expat working?
 

Following on from my "there are jobs out there" of a few weeks ago.
Now somebody is thinking of offering me a job in Doha (tax free) so would need to become resident there. Anyone have experience of this type of "life". How long do you need to be exiled for tax purposes etc.

Cheers ray

When I moved to Tenerife, I just went. When HMRC said I'd not paid any contributions, I gave them my Spanish NI number. They said that was good enough.

I used The Fry Group in Worthing for expat tax advice for 10 years, they're brilliant. Phone, explain and ask.

Now there's a name from the past! Hello Brendan!

All depends on wether the country has any kind of relationship with HMRC. I know Canada does. Canada sees you as a resident for taxation purposes before you are technically a permanent resident, so you can be a temporary worker. Have a feeling it is as soon as you purchase a car / house , something like that.
You're also taxed on your world income, not just income in Canada. So if you have rental properties back in the UK, then you would have to declare that and be taxed on it.

Oh, and like the US, you have to file a tax return, it's not somehow done automatically. Does mean you can claim things like public transit costs, but it is a little odd when you've come from somewhere where you don't have to do this, well not unless you're self employed

Obviously Doha will be different from Canada, but it's just an example of how things can be different, and I'd take Brendan's advice and have a chat with someone.

Hello mate :) I just put a post in Computer, I had a problem this morning and googled, and it came up with my same question from 2004!!

Have now just spent a rose-tinted hour reading some posts and reminiscing. What I can't get over is how much this place hasn't changed. Otherwise, I got promoted at work as I actually did things once breaking away from this place....
.... so I'll probably get fired in a few weeks...

Tempted to go back and answer some of my old posts, he he.

Ray - there are various things you have to take into account. When I left the UK in 1993, and asked Fry in preparation, I was instantly told it would make a huge difference to tax status whether I was employed or self-employed, so I had the contract worded accordingly. [I understand now this makes me Morally Wrong.] Of course everything's changed since then so my advice would be useless even if I could remember the details.

As to what Markus just advised, my colleague here has just been hit with a 15 yr tax demand, plus penalties, from the property she owns in the UK while living in Portugal. She never knew she'd have to declare it to PT tax.

Add - she phoned six local big-name "advisers", law firms etc and was disgusted with all of them. I gave her Fry's number, she got off the phone and said it was the first person she'd spoken to that sounded like they have a clue.

Have fun.

This is where Google comes into its own. There is a huge amount of mostly sensible comment about working and living overseas in specific places. So take an hour off and look through (but you may have already done this?).

dl

Well been flown out to Doha for a looksee and a chat, probably not the best time Ramadan and 40+C,but the science park does look impressive.