How do I get HMRC to accept I'm on a low wage and live/work abroad?

Cook_County

I suggest you read HMRC 6 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/hmrc6.pdf - in particular pages 49 and 52.

I suggest you ask your MP why the UK is lacking statute as against poorly drafted HMRC guidance which the Courts are reluctant to accept.

orangeslimes

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

- your best bet and easiest solution is to try and find a professional to sort it out for you

One working "pro bono" presumably?

I was thinking more along the lines of paying an accountant (who knows about foreign tax) to correspond with the Inland Revenue on the OP's behalf...it is by far the easiest way given that the OP is abroad and need expert advice as the whole thing is a minefield.
And I think Cook_County is right.

John_Pierpoint

The OP is a charity worker earning peanuts for the benefit of humanity..

I have noticed a falling off in the speed and quality of support given to tax payers by HMRC,
I put this down to ever increasing complexity and staff degraded by a computerised command and control system used to manage the situation.
Ordinary tax payers with situations that can be explained on one side of A4 should NOT need the services of expensive professionals.

There is a thread on here from the wife of a bloke who does gardening jobs and turns over about 10 K a year. It perfectly illustrates my point.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2098997

orangeslimes

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

The OP is a charity worker earning peanuts for the benefit of humanity..

I have noticed a falling off in the speed and quality of support given to tax payers by HMRC,
I put this down to ever increasing complexity and staff degraded by a computerised command and control system used to manage the situation.
Ordinary tax payers with situations that can be explained on one side of A4 should NOT need the services of expensive professionals.

I agree with you re. HMRC's service
- but given the situation is complex and the fact the OP is barely in the country if they can manage to get together the money to pay someone it may be worth considering as an option?

TCA

Cook_County wrote: »

I suggest you read HMRC 6 http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/hmrc6.pdf - in particular pages 49 and 52.

The latter pages of this document contain some contact info for charity workers. Looks like the Liverpool office might suit the OP as a non-resident employee.

ctm_2

It looks like HMRC have dicided that you are, for tax purposes, still resident in the UK.

As you have shown, you work abroad for a perio, then return to the UK. You are not outside of the UK for a full tax year, nor do you intend to permanently settle outside of the UK.

As such, your earnings from the UK are still taxable. You work for a UK employer, who pay you in the UK.

However, you should still get the personal allowance, and not be taxed at the basic rate, which is what you imply is currently happening.

Are your colleauges who get their pay tax free in exactly the same situation as you?

gld73

Yes, my colleagues are in exactly the same situation as me, yet all get paid tax-free. I get back to the UK just 2 or 3 times a year on leave (2 weeks each time), the same as they all do. The only difference is that I took a big pay cut (from 60k), so went from being a higher rate tax payer to sending a P85 to ask to be tax-free, whereas most of my colleagues weren't higher rate tax payers previously - and my employer then didn't send a P60 to HMRC to confirm I now worked for it, which made things look even more suspicious to HMRC I suppose! (And no, my savings aren't of any sort of level which would influence my tax code unfortunately!)

The point some people have made about residency may be valid, but does not explain why I'm considered resident whereas nobody else in the organisation is...

Thanks for the advice though .... and if anyone sees a lone figure sleeping on the steps of an HMRC office somewhere over the Christmas/New Year holidays, desperately trying to find a kindly tax inspector who is unusually full of festive cheer and willing to listen, it's a fairly safe bet that'll be me!

TM1976

I have read the other thread and this one and there are 2 points here:

1. Are you non-resident

As discussed the factors here are, are you outside the UK for a whole tax year, how many days are you back in the UK and have you given up your ties to the UK or are you simply working abroad.

If you are outside the UK and haven't been back for more than 90 days in the year as long as you haven't returned to take up residence by 6 April 09 you appear to be OK here. You definately can set foot back in the UK in the period as long as you aren't here for more than 90 days and don't intend to come back permanently. When you have been away for multiple tax years the 183 days comes into play as you go to a basis of spending what is more like an on-average 90 days a year basis of residence.

What's important here is that you spend a whole tax year outside the UK though, not returning for more than 90 days.

The more difficult aspect is whether you cut ties with the UK. This is usually indicated by property and family. If you have sold your house you are probably demonstrating this. By family ties what they are looking for is strong family ties, ie you have a wife and kids back in the UK. From what you say here it sounds like you have cut ties though.

2. Should you be paying tax

As you prepared a tax return before you will have had a higher degree of scrutiny as to whether you left the UK. The fact that you have makes this quite a complicated return, I suggest you get an accountant to do this for you rather than trying to do it online. You should get a refund.

Regarding your current position if you are being charged emergency tax this year , as you say isn't being linked to your NI number. The charity's payroll department are deducting tax because they don't know what your status isand just need to pay you gross (putting you on BR will not be at the instruction of HMR&C as if they considered you to be resident they would have issued a tax code). You need to contact the charity's payroll department and explain the situation - ie you are nonresident and should be paid gross. They should also pay back the overdeductions they have made in the current tax year.

BritRael

gld73 wrote: »

...HMRC wrote to me a couple of times asking for all income I'd received in the last 5 years, even though I've filled in either short tax forms or tax review forms every previous year so they should have had all of that already; my parents wrote to say I'd respond when I was back in the UK on leave in Aug/Sep for 3 weeks. I did that, but every day of my holiday was on the phone to different tax offices ....

Welcome to the world of the expat I'm sure we can all empathise with this situation of wasting precious vacation time on things that can't be sorted from some remote location.

In your situation, I'd let the company wages department sort it out. After all, it's they who should be handling your tax affairs, as they already are doing correctly for your work colleagues. Your are in the right; you should not be paying tax, due to the number of days that you are out of the country.
A poster above mentioned about you 'cutting ties with the UK'. This is not necessary; it is for 'non-resident' status. You, on the hand (like me, your work colleagues, and many thousands of expats), are non-resident for tax-purposes.
You could also (as suggested above) contact the HMRC office in Liverpool. I did this to arrange refunding my interest paid on UK bank accounts (don't forget to do that - fill in an R85 form for each account). I found them very helpful and prompt with payment.

Good luck.l