THE DEFINITIVE EXPAT GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR WEALTH AND MINIMISING TAXES

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1 THE DEFINITIVE EXPAT GUIDE TO PROTECTING YOUR WEALTH AND MINIMISING TAXES

2 Why Us? We are expats just like you. We are familiar with the challenges you face when you move to or live in a foreign country. We understand that securing your financial future ranks highly in your list of priorities. You want peace of mind. You value certainty. You seek a reliable financial provider. We We are are affiliated to to Gibraltar s oldest oldest legal practice, legal practice, Isolas 1892, Isolas established 1892, established more than 125 more years than ago. 125 We years believe ago. in We the believe positive benefits in the positive that continuity benefits and that close continuity personal relationships and close personal bring. relationships bring. We know you are anxious to make the right choices and take advice from people you can trust. That s exactly how we feel. We understand the importance of building long term relationships and are motivated by a desire to make a real difference to your financial future as well as those of your loved ones. We want to help you achieve your financial objectives by developing a deeper understanding of your requirements and taking a genuine interest in your financial affairs. We established a financial services practice because we are passionate about serving the British expatriate community. We too share your frustrations at the practices adopted by some advisers. We too are determined to challenge the status quo. What we love about our company is that we think and act differently. We have a great desire to change the face of financial services by overcoming the large disconnect that exists between the expectations of the expatriate community and actual service delivery. We want to shake up financial services for expatriates by solving client problems in a more intelligent way. We genuinely want to help people the best way we can. We believe in long term mutually beneficial relationships based on the principle of winwin. If what we have said has touched you deep inside. If you share our beliefs and value our service. If you are interested in working together for the common good. If you feel we are the right company to support you; then please make contact. 2

3 What Do We Offer? We are specialists in helping you create, preserve and transfer your wealth in a tax efficient manner to your loved ones. We offer a suite of products and services all of which support these three key objectives. It s very simple really. We seek to optimize tax efficiency in order to help you build, protect and pass on your wealth to the next generation. You want the same level of advice as you might receive in the UK with the added factor that your adviser understands tax rules in both the UK and your new country and how to arrange your financial assets in the most tax efficient way. You want and expect complete transparency when it comes to costs and charges and you want to deal with an IFA who can find the BEST option for YOU. Residency If you intend to move abroad then you need to formalise those arrangements with the tax authorities both in the UK and in the country where you intend making your new home. On 6th April 2013 the UK Government introduced a statutory residency test making it easier to determine your status as far as the UK tax authorities were concerned. Clear definitions were put in place to effectively determine the tax status of a leaver based on the number of days spent in the UK and any ties that you might have with UK such as property or dependent children (one of our residency experts will gladly help you go through this process). This guide will show you how to: 1. Determine your residency status. 2. Avoid unnecessary taxes on your investments. 3. Maximise pension income. 4. Consider the impact of retaining UK property. 5. Mitigate Inheritance tax. Formally exiting the UK is important to negate the risk of any liability to UK taxes and an equally important second part of the equation is to determine your status in your new country of choice. Many countries calculate residency based on exceeding a specific number of days present in that location and once again our residency experts will be able to guide you through the process. Some countries offer special tax incentives to new residents; Portugal, for example, currently has a very tax efficient scheme to attract UK and other nationals to the country. Being resident in a country generally means that you will be paying your taxes there but beware there are plenty of pitfalls; for example working in Africa but locating your family in Spain can mean you become tax resident in Spain whether you actually spend time there or not. CONTACT US CALL US TODAY ON:

4 Common Reporting Standards The golden rule is get your residency sorted out at the earliest opportunity to avoid problems further down the line. This is particularly important given that most countries will now exchange information with each other s tax authorities following the introduction of various initiatives which have culminated in an agreement to automatically pass across relevant information known as the Common Reporting Standards which was implemented in January This initiative signed by over 100 OECD countries worldwide means that information about your investments, savings and retirement plans will be passed between your country of residence and the jurisdiction where you pay your taxes if these are different. Tax Planning We have found that expats rightly worry most about what to do with their investments and pensions when they move abroad as well being concerned about any assets they retain in the UK and how their beneficiaries can be protected from death taxes. This is where we can add considerable value helping you resolve these issues to your best advantage. ISA s will no longer be accessible, nor will they be tax friendly anymore. In fact in some jurisdictions holding onto these types of investments can actually be damaging to your financial health so we need to discuss with you the best options to suit your new circumstances and recommend tax efficient solutions that will work for you in your new place of residency. Retirement Planning Many expats move abroad to retire with the intention of generating income from the proceeds of their retirement and investment plans and it s not unusual for existing pension provision to make up a large proportion of an individual s assets. Expert pension advice is essential since there are a plethora of choices available. Since 2006 it has no longer been the case of drawing your UK pension and converting the amount received to your local currency; there are now some straightforward options for transferring your pension away from the UK (and UK tax authorities). Our advisers will guide you through the pension choices available and find the best solution to meet your needs. Savings and Investments We think it is really important to align your investments to take account of the tax rules in our new country of residence. It is a mistake to invest in tax efficient UK products when you move away from the UK. Unfortunately tax-free products that the UK market might have to offer such as 4

5 Retaining UK Property Many UK expats will opt to hold onto a home in the UK as a way of potentially generating income and capital growth whilst you are absent from the country. Of course if the intention is to work abroad for a couple of years and then return to the UK that can make perfect sense but expats leaving the country for good need to consider the way the UK government treats and taxes UK residential property when it is not occupied by the owner. Owning property in the UK can mean that you retain your UK domicile status which will cause problems when it comes to UK IHT. Also since April 2015 expats are required to pay capital gains tax on any profit they make on the sale of UK property (based on increase in value since 6/4/2015). If you return and buy another property then you will pay a higher than normal stamp duty levy and the tax offsets currently available for reducing rental income on property are being whittled away over the coming years. Holding onto your UK property is an option but may not be the best solution for you. Inheritance Tax The worst case scenario for an expat would be facing death taxes back in the UK and also in their new country of residence. Why is this? It is based on a complicated concept known as domicile. Domicile broadly relates to your place of birth and is difficult to shake off so it is not uncommon for an expat to be resident in France for example and still retain their UK domicile. In this case your worldwide assets would be subject to UK IHT. It is difficult to shake off your UK domicile particularly if you retain a connection with the UK (e.g. keeping property there) and in the short term it is nigh on impossible. The good news is that with proper planning it is possible to mitigate or at least minimise the effect of UK and local death taxes. There are many other issues expats need to consider when it comes to planning their new life abroad. Health insurance and Life insurance are just two areas that need to be reviewed taking into account your new residency status. Many countries require you to put in place a suitable private health cover plan to ensure that you will not be a burden on the state and existing life insurance policies may not cover you when you move outside of the UK on a permanent basis. In our experience a full and holistic review of your financial situation will be of great benefit and enable you to get on with enjoying your new life as an expat. Our expat advisers can offer you a range of solutions to suit your particular needs and we would welcome the opportunity of explaining our services to you. TALK TO OUR TEAM Gibraltar Spain London Portugal

6 Many of our clients love our company for being different and have been touched by our passion to make a real difference to people s financial futures Tax planning experts were on hand for complex international tax issues and meetings arranged in short order. I have no hesitation in thoroughly recommending Paul and his team to make the residency process completely stress-free and provide a one-stop shop for comprehensive service for anyone contemplating the move to this delightful location. M.H. I was referred to the Managing Director of Fiduciary Wealth Management, Paul Correa, a couple of years ago. I am extremely impressed with the firm s professionalism and expert knowledge of tax and investments as well as financial matters generally. This is a wealth management company which takes pride in offering personal service and a bespoke offering. It enjoys an excellent reputation in the marketplace and their name is synonymous with integrity, honesty and transparency in their dealings with clients. Whenever I have sought advice on cross border issues which require specialist skills Paul has tapped into his vast professional network to provide solutions. I am happy to unreservedly recommend Fiduciary Wealth as a trusted partner. C.T. Fiduciary Wealth became known to me by other friends who were using them for a wide range of Financial Services viz. tax planning, investment decisions and general portfolio management. Fiduciary Wealth have proved themselves to be very pro-active and readily available to discuss/advise AND alert their Clients on market changes which are of a general nature and more importantly, to tailor their experienced advice to an individual portfolio. All correspondence is dealt with very quickly and efficiently and completely jargon-free!. I would certainly recommend them to any interested party who wishes to receive good old-fashioned service. T.H. CONTACT US CALL US TODAY ON:

7 Talk to our Team This is your opportunity to have a thirty minute consultation at our expense to discuss the financial issues affecting you and how we might help you resolve them. You can contact us on any of the following numbers or by enquiries@fiduciarywealth.eu Gibraltar Spain London Portugal Regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission - Licence No. FSC00962b. This guide is provided for general information only and the information contained herein should not be acted upon without professional independent advice. Fiduciary Wealth accept no responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person as a result of or in consequence of action taken or refrained from in reliance of the contents herein. Not all of the services referred to in this document are regulated. 7