Selling My House in the UK to buy a House in Canada: Advice & Information Required!

user1977

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

     2. How about the taxes I might have to pay to HMRC? 

Which taxes are you thinking about here? There's no particular UK tax implication about emigrating from the UK, as far as I know.

I am thinking about the money I would make from the sale of my UK property.  When I transfer the money to my account in Canada, would I have to pay any tax?  

There's no UK "moving money to a foreign bank account" tax. And I doubt there's anything similar in Canada for the receipt of funds, though you'd need to ask some Canadians to be sure.

Thanks @user1977 for this response. 

There is no UK tax I have to pay to the HMRC when I move money from my UK bank account to one in Canada. This is good to know. However, what happens if I transfer large sums to my wife in Canada? Would I have to pay taxes to the HMRC?  

What variety of taxes are you thinking about here? In general, you don't get taxed by HMRC merely for moving money out of the UK.

If "transfering money to your wife" is a taxable event for some reason (and I'm struggling to think of circumstances where it would be), then I don't see why the rules would be any different from the transaction happening wholly within the UK.

Lord_Frugal12

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

     2. How about the taxes I might have to pay to HMRC? 

Which taxes are you thinking about here? There's no particular UK tax implication about emigrating from the UK, as far as I know.

I am thinking about the money I would make from the sale of my UK property.  When I transfer the money to my account in Canada, would I have to pay any tax?  

There's no UK "moving money to a foreign bank account" tax. And I doubt there's anything similar in Canada for the receipt of funds, though you'd need to ask some Canadians to be sure.

Thanks @user1977 for this response. 

There is no UK tax I have to pay to the HMRC when I move money from my UK bank account to one in Canada. This is good to know. However, what happens if I transfer large sums to my wife in Canada? Would I have to pay taxes to the HMRC?  

What variety of taxes are you thinking about here? In general, you don't get taxed by HMRC merely for moving money out of the UK.

If "transfering money to your wife" is a taxable event for some reason (and I'm struggling to think of circumstances where it would be), then I don't see why the rules would be any different from the transaction happening wholly within the UK.

@user19@user1977

Thanks for that response. 

There are some pieces of information online that suggests that confuses me. For example: 

"Does it matter who I’m gifting money to?

You can gift money to anyone you like, but there might be tax to pay. There are certain people or bodies to whom you can gift money without paying Inheritance Tax. These are:

• Your husband, wife or civil partner, as long as they live permanently in the UK." 

https://www.money.co.uk/guides/how-do-i-gift-money-without-being-taxed


It is the bit that says "as long as they live permanently in the UK" that is causing me concerns. 

user1977

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

user1977 said:

Lord_Frugal12 said:

     2. How about the taxes I might have to pay to HMRC? 

Which taxes are you thinking about here? There's no particular UK tax implication about emigrating from the UK, as far as I know.

I am thinking about the money I would make from the sale of my UK property.  When I transfer the money to my account in Canada, would I have to pay any tax?  

There's no UK "moving money to a foreign bank account" tax. And I doubt there's anything similar in Canada for the receipt of funds, though you'd need to ask some Canadians to be sure.

Thanks @user1977 for this response. 

There is no UK tax I have to pay to the HMRC when I move money from my UK bank account to one in Canada. This is good to know. However, what happens if I transfer large sums to my wife in Canada? Would I have to pay taxes to the HMRC?  

What variety of taxes are you thinking about here? In general, you don't get taxed by HMRC merely for moving money out of the UK.

If "transfering money to your wife" is a taxable event for some reason (and I'm struggling to think of circumstances where it would be), then I don't see why the rules would be any different from the transaction happening wholly within the UK.

@user19@user1977

Thanks for that response. 

There are some pieces of information online that suggests that confuses me. For example: 

"Does it matter who I’m gifting money to?

You can gift money to anyone you like, but there might be tax to pay. There are certain people or bodies to whom you can gift money without paying Inheritance Tax. These are:

• Your husband, wife or civil partner, as long as they live permanently in the UK." 

https://www.money.co.uk/guides/how-do-i-gift-money-without-being-taxed


It is the bit that says "as long as they live permanently in the UK" that is causing me concerns. 

It seems the only relevance is that, rather than there being an unlimited exemption for lifetime gifts between UK-domiciled spouses, there's a limit equivalent to the Inheritance Tax nil rate band (i.e. £325k) for transfers to a non-UK-domiciled spouse.

But in any event, lifetime gifts only become taxable (in the sense of being treated as part of your estate) if you die within seven years after making the gift. And if you're still UK-domiciled yourself at that point. So it seems a bit of non-point.

Scotbot

Assuming you have paid your taxes in the UK and your tax returns are up to date you can send it to whoever you want, they become  liable. I have no idea what Canadian tax rules are but I do know transfers of  substantial sums of money will automatically be flagged to HMRC and their Canadian counterpart so they will know about it. Your bank will,have your NI number and the Canadian bank will have your wife's equivalent.

 As has already been said try a expat forum. This is a common occurrence for expats,they will know. I speak as an expat who has done it twice but not to Canada