It was a real pleasure having Mark on the podcast and having him share his tax tips to help expats save money when moving back to the UK. Hearing how his space has changed over the 30 years was fascinating. It highlights the benefit of experience when tackling what might await us in 2023. Mark has seen how individuals and businesses have been affected by huge swifts and has had to find solutions quickly to make the system work for them.
If you are moving to the UK this is for you. Let’s run through his pro tax tips.
Get advice early
The number one error Mark sees time after time is not getting advice early. Often, new clients will reach out to their tax advisor only after they have taken action. After they have sold the property after they have cashed in a bonus after they have shifted their pension across. Unfortunately, this can have a huge impact on the amount of tax you pay.
There are so many variables at play: Your tax residency, the countries in which you have generated revenue, the sources of your income, and the type of assets you are looking to move. Each will have its own implications and so it is important to understand them beforehand.
Consider segregated accounts
The place in which your store your assets is important too. The moment you transfer them into your personal accounts and end up mixing them with the rest of your holdings you immediately shut off the majority of tax-efficient opportunities. As Mark says, you essentially “dirty” your funds.
Instead, consider sending your funds to a segregated account, preferably in the country in which they were generated. This allows you to keep a clean break between your holdings and the new funds you have taken receipt of. Suddenly reporting becomes an awful lot easier and most importantly it keeps plenty of tax-efficient solutions available to you. Overseas segregated accounts are very much a specialism of Ibanista. Feel free to reach out and ask us if you are interested in making the most of this facility.
Be flexible with timing
If you have the luxury of time on your side, the most of it. It is all too tempting to set out your plans based on the funds you have available. However, if you do not need the funds straight away it makes absolute sense to take a step back and ask your adviser about what lies ahead. Mark noted a switch of Non-Doms coming back to the UK since the initial shock of Brexit drove them away. The rules changed back then and they could well change again in the upcoming spring budget. Mark has already started planning for the risks to help
protect his clients.
If you would like detailed support, you can find Mark’s contact details below:
Office Tel: +44 (0) 208 207 0602
WhatsApp: +44 (0)7764493317
Email: markd@sopherco.com
PA, Laura Cox: laura.cox@sopherco.com
Company Website: https://www.sopherco.com/
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