Stuck in the UK?

Newsletter issue - October 2011.

If you have been forced to leave your job in the Middle East and return to the UK, you may be considered resident for tax purposes in the UK in the current tax year (2011/12). This will affect your tax position for this year and possibly the next tax year (2012/13).

Your residence status for tax purposes can depend on whether you have a full time job in another country and do not undertake significant duties in the UK. Due to the unrest that arose this spring in a number of countries, the Taxman decided to relax the rule about not performing significant duties in the UK, but only for the tax year 2010/11. The relaxation only applies to workers who have been forced to return to, or stay in the UK, following Foreign Office advice concerning the following counties; Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

The definition of residence in the UK for tax purposes is due to change from 6 April 2012, and the new definition will look back to the taxpayer's residence status in the immediately preceding years. Thus the number of days you are in the UK during 2011/12 could have an impact on your tax residence status for 2012/13.