Guidance on the FA 2008 residence and domicile rules

Tax Faculty publishes TAXGUIDE 8/08

The Finance Act 2008 made major changes to the tax rules on domicile, the remittance basis and residence which apply from 6 April 2008. The Tax Faculty has published guidance on this topic in TAXGUIDE 8/08 - Domicile, remittance basis and residence: guidance on the Finance Act 2008 legislation.

Central to the new rules is the £30,000 charge which will be levied on those who are eligible to use the remittance basis (ie those not domiciled or not ordinarily resident in the UK) and wish to claim it. One of the most fundamental points is that the rules can apply to any adult who is not UK-domiciled – not just the super-rich.

In TAXGUIDE 8/08 we set out the new rules and discuss some of the key technical and practical issues that tax advisers may encounter.

TAXGUIDE 8/08 expands and updates what we said in TAXGUIDE 1/08 (published in February 2008) which is now withdrawn.

Note that this relatively brief guidance note cannot be comprehensive. The onus is very much on the taxpayer to ensure that the right amounts are recorded and returned. We recommend that advisers ensure they ask sufficient questions of their clients to ascertain the correct position, and seek specialist advice if they are in doubt.

The Tax Faculty will also be producing a TAXline Tax Practice (available exclusively to Tax Faculty members) to set out the rules and practical guidance in greater detail.

6 November 2008