Moving to EU: What happens with ISAs and tax allowances?

jordimp

Hi,

I will be moving to work to Spain in early 2021, and was wondering the implications of my change of residence on (a) my ability to keep open my ISAs, (b) to keep putting away savings into them, (c) tax-related issues especially for capital-gains tax if I sell some investment.

I will appreciate insights or hints on where to find reliable information (other than HMRC, that is kind of a "dry" source!) from knowledgeable fellow MSE forum dwellers :-)

NB: I have a Stocks & Shares ISA and a Help to Buy ISA.

Best,

xylophone

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/isas/ask-expert-can-still-have-isa-move-abroad/
Does the above help?

unforeseen

xylophone said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/isas/ask-expert-can-still-have-isa-move-abroad/
Does the above help?

Only if you are willing to sign up to see the article. 
Dontcha love paywalls. 

eskbanker

jordimp said:

I will be moving to work to Spain in early 2021, and was wondering the implications of my change of residence on (a) my ability to keep open my ISAs, (b) to keep putting away savings into them, (c) tax-related issues especially for capital-gains tax if I sell some investment.

I will appreciate insights or hints on where to find reliable information (other than HMRC, that is kind of a "dry" source!) from knowledgeable fellow MSE forum dwellers :-)

Not sure what you mean by HMRC being 'dry' but their guidance is obviously definitive, so it doesn't really matter what others think, unless you're coming at this from the perspective of 'what can I get away with, will I be caught if I break the rules', etc?  https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts/if-you-move-abroad clarifies that you can (a) keep ISAs open but (b) not to continue to add to them, but your third question obviously depends on the specific scenario you have in mind (selling investments that are still within an ISA don't attract CGT, but once outside the ISA shelter that exemption no longer applies).

dunstonh

 (a) my ability to keep open my ISAs, 

You can keep the ISAs open.  However, ISAs are only tax free in the UK.   I don't believe there is any other country that recognises the tax free status of ISAs.   So, you would be taxed on Spanish rules.       Potentially, you may need to change platform/provider depending on the outcome of the UK-EU trade talks.     Even if positive, not all platforms/providers hold passporting permissions (which are being lost with Brexit) and may not qualify to continue offering services under equivalence rules or national agreements.

 (b) to keep putting away savings into them

You have to a resident in the UK for tax purposes (ignoring the other minor qualifications that dont appear to apply here)

(c) tax-related issues especially for capital-gains tax if I sell some investment.

You wont be subject to UK taxation but Spanish taxation. So, you need to look at their tax rules.

jordimp

Many thanks to all for your very useful feedback - and apologies for the slow reply on my side, some technical issues prevented me for a while to log back in

BuildTheWall

If u r going to settle in Spain permanently, best to sell your investments in ISA and withdraw the funds before you leave UK. Invest in Spain according to local rules and tax benefits. 

If u r going to come back to UK in the future, don’t sell your investments unless you need money when u r in Spain (like buying a property there).