Australia for moving money in or out of the country. You are only taxed when you earn money...from work or a capital gain such as a house sale etc. If you are a Permanent Resident hten you are taxed on your income worldwide, so if you made a capital gain selling a house in the UK, then it is taxable whether you ever bring it in to Oz or not! Having said that, it is a little more complicated...depends when you got your visa, how you got your money, what tax you paid in the UK, etc, was it your only home or did you own one in Oz as well when it was sold etc...there's a little more detail to go in to. At a very high level though...there is no tax on transferring money in or out of Oz. Can't speak for the UK tax man though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 If you've made a capital gain on foreign exchange rates between the date you migrated and the date you moved the money to Oz there should be tax payable on this. I've have previously known people to claim that if you bring the money in within six months then the gain is ignored but I've never seen anything to substantiate that. For example if you migrated when the rate was $1.5/£ but you later converted your sterling at $1.6/£, you'll have an FX gain of $0.1 for each £ you converted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 If you've made a capital gain on foreign exchange rates between the date you migrated and the date you moved the money to Oz there should be tax payable on this. I've have previously known people to claim that if you bring the money in within six months then the gain is ignored but I've never seen anything to substantiate that. For example if you migrated when the rate was $1.5/£ but you later converted your sterling at $1.6/£, you'll have an FX gain of $0.1 for each £ you converted. Sadly not many people have been fortunate enough to benefit from the pound getting stronger against the dollar recently... Generally speaking over the last few years thw dollar has been getting progressively stronger so no big capital gains are have been made. I'm aware of the Forex capital gain tax...but when does it actually apply from? When you migrate? What if you transfer money over before you migrate/validate your visa? What if it is a house sale after you migrate...is the exchange rate for measuring the gain/loss fixed when the asset is liquidated (house sold) or when you migrated? So if I have 10K GBP in my bank account in the UK, migrate, then 6 months later the exchange rate has changed 10% in my favour, and I sell my house making a 10K GBP capital gain...and I transfer 10K GBP, which 10K GBP have I transferred??? The one which was in my bank when the interest rate was 1.5 or the one just recently when it was at 1.65 If it's the first 10K then I've made a gain of $1500...if it's the second then I've made no gain!!! What if it's the rental income from a house...and you revceive it in the UK every month while the exchange rate varies and you transfer it every three months... It's a minefield. Remember though, the tax isn't because you are moving it across the border...it's because you have made a capital gain due to the exchange rate changing...and you can be taxed on that gain (not the principal sum.) In practice I believe very few people pay this tax (but it does exist.) As gains are either so small or they are too hard to calculate (or are never declared! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilllian Posted December 21, 2012 Author Share Posted December 21, 2012 Sadly not many people have been fortunate enough to benefit from the pound getting stronger against the dollar recently... Generally speaking over the last few years thw dollar has been getting progressively stronger so no big capital gains are have been made. I'm aware of the Forex capital gain tax...but when does it actually apply from? When you migrate? What if you transfer money over before you migrate/validate your visa? What if it is a house sale after you migrate...is the exchange rate for measuring the gain/loss fixed when the asset is liquidated (house sold) or when you migrated? So if I have 10K GBP in my bank account in the UK, migrate, then 6 months later the exchange rate has changed 10% in my favour, and I sell my house making a 10K GBP capital gain...and I transfer 10K GBP, which 10K GBP have I transferred??? The one which was in my bank when the interest rate was 1.5 or the one just recently when it was at 1.65 If it's the first 10K then I've made a gain of $1500...if it's the second then I've made no gain!!! What if it's the rental income from a house...and you revceive it in the UK every month while the exchange rate varies and you transfer it every three months... It's a minefield. Remember though, the tax isn't because you are moving it across the border...it's because you have made a capital gain due to the exchange rate changing...and you can be taxed on that gain (not the principal sum.) In practice I believe very few people pay this tax (but it does exist.) As gains are either so small or they are too hard to calculate (or are never declared! Crickey I didn't realise it was potentially so complicated! I am an Oz citizen though (dual uk-oz citizenship) so I think I'll just transfer everything as quick as I can. Thank you for your replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottydog Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I'm pretty sure it's 6 months, then after that you get taxed on the gain in the exchange rate only so fairly minimal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 I'm pretty sure it's 6 months, then after that you get taxed on the gain in the exchange rate only so fairly minimal I'll be interested to see this confirmed by a legislative reference ... Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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