Are you confused by an aspect of your money or are you seeking help with a more specific financial matter? Then please send your query to our Ask Gaynor section.
Each week we choose up to five questions for our panel of experts to answer – and publish the results on the FMWF site. Unfortunately we are unable to answer all the questions we receive or send personal replies.
To increase your chances of being chosen, please write your question carefully in simple, concise English and include any facts and figures that you feel will help us fully understand your situation.
Email: women@financialmail.co.uk
Do I need to pay tax on the rental income from my UK property whilst living abroad?
I am emigrating to Canada in May 2011 – If I rent out my apartment in the UK do I need to pay tax on the rental income I receive while I live abroad?
Lesley Collins from Edinburgh based investment consultants Independent Women replied: Unfortunately yes, if the rental income exceeds £100 per week and you are Non Resident in the UK. The Non-Resident Landlords (NRL) Scheme is a scheme for taxing the UK rental income of non-resident landlords.
The scheme requires UK letting agents to deduct basic rate tax from any rent they collect for non-resident landlords. If non-resident landlords don’t have UK letting agents acting for them, and the rent is more than £100 a week, their tenants must deduct the tax. When working out the amount to tax the letting agent/tenant can take off deductible expenses.
Letting agents and/or tenants don’t have to deduct tax if HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tells them not to HMRC will tell an agent/tenant not to deduct tax if non-resident landlords have successfully applied for approval to receive rents with no tax deducted. But even though the rent may be paid with no tax deducted, it remains liable to UK tax. So non-resident landlords must include it in any tax return HMRC sends them.
Full information is contained in this booklet from the HMRC website.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/nrl_guide_notes.pdf
Can I transfer my ex-husband’s pension?
I have been awarded half of my husband’s Civil Service pension rights after a divorce.
I was thinking of transferring my share elsewhere, but have been told by the Civil Service that I will have to wait until I am 65 to do so. Is this correct?
Lesley Collins from Edinburgh based investment consultants Independent Women replied: Unfortunately, yes. The accrued pension rights are reduced by a percentage confirmed by the court. The former spouse is given rights in the scheme equal in value to the amount of reduction – known as the pension credit rights. There is no option to transfer the pension credit rights out of the scheme.
Have I left it too late to set up a pension?
I am a 50-year-old woman, is it too late to start a pension?
Lesley Collins from Edinburgh based investment consultants Independent Women replied: Absolutely not, if you were born after 6/4/1960 then your state pension age is now 66 therefore if you intend to retire before this age; you will need to have a private pension in place to provide income during these years. You can pay up to £50,000 per annum, depending on affordability, into your pension. If you are worried about lack of income in retirement, I would suggest starting to pay regular contributions sooner rather than later. There are also tax advantages to making pension contributions with a 20% uplift at source e.g. you pay £100 per month and £125 per month is credited to your pension. For advice on how much you need to contribute, one of our Wealth Advisers will be able to talk to you in more detail.
Lesley Collins is CEO of Edinburgh investment consultants Independent Women
www.independentwomen.co.uk
Established in 1993, EIC Ltd is our Group Company, providing straightforward, clear-cut independent financial advice for companies and individuals and is one of Scotland’s leading financial advisers.
Independent Women is a trading division, specialising in the provision of independent financial advice tailored to the style, needs and preferences of women. Established in 1997 it is one of the UK’s leading financial services companies delivering female-focused services
Tags: Buying Property Abroad, expats, Property Industry, tax
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