Tax questions

[flyingduck]

I would appreciate comments on the following if anyone has an idea:

Does anyone know if you would be eligable for a zero tax code if you were to be employed with a UK based company while residing in Norway?

To apply for a zero tax code, do the authorities need to know where you live apart from an address in the UK where you would be resident for less than 90 days?

I currently have a norwegian contract right now but Im wandering if working for a UK based company would be worth it if I did not pay tax .

[rovpilot]

Your non-resident NT tax code only applies to UK tax. Im NT but if working in EG i pay EG tax, norway i pay norwegian tax etc or you companie might pay
Talk with an accountant, they will keep you straight. But ive a funny feeling the norwegians will not let you away with not paying tax-maybe im wrong??Ive only been there once offshore and had to pay.
Rovpilot

[luckyjim37]

As I understand it there is a reciprocal tax agreement between Norway and the UK this means if you are British and work in Norway you pay there tax and the other way around.

You can opt out of some of the Norwegian taxes which almost brings it back into line with the UK.

Also to be non-resident from the UK officially you have to be resident of somewhere else. I do know of a few people who register non-resident from the UK but never take up residency in another country this is easy enough to do. As long as you have an address to show the IR in the UK.

The downside to working in Norway is you will always end up paying some tax. If you are on a vessel there are all sorts of tax dodges for Norwegian tax. I.E. if you do not launch the ROV in a 24 hour period you can log inter-contract downtime (I think that is what it is called) effectively for that period you are not on contract and return to paying Uk taxes.

However I recently heard that if you work continuously in Norway for an set amount of years you can then claim a Norwegian pension which is supposed to be quite good compared to old blighty.

Seatax are supposed to be one of the better companies who deal with offshore workers taxes it would probably be worth getting in touch with them for the upto date legislation and general advice.

[flyingduck]

Ok cheers! Inter contract downtime. Ive never heard of that one.
Its f%%$ing unbelievable how complicated tax issues are especially working out what or what your not owe the authorities never mind reciprocal agreements.

[Andy Shiers]

Norway has one rule . If you work in their waters you pay tax whether it comes from you OR from you via the UK government after paying tax PAYE in this country. You then get a rebate back from either one ONCE you have paid the pennies over , Oh , And the Norwegians being a slow race , can sometimes take up to five years before they think……………………… You Owe us money Bitch !
Even if you lived in Barbados or India , It will not make any difference , You will still have to pay it.
My best advice to you is to keep money aside if you work in their waters for the day they catch up , because believe me……………… They will eventually catch up and it is a head ache to sort out years later !
Plus interest 😯

[flyingduck]

Lostboy

Yeah ok thats fair enough but Im residing in Norway and work in Norway waters but if I work for a british based company while living in Norway whereby not necessarily working in norway waters will I be eligable for a zero tax code?

For example, people who live in France who work offshore for a UK based company can get a 0 tax code.

Does anyone out there have a zero tax code and does this mean ex pat status?

[Andy Shiers]

Maybe France , yes and also Spain and Italy , not sure about Portugal though 😕
But ………………… Norway , That is a different thing all together
As Luckyjim said

As I understand it there is a reciprocal tax agreement between Norway and the UK this means if you are British and work in Norway you pay there tax and the other way around.

There is no zero tax if you reside in either country and work in either country , Sorry 🙁 Be very careful if you live in Norway I know a couple of Brits that used to live in Norway and got collared 😯
That’s what the reciporocal word means 😀 Either way ! 🙂

[rovpilot]

If you work for a british company offshore in the North Sea and living in France with an NT tax code, i think you are treading on thin ice. For sure the tax man will catch up on you. ( I have heard of guys doing this and caught out)
Non resident means that you have left the country, you reside and work in another country.
Ok, if you fil out a P85 telling the tax man you have left the UK he will give you an NT tax code (no tax). BUT, that is ONLY for UK tax, if you go and work in another country Like norway and EG, whislt working for your British based company, you will pay their TAX.
If you are working in Norway i think there is no getting away from it, on or offshore.

ROVPILOT

[flyingduck]

I have been told by the tax authorities in the UK that I have to reside abroad for a certain period before I can apply for a NT tax code. You do not get a NT tax code when you fill in a p85 form. This is merely to tell the authorities your leaving.

An NT tax code is obviously only use in the UK and I can apply for one when I return to work for a UK company on the basis that Im a non resident ie. no more than 90 days in the UK.

What the authorities dont tell me is would I get this tax code while living in Norway before I take the plunge, quit a good number for a few extra pennies to join a UK based company. Ive talked to them on the phone about this and they say my application would be dealt with with no clear cut answer given.

[Andy Shiers]

There is no zero tax if you reside in either country and work in either country , Sorry Be very careful if you live in Norway I know a couple of Brits that used to live in Norway and got collared
That’s what the reciporocal word means Either way !

You will not get it in Norway old chap 😕

[flyingduck]

Ok. Thanks for all the responses.

[rovpilot]

I have been told by the tax authorities in the UK that I have to reside abroad for a certain period before I can apply for a NT tax code. You do not get a NT tax code when you fill in a p85 form. This is merely to tell the authorities your leaving.

An NT tax code is obviously only use in the UK and I can apply for one when I return to work for a UK company on the basis that Im a non resident ie. no more than 90 days in the UK.

What the authorities dont tell me is would I get this tax code while living in Norway before I take the plunge, quit a good number for a few extra pennies to join a UK based company. Ive talked to them on the phone about this and they say my application would be dealt with with no clear cut answer given.

On the form it asks what day you left the country e.g 25 Febuary 2006, you will get your tax back from EXACTLY that day. They might ask for proof (visa, flight tickets etc). They should issue you (or your work) with the NT code pretty quick ( couple of months). Good luck with it all.

ROVPILOT

[James McLauchlan]

This might help answer the original question.

I am an ex-pat living in Portugal
I have not resided in the UK since 1991.

Recently, I was offered a staff position with a based UK company but, after advice, could not allow myself to take the offer.

The tax advice ran like this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a non resident (UK citizen) to work for a UK company (as an employee) I would have deducted (at source) full rate on a PAYE basis for all work carried out in the UK sector offshore (UKCS).
As I lived in Portugal I would be issued an NT code (by the UK tax authorities) for all work carried outwith the UKCS (i.e. Norway offshore could be used as an example… or any other country in the world).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In general terms the UKCS is all the UK controlled offshore oil & gas area extending from the 12 mile zone outwards.

For Ex-Pat or seaman’s tax info:
Days spent offshore (outside the 12 mile limit but still in the UKCS) do not count as days in the UK but technically they do count as you working in the UK for tax purposes.
Clever how they manage to twist things so that they can tax you when you are not in country!!
I think recently they changed the system on days slightly in that the day you transit into the UK or out of the UK is now counted as days in country.
Take expert advice on that before using the information as read.

I keep my days in the UK way under the maximum allowed 90 per year… in reality more like 20 or so a year max.

As UK citizen but a registered resident of Portugal I meet all the tax requirements of the EU country I live in. Read into that what you will.
With no UK connections what so ever (that includes banking, property, address), I do not answer to the UK tax authorities for anything outwith the UK so in my view they therefore have no requirement to issue me with an NT code for working in non UK countries, as that is my right anyway.

Should I have accepted the staff offer all I could see was I would have ended up back in the UK tax system and, even though I am an ex-pat, have to submit accounts etc to them on an annual basis. Something I have not done for years. I would also suggest that once I was back in the UK tax system they might feel they have the right to ‘investigate’ (say) 5 years previous.
With the best advise in the world from anyone…. Like…. ‘No they can’t do that because you were not registred with them in that period’
No thanks! is my answer’
Even allowing the UK tax man a chance at getting close to pulling that trick out of the bag is a non starter.

It was suggested (by a non tax advisor) that should I be taxed PAYE for the UKCS I might be able to claim the tax back as a seaman. That that option has been used for years by ‘UK residents’, and myself years past, but I cannot imagine the UK tax authorities handing tax revenue back to me as a ‘non UK resident’. I feel the system would work for UK based ‘seamen’.
My guess is that would be the first time an ex-pat would tried to have claim tax back under UK seaman’s tax regulations. Unless of course anyone out there has tried in the past.
Again… no amount of advice to the contrary would allow me to get myself into the position whereby the UK tax authorities say ‘sorry but we can’t do that because you do not reside in the UK’. It’s a bit late when they have the money already!

For Ex-Pats reading this……. Companies are falling over themselves to get people off day rate and on staff salary contracts because it suits them (not you) right now.

Given what I have just been through I would be very wary as a ‘non UK resident’ accepting any staff position with a UK based company on a PAYE or NT tax code system. It will most likely open a whole can of tax worms that you will not be able to wish away after the damage commences.
UK based company management, and their UK based tax advisers, can generally only function within the strict UK tax system and tend not to know much, or how to deal with non residents other than finding a way to fit them in to the UK system. Do not take tax advice from the very company that is trying to sign you up. The advice they have may either be wrong or they may only tell you what they want you to hear in order to get you signed up. At the end of the day take you own independent advice and do not believe all that you read… especially in a Forum 😉

Also the advice I received was only that ‘advice’ and should not be taken as granted.

[Andy Shiers]

In other words ……………………………BROWN has got you by the Bollocks no matter which way you swing it 😯

[Andy Shiers]

Unless you become an illegal immigrant of course 😀
Then you won’t have to pay a thing 8)

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