Perpetual Traveller - Need to pay tax

LyndaWyatt

Hi, i hope somebody can recognise my situation and help. I left the UK to travel the world around five years ago. During that time I worked for a year or so in Spain and Germany and a year in Australia, other than that i have been living off savings and living cheaply in Asia.

While in Asia I have started my own websites and thought i would give it ago earning money online to recover some of my spending. Since May I have been earning more than I am spending so my savings is going up again. By Feb/Mar I should be well above the amount I had before I left the UK. As this has all happened within a few months I haven't even thought about paying tax on the earnings yet.

I am stuck as in to who I will owe the tax money to? I haven't worked or lived in the UK for 5 years. My only relationship with the UK now is all my family being there and the fact that my savings is in the UK so I get taxed on my interest (hardly anything though). I am not really a 'resident for tax purposes' anywhere as I move around all the time and tbh I enjoy travelling and probably won't stop for a while, especially now it isn't costing me anything.

I have been told by some people that there is no way I will owe the UK anything without having been there for so long, but I definitely feel like i owe somebody. It sure isn't Spain, Germany or Australia and they are the only countries which I have ever been employed in apart from the UK.

It's all very confusing, if I go to a tax guy in the Uk he will just ask if I am a resident there (no) and if I have earned any money there in the last 12 months (no). The same response would be in any country I ask in.

I hope somebody can help! I have a few months left but it has been on my mind since i thought about it.

agrinnall

While it's laudable that you want to pay the tax that you feel is due, I would say that in your situation it is going to be very difficult to find anyone to pay it to. One option might be to pay it in the country where your websites are hosted, but that may well not be a country where you live, or even visit. To be honest I'd say nothing, it's unlikely that any Asian country will chase you for tax, especially if you have only been there on a visitor visa. If you eventually decide to settle somewhere then obviously you can regularise your tax affairs in that country.

PS You probably don't need to pay tax on your UK interest either.

Cook_County

You remain UK resident under UK case law and subject to UK tax and NIC. You may also owe tax in the country where the work is performed. The UK will give you credit for this.

zygurat789

Cook_County wrote: »

You remain UK resident under UK case law and subject to UK tax and NIC. You may also owe tax in the country where the work is performed. The UK will give you credit for this.

But then there is "residence" "ordinary residence" and "domilcile" all of which have precise and relevant meanings in a case like this.
If you are not actually in the UK in a tax year and do not maintain a residence in the UK during that year then you are not liable to UK tax.

Pennywise

zygurat789 wrote: »

But then there is "residence" "ordinary residence" and "domilcile" all of which have precise and relevant meanings in a case like this.
If you are not actually in the UK in a tax year and do not maintain a residence in the UK during that year then you are not liable to UK tax.

Not quite so clear cut as that anymore given the changes earlier this year, but probably still not resident for UK taxes - best to follow through the HMRC webpages re residency and their new online residency checking tool.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/residence.htm