mattman Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 Hi all, New to the forum and just after some advice. My background/Story. Moved over to Australia/Melbourne September 2016 with my Australian girlfriend. I originally wasn't sure if I was going to stay in Aus long term, but after 6 months decided to stay and lodged my Defacto/Partner Visa, this was granted 5 months ago. Because I was not sure if I was staying in Aus when I left, I didn't tie up any financial knots, and to be honest not really sure what I needed to do. Since being here I have completed 2 Aussie Tax returns (2016-17 and 2017-18) and done a UK tax return for the last year I was there, 2016-17 I own/have a mortgage on a house in the UK, London . (which I need to remortgage as the rate as jumped up to a standard variable rate) I rent this house, so earn a very small amount of money, most the profit is used up paying for storage of my old furniture in the UK. I have a pension from my previous UK job, worked there for 10 years. I'm 30 years old now. I have a life insurance policy, I am still paying for from my UK bank account. We want to buy a house overhere. So my questions are: Is there a financial adviser/accountant/mortgage broker people recommend that deals with both UK and Australian situations? Is it possible to remortgage my UK house and release equity to give us enough money for a deposit to by an Aussie house? Do I need to officially "leave" the UK for taxation purposes? Is there any other financial knots that need to be tied that I am unaware of? Any advice or feedback will be great! Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 11, 2018 Share Posted August 11, 2018 Firstly, just to check you're aware, it's not a case of declaring your British income in the UK and your Australian income in Australia, you have to declare your total worldwide income on both. If you haven't done that, then you should get onto it pronto as there are nasty fines for non-compliance. It's fiddly so I do recommend you get a tax agent who knows tax in both countries. @Ken gives tax advice here and I think he's qualified. Alan Collett is a qualified tax accountant too. There is a form to complete when you cease employment in the UK, if you did that then they know you've left. However if not, then all you need to do is email or write to them and tell them you are no longer resident in the United Kingdom. With your life insurance policy, I would double check that it is still valid now you are no longer resident in the UK. I know some Australian ones aren't valid once you leave the country, no idea about British ones. No idea about remortgaging, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Hi Matt. The Residence supplement to your UK tax return should be the means by which you advise HMRC of your cessation of residency. You are enrolled in the Non Resident Landlord scheme in the UK? Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 14 hours ago, Marisawright said: Firstly, just to check you're aware, it's not a case of declaring your British income in the UK and your Australian income in Australia, you have to declare your total worldwide income on both. <snip> Not if you are not a tax resident of the UK: Australian source income wouldn't be included on the UK tax return of a non-UK resident person. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 5 hours ago, Alan Collett said: Not if you are not a tax resident of the UK: Australian source income wouldn't be included on the UK tax return of a non-UK resident person. Best regards. Der, see, I told the OP it was confusing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carol from Vista Financial Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 On 11/08/2018 at 12:57, mattman said: So my questions are: Is there a financial adviser/accountant/mortgage broker people recommend that deals with both UK and Australian situations? Is it possible to remortgage my UK house and release equity to give us enough money for a deposit to by an Aussie house? Do I need to officially "leave" the UK for taxation purposes? Is there any other financial knots that need to be tied that I am unaware of? Hi @mattman (1) @Andrew from Vista Financial may be able to help with the financial planing side of things for UK/Oz as is very familiar with both (2) Unfortunately I am only accredited to advise on Australian mortgages, not UK ones... I think the main hurdle you will face will be finding a UK lender willing to re-mortgage while you are no longer in the UK. If you can, you would need to access the equity as funds available as you cannot cross-secure properties internationally. Do you have any savings for a deposit that you could otherwise access? As for how much you would need you can play around with some figures here: https://vista.financialknowledgecentre.com.au/kccalculators.php?id=19 Are you planning to purchase together as a couple and if so does your partner own any property (or ever owned in the past)? This will determine any government first home owner subsidy eligibility and your residency status will determine a few things too (i.e. are you on a permanent subclass now?) (3) Not my area sorry (4) If you are looking to buy here then definitely sort out any issues regarding any tax etc. in your returns as your financial situation will be viewed as a whole by any lender, inclusive of any outstanding debts even if overseas (don't forget any student loans through SLC if this is applicable to you). Hope that helps, any other questions re mortgages/purchasing in Oz fire away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattman Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 On 12/08/2018 at 13:23, Alan Collett said: Hi Matt. The Residence supplement to your UK tax return should be the means by which you advise HMRC of your cessation of residency. You are enrolled in the Non Resident Landlord scheme in the UK? You are welcome to ping a PM to me to discuss off forum. Best regards. HI Alan, Thanks for your time in replying. I got an accountant in the UK to do my Tax return and I am unaware if the residence supplement part was completed, I'm assuming not, because I don't think I 100% decided I was staying in Aus at that time. Also I haven't personally enrolled in the non resident landlord scheme. I tried to PM you, however the forum restricted me from doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 hour ago, mattman said: I got an accountant in the UK to do my Tax return and I am unaware if the residence supplement part was completed, I'm assuming not, because I don't think I 100% decided I was staying in Aus at that time. Whether you had decided to stay in Australia or not is irrelevant. You don't get to decide whether you're a UK resident or not, the Inland Revenue decides it for you! The general rule is that if you've spent less than six months in the UK during a tax year, you're likely to be classed as a non-resident for that year - but there are other considerations. Hire Alan, he'll sort it out for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattman Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 2 hours ago, Marisawright said: Whether you had decided to stay in Australia or not is irrelevant. You don't get to decide whether you're a UK resident or not, the Inland Revenue decides it for you! The general rule is that if you've spent less than six months in the UK during a tax year, you're likely to be classed as a non-resident for that year - but there are other considerations. Hire Alan, he'll sort it out for you! ahh ok, yeah I guess that makes sense! Thanks. I have contacted Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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