Sold property: (offshore) savings or other investments

joovatirot

Dear Moneysaving community,
I'm an avid reader of the site and the forum, but have never before needed to post something.

I am looking for some advice. I have just sold my flat and made a tidy profit. I sold because I was leaving the UK as I have taken up a job with the United Nations in a non-EU country.

My money is currently sitting in my UK bank account (I only completed on Friday) and I don't really know what to do with it in order to maximise returns.

I could stick it in a high interest savings account in the UK, but then I would be taxed and only receive the net interest. However, as a United Nations employee I am not taxable in any country whilst I work for them.

My query regards the following:

- Could I open up an offshore savings account and put the money in there?
- Would I have to pay tax on the interest accumulated if I returned to the United Kingdom and transferred the money back to my regular UK account?
- Any other safe ideas for what to do with the profit from the flat sale?

I know that it is probably easiest to get advice from a tax-specialist, but as I have already left the UK, this is quite hard. I was therefore hoping that someone would be able to help me out with this.

Many thanks
Joova

barak

joovatirot wrote: »

.....However, as a United Nations employee I am not taxable in any country whilst I work for them.....

You could get Gross Interest offshore, or if you are genuinely not taxable in the UK, then presumably you could apply to any UK savings institution to have your interest paid Gross. Perhaps you should make sure you don't become liable for tax the day before any interest is credited to your account!

Come in Cook_County! [who seems to know about these things]

[P.S. Any part-time jobs available with UN?]

Jonbvn

Provided you satisfy the non-resident rules for taxation, you should not have to pay any UK tax on the interest you earn on this money.

If you keep the funds in the UK, you have to complete a form stating you are non-resident. If you transfer them offshore, then the interest will be paid gross, provided your give the offshore bank an non-EU address. In my experience, the interest rates in the UK are marginally better than those offered offshore.

Having worked as an expat for several years, I always found it convenient to bank and hold my savings with one of the larger banks offshore (Barclays, HSBC etc.), and keep an onshore a/c with the same bank for things in the UK.

joovatirot

Thanks a lot for your responses. I filled out a P-85 form before I left, but have not received any confirmation from HM R&C about now being classified as a non-resident. As I have already earned more than my tax-free allowance this tax year, I (think I) do not qualify for gross interest on savings on my UK-based accounts during this tax year (as far as I have been able to ascertain) even as a non-resident for tax purposes.

In an ideal world I would have done more research and sought professional advice prior to taking up my position with the UN and selling my flat, but I just ran out of time.

Cheers
Joova

p.s. barak, if I come across an interesting part-time job I'll let you know. Not sure how fond you are of conflict-affected areas though...

Jonbvn

Joov,

If you want to be tax-free immediately, then saving/investing offshore is your best bet. I assume the you will save a relatively large sum from the sale of your property. Therefore, the saving on interest should be sizable.