One month to go - emigration checklist

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

1 hour ago, Kris & Crystal said:

 

I work in IT so probably have more electronics than the average person. Just wanted to check.

 

I did plan on taking a couple of bottles of Whisky but I was going to declare that anyway.

Don’t forget you’re limited to 1 litre of spirits 😢.

 

I have a rather excellent bottle of whisky that I’ve bought for our wedding officiant...but I also wanted to take some Edinburgh gin rhubarb and ginger gin liquor with me (3 bottles) to decant into miniature bottles as wedding favours...but I’ll be over the limit, so no Edinburgh gin 😢.

[ConnorS 85]

Lol I feel your pain Zoe I had a choice between Scotch and rum, the rum won out as it was a gift for my future and now present wife 😄

[Kris & Crystal 47]

My understanding is you can't take more than 5 litres but you can take more than 1 litre if you declare it and pay customs and tax on it.

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

7 hours ago, Kris & Crystal said:

My understanding is you can't take more than 5 litres but you can take more than 1 litre if you declare it and pay customs and tax on it.

But if you pay customs and tax on it, you might as well just buy it there, surely? 

 

You can get Edinburgh gin there, it’s just more expensive, so I want to get it from duty free. It’s ok though, I’ve roped my brother in law and sister into bring it for me 🙃

[FayeAlexandra 17]

On 10/13/2019 at 9:57 AM, Zoeeeeeee said:

Hi everyone,

 

I fly in exactly one month, so have put together my checklist of things to do before I leave. Is there anything else you think is missing?

 

• Renew medical driving license (expires early next year - mine are only issued for 3 years due to diabetes)

 

• Contact HMRC to arrange income tax refund (anyone know if I can do this the day before I leave, or do I have to wait until I’ve left and then do it? My last day at work is 8th November and I’m emigrating on 13th November - I’ll receive my last wage packet on 24th November - so does this mean I need to wait until after 24th November?)

 

• Cancel phone contract

 

• Contact pension company to arrange transferring money to 401K (I’m with Fidelity, who also operate in the US, so luckily, my pension can be moved over).

 

• Print off all payslips for 2019.

 

• Scrap car (31st October) - notify DVLA of change of ownership.

 

• Register for proxy vote online

 

• Call student loan company to let them know I’m moving/find out how much I owe them.

 

• Print off AOS forms and check what documents I need to bring with me for that (if anyone has a list, I’d much appreciate it!)

 

• Arrange for suitcase to be shipped (flying with two, will have a third shipped separately, as cheaper to do that)

 

• Get six months supply of meds from GP (appointment is this week to arrange this).

 

Hello! Wanted to ask about the income tax refund...I've never heard of this. can you tell me more? Is it just availble to residents or ciztens of the UK?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

16 hours ago, FayeAlexandra said:

Hello! Wanted to ask about the income tax refund...I've never heard of this. can you tell me more? Is it just availble to residents or ciztens of the UK?

The UK form to fill out is P-85. It is for people who file UK tax returns. They check to see if you have more paid in than needed depending on your date of leaving your employment. If so, they refund any excess.

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

On 9/9/2020 at 12:44 PM, FayeAlexandra said:

Hello! Wanted to ask about the income tax refund...I've never heard of this. can you tell me more? Is it just availble to residents or ciztens of the UK?

It's for people that pay tax in the UK. I think I got around £800. If you have an address in the UK you can give for them to send it to (a parent or friend for example), it's much better - they can then pay it into your UK bank account and you can then transfer it over. If not, they'll post a cheque in £££s over to you in the US, which I imagine is a ball ache to get paid in!

[Sweetdreaming 397]

On 9/10/2020 at 4:30 PM, Zoeeeeeee said:

It's for people that pay tax in the UK. I think I got around £800. If you have an address in the UK you can give for them to send it to (a parent or friend for example), it's much better - they can then pay it into your UK bank account and you can then transfer it over. If not, they'll post a cheque in £££s over to you in the US, which I imagine is a ball ache to get paid in!

 

my bank (wells fargo) charged $75 to deposit the cheque in £s and it took about 3 weeks to process

Edited September 13, 2020 by Sweetdreaming

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

On 9/13/2020 at 4:01 PM, Sweetdreaming said:

 

my bank (wells fargo) charged $75 to deposit the cheque in £s and it took about 3 weeks to process

Yep, that definitely falls under 'ball ache' territory. My mum paid mine in and it took 3 days to process...we've not discussed a fee yet 😂.

[corntop 129]

On 9/10/2020 at 9:30 PM, Zoeeeeeee said:

It's for people that pay tax in the UK. I think I got around £800. If you have an address in the UK you can give for them to send it to (a parent or friend for example), it's much better - they can then pay it into your UK bank account and you can then transfer it over. If not, they'll post a cheque in £££s over to you in the US, which I imagine is a ball ache to get paid in!

Did you receive this big payment because you moved straight after finishing working or something? Or is it to do with how the tax year ends?

 

I'm just wondering how to line up my first entry - I'm still working until I move, and our interview is end of October, so it's going to get complicated with filing 2020 taxes next year if I enter soon after.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

4 hours ago, corntop said:

Did you receive this big payment because you moved straight after finishing working or something? Or is it to do with how the tax year ends?

 

I'm just wondering how to line up my first entry - I'm still working until I move, and our interview is end of October, so it's going to get complicated with filing 2020 taxes next year if I enter soon after.

 I got some refunded from 2 UK tax years when they sorted it all out. I can’t remember how much because it’s been a long time now, but it was a fair chunk of change. I quit work August first and entered Oct 1.
 

 What is the issue you see with entering before the end of the tax year?  You can file a joint return either way which should benefit you tax wise and you will qualify for the 2020 recovery rebate credit if you have your SSN before filing deadline.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Wuozopo

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

7 hours ago, corntop said:

Did you receive this big payment because you moved straight after finishing working or something? Or is it to do with how the tax year ends?

 

I'm just wondering how to line up my first entry - I'm still working until I move, and our interview is end of October, so it's going to get complicated with filing 2020 taxes next year if I enter soon after.

I'm not quite sure what you mean re lining up your first entry? Once you've emigrated, you just need to complete the online form (you'll need the details from your P45 to do this) and then they calculate if you get a rebate and if so, how much. This is completely separate from your US taxes...

 

I finished my job on 8th November and emigrated on the 13th.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Zoeeeeeee

[corntop 129]

Thanks for your replies and sorry for hijacking the thread with my confusion!

 

Context is that (before covid happened) one of our plans was for me to make first port of entry to "activate" things and then come back to the UK for 1-2 months to finish out my work notice, prepare my cats to travel, etc etc. I was under the impression that soon as I did that entry, it would mean I'd have to file taxes for that entire year - is this true? With that in mind, when would I submit the P85 form, after port of entry, or when I've left for good? If everything goes smoothly and approved, I estimate I'd get visa in hand mid-November. With my interview being so close to the end of the year and all the difficulties with safely travelling, I was just wondering if it was "less complicated" in terms of taxes to wait until after 31st December passed to make my first entry. 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by corntop

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, corntop said:

Thanks for your replies and sorry for hijacking the thread with my confusion!

 

Context is that (before covid happened) one of our plans was for me to make first port of entry to "activate" things and then come back to the UK for 1-2 months to finish out my work notice, prepare my cats to travel, etc etc. I was under the impression that soon as I did that entry, it would mean I'd have to file taxes for that entire year - is this true? With that in mind, when would I submit the P85 form, after port of entry, or when I've left for good? If everything goes smoothly and approved, I estimate I'd get visa in hand mid-November. With my interview being so close to the end of the year and all the difficulties with safely travelling, I was just wondering if it was "less complicated" in terms of taxes to wait until after 31st December passed to make my first entry. 

 

 

Filing a US joint return with spouse means you report all income earned anywhere in the world in 2020. But there is a foreign earned income exclusion that eliminates the US taxes that income would generate.  You would not be able to exclude from taxation anything earned after immigration. So theoretically on your initial plan, you would owe US tax on the portion earned in the returning 1-2 months after becoming an LPR, but would not owe the UK for that because of the tax treaty. Getting the UK employer to apply the code for no taxation from HMRC on that short time would be the hassle. They would also theoretically be required to get a US Employer Identification Number (EIN) and submit your earnings amount to the US as a W2 earnings statement and hold out US federal tax social. Security, and Medicare contributions. I say theoretically because the IRS isn’t going to be following your movements or know what you are earning. And your U.K. employer isn’t going to bother for a month for  a worker not remaining in permanent employment. But your plans have changed due to Covid and it looks like you will leave the UK after finishing work.  Thus you exclude from US tax all your UK wage earnings in 2020. It is self reported how much you earned so you do not actually submit any wage statements from the UK to the IRS with the tax return. You just report an amount converted to US $$. There are other methods open to you as well but the joint return is going to be your best tax situation almost every time. Not going to elaborate on those right now. 
 

I think your first entry date doesn’t, matter so much unless you complicate it by earning a UK  paycheck after becoming an LPR. I do think getting your SSN before filing is important. Yes, if you earn no US income in 2020 then you have nothing to file with the IRS, but your wife would more than likely pay more taxes filing Married Filing Separately. As her spouse you have the option to file jointly for 2020 no matter when you enter but you would need an ITIN or SSN. 

[Bug&Bug 147]

On 9/16/2020 at 12:11 PM, Wuozopo said:

Filing a US joint return with spouse means you report all income earned anywhere in the world in 2020. But there is a foreign earned income exclusion that eliminates the US taxes that income would generate.  You would not be able to exclude from taxation anything earned after immigration. So theoretically on your initial plan, you would owe US tax on the portion earned in the returning 1-2 months after becoming an LPR, but would not owe the UK for that because of the tax treaty. Getting the UK employer to apply the code for no taxation from HMRC on that short time would be the hassle. They would also theoretically be required to get a US Employer Identification Number (EIN) and submit your earnings amount to the US as a W2 earnings statement and hold out US federal tax social. Security, and Medicare contributions. I say theoretically because the IRS isn’t going to be following your movements or know what you are earning. And your U.K. employer isn’t going to bother for a month for  a worker not remaining in permanent employment. But your plans have changed due to Covid and it looks like you will leave the UK after finishing work.  Thus you exclude from US tax all your UK wage earnings in 2020. It is self reported how much you earned so you do not actually submit any wage statements from the UK to the IRS with the tax return. You just report an amount converted to US $$. There are other methods open to you as well but the joint return is going to be your best tax situation almost every time. Not going to elaborate on those right now. 
 

I think your first entry date doesn’t, matter so much unless you complicate it by earning a UK  paycheck after becoming an LPR. I do think getting your SSN before filing is important. Yes, if you earn no US income in 2020 then you have nothing to file with the IRS, but your wife would more than likely pay more taxes filing Married Filing Separately. As her spouse you have the option to file jointly for 2020 no matter when you enter but you would need an ITIN or SSN. 

Im going to be in a similar situation, entering the US and then coming back to sort myself out.

 

So if I understood correctly by what you say, the moment I get a green card my UK income will be taxed in the US and not the UK even if I still work in the UK? Or the UK will still consider me a resident?

 

The tax thing is so complicated it makes my head hurt. Is there a VJ guide for dummies?