Going abroad

80 If you are leaving the UK for good, make sure that you can clearly show the Revenue that you have changed your domicile, otherwise even your overseas assets will remain within the UK inheritance tax net. Your domicile is the country you treat as your permanent home. Complete a DOM 1 form and submit it to the HMRC department for non-residents as soon as you are established in your new home.

81 Use your capital losses before you leave the UK. A capital loss realised while you live in the UK will not be available to set against capital gains tax payable in another country. So if you have capital losses brought forward from previous years, make sure you dispose of some assets that will generate taxable gains, and then offset those old capital losses before you leave the UK.

82 Take full advantage of your non-residence status. If you are planning to live abroad for at least five complete tax years, you should be able to escape UK capital gains tax on gains you make while you are abroad. You should claim non-UK resident status from your date of departure. However, for capital gains tax HMRC will generally not accept you are non-resident until the start of the tax year following your departure. So if you can leave the UK just before 6 April, you will have the maximum period free of the UK tax system.

83 If you let a property abroad, you must report the income received to the local tax authorities as well as to HMRC. You should report overseas rental income on the foreign income pages of your UK tax return, but you can offset the foreign income tax you pay on the property against your UK income tax liability.