Sending money back to UK

[samsingsong]

I want to sell my condo in Thailand and send the money back to the UK. I'm hoping to get at least 5 Mill. Baht.

I have the Tor Tor Sam bank documents from the Thai bank originally receiving the funds from the UK.

I'm just a regular tax paying working man - the money was a result of decades of hard work & hard saving - nothing 'dodgy'!

However I'm concerned that HMRC will be notified by my UK bank and want me to pay tax on this money again!

Am I right to be concerned? Does anybody have any information / advice please?

[nong38]

Have you tried to ask your UK bank what their obligations are toward the HMRC? I dont see why you should pay any tax on a deposit from abroad from a sale of an asset, I dont think you need to be concerned but if you still are then you could try asking an expert at moneymail.co.uk and ask them.

5m bts is roughly £100,000, Camerons mum gave Dave that amount as a gift so no tax to pay.

[JohnC]

Declare to your UK bank as sale of your main residence.

[samsingsong]

Thanks Nong & John.

Alas Dave's mum didn't give me this money - I had to earn it!

Also it isn't from the sale of my main residence which is my home in the UK. I now realise that as it isn't the sale of my main residence, then I suppose I would have to pay Capital Gains Tax? I would if I was selling such a property in the UK. Or is that only if you have made a profit?

If that's the case then perhaps that its complicated by the fact that there is no profit in Baht, but there is a profit in the GBP equivalent due to the change in the exchange rate since I bought it. It cost me about 6 Mill Baht around 8 years ago and I got a rate of 74 Baht to the GBP. So it cost me only £81,000 but if I only got 5 Mill for it now that's around £100,000 as Nong said.

Maybe I should do as Dave's dad did and bank it offshore... but how do you do that?

[chiang mai]

Did you declare ownership of the Thai property on your UK tax returns, there is a section for overseas property ownership?

Second question: was the money to buy the Thai property earned in the UK or overseas, if overseas was it declared in the UK?

If earned in the UK and you merely shipped it to Thailand to buy the property, your only tax exposure is on the profit element of the sale PLUS the exchange rate gain.

[RHCP]

Did you declare ownership of the Thai property on your UK tax returns, there is a section for overseas property ownership?

Second question: was the money to buy the Thai property earned in the UK or overseas, if overseas was it declared in the UK?

If earned in the UK and you merely shipped it to Thailand to buy the property, your only tax exposure is on the profit element of the sale PLUS the exchange rate gain.

This is directly from the Government website:

If you’re non-resident

Non-residents may have to pay UK tax on overseas property if they return to the UK within 5 years of leaving.

The important bits are that you are classed as non-resident for tax purposes and been out of the country for at least 5 years as non-resident which seems to indicate no tax liability.

[chiang mai]

Did you declare ownership of the Thai property on your UK tax returns, there is a section for overseas property ownership?

Second question: was the money to buy the Thai property earned in the UK or overseas, if overseas was it declared in the UK?

If earned in the UK and you merely shipped it to Thailand to buy the property, your only tax exposure is on the profit element of the sale PLUS the exchange rate gain.

This is directly from the Government website:

If you’re non-resident

Non-residents may have to pay UK tax on overseas property if they return to the UK within 5 years of leaving.

The important bits are that you are classed as non-resident for tax purposes and been out of the country for at least 5 years as non-resident which seems to indicate no tax liability.

There's no indication in the OP that he's non-UK tax resident.

[samsingsong]

Thanks for your replies.

In answer: The money was earned in the UK. I was just a regular PAYE employee who had to retire early due to bad health and ended up just spending the winters in Thailand. So I'm still a UK resident / taxpayer.

As a PAYE taxpayer I have never had to complete a tax return. So no, the condo in Thailand has never been declared.

Although I'll probably be making a loss in Baht on the original purchase price, I suppose that I should pay tax on the increase in Sterling sent back due to the change in exchange rate over the years.

It's a bit sickening to me considering the multinational companies which get away owing millions in tax, and extremely wealthy people who can hide their riches in tax shelters. Compared to their money mine is peanuts, but it would go a long way to making my final years a bit more comfortable!

Perhaps I should return it to the UK gradually - as Dave has gradually received the £500,000 from his dad & mum rather than having to pay inheritance tax if he'd been left over £325,000 initially.

Any other suggestions would be gratefully received!