living abroad

sugarfree

Hi,

I'm an ex-pat living in France. Last time I was back in the UK, I managed to find a couple of accounts that we can open as non-residents (there aren't many left, believe me, I've looked!).

If you a have a lump sum to invest, the Halifax has a Guranteed Reserve account. To register to have the interest paid gross was very easy - I did it verbally over the telephone. However, a friend who lives in Germany tried to follow my example recently and was constantly referred to the offshore arm, Bank of Scotland International. I'm not sure if I've understood things correctly, but surely most of the benefits of saving offshore have now disappeared with the introduction of the EU savings directive?

Another building society that still lets non-residents open accounts in the UK is Britannia.

I personally have accounts with the Nationwide, but if you read the terms and conditions, non-residents are not eligibile for these. I have never concealed from them the fact that I am living in France, so I assume the reason they have allowed me to keep the accounts is that I opened them before the rules changed. They won't pay interest gross - I am in the process of trying to claw it back from the Inland Revenue by submitting an R43 form (apparently you can claim back interest for the past 6 years).

Good luck. I think we need an entire board devoted to non-residents. I know loads of people in my position and we all of us find it nigh impossible to get sound information and advice.

Ted_Bloke

sugarfree wrote:

I'm not sure if I've understood things correctly, but surely most of the benefits of saving offshore have now disappeared with the introduction of the EU savings directive?

This point was already dealt with in this thread. If there are no advantages, there are no disadvantages either. Except maybe an offshore account sounds more classy. Or else it sounds more shady. Maybe same thing.

Frankly I had an account years before the Directive I thought ha ho hee it's secret they won't know about me, then I thought is is worth the worry, for a few tens or hundreds, even for thousands, of tax on the interests... if they find out...? I always declared it and now the Directive came in and I feel very virtuous and smug. I read that in the last year or so a lot of clients closed those accounts, but only a minority so I guess it was mostly OK.

Ted_Bloke

Firtsly have you heard tiresome people like me and my friend Mr. P. Dantry lamenting that people who left school more than forty years ago were not learnt proper speling and gramar? A few years ago I wrote to a lady from Abbey who was telling me what they did or mainly didn't do for ex-patriots, saying I am not an ex-patriot, young lady, I am a very patriotic expatriate.
Please, no more about ex-pats on pain of being reported to The Times.

sugarfree wrote:

I think we need an entire board devoted to non-residents. I know loads of people in my position and we all of us find it nigh impossible to get sound information and advice.

You can say that again.

It's true, it used to be more true, at the same time it's not true - in that while you can't find anybody there are lots of people out there trying to find you. Once they have, they may be contacting you from time to time, coming back and then coming back! You'll notice one of the things they'll ask you in a first meeting is whether you know anyone else who might be interested! Because there are companies and individuals who have realised there are people out there with larger than average income, concerned about savings because it may not last, concerned to optimise on tax and investment etc. People need immediate advice and tax help and maybe more strategic advice for planning, tax planning, retirement planning, inheritance…
They can be well-known and reputable, not particularly or only locally known and not necessarily the worse for that, or all sorts. Some of them are based abroad, some in the UK, organise visits and seminars, circuit regularly around the major expat centres in particular e.g. Brussels, Hong Kong, Dubai, Washington etc.
(E.g. I've dealt with a very well established UK company for my tax affairs - it has just set up an office in Brussels. In 2000, then ISAs were tax free, they advised everyone they'd be mad not to get some. I got the maximum allowance for me and my son, that'sm 14k . I keep getting info from the Units we bought showing how cautiously brilliantly they are about to do and might next year be worth nearly as much as we paid for them. So you see you can do just as well abroad as at home.)

Even your own UK bank once it hears you're abroad will probably bombard you about their offshore services.

Cook_County

sugarfree wrote:

Hi,

I'm an ex-pat living in France. Last time I was back in the UK, I managed to find a couple of accounts that we can open as non-residents (there aren't many left, believe me, I've looked!).

If you a have a lump sum to invest, the Halifax has a Guranteed Reserve account. To register to have the interest paid gross was very easy - I did it verbally over the telephone. However, a friend who lives in Germany tried to follow my example recently and was constantly referred to the offshore arm, Bank of Scotland International. I'm not sure if I've understood things correctly, but surely most of the benefits of saving offshore have now disappeared with the introduction of the EU savings directive?

Another building society that still lets non-residents open accounts in the UK is Britannia.

I personally have accounts with the Nationwide, but if you read the terms and conditions, non-residents are not eligibile for these. I have never concealed from them the fact that I am living in France, so I assume the reason they have allowed me to keep the accounts is that I opened them before the rules changed. They won't pay interest gross - I am in the process of trying to claw it back from the Inland Revenue by submitting an R43 form (apparently you can claim back interest for the past 6 years).

Good luck. I think we need an entire board devoted to non-residents. I know loads of people in my position and we all of us find it nigh impossible to get sound information and advice.

Dear Sugarfree - the advantages of offshore accounts are exactly the same as they always were before the EU Savings Tax Directive. As a French resident you remain liable to French income tax and wealth tax just as before. Similarly the Nationwide interest you mention is presumably a bit of a red herring given that you will have declared the interest in France and paid French tax on it throughout, and I'd have thought French tax generally speaking was higher than UK?