[UglyToad]

As the other poster says you continue to pay income tax in your home country and you're also forbidden from working for any Barbados company since they don't want people taking local jobs.

However this may have tax consequences in your home country. I'm from the UK and if you spend more than 180(?) days abroad in a tax year you become non-resident which has some implications. You'll need to consult an accountant I guess.

I got my visa and I'm hopefully heading out towards the end of September, it should be fun.

[objclxt]

> I'm from the UK and if you spend more than 180(?) days abroad in a tax year you become non-resident which has some implications

This isn’t quite accurate. There are other tests that come into play, including whether you own a house in the UK, and how long you spent outside the UK for the rest of the year (and the preceding years).

Basically if you live in the UK, then spend 180 days (or even a whole year) outside the UK but then immediately return HMRC is not going to consider you a non-resident for that period.

It is worth paying for tax advice before you leave because the rules are complicated and there are other factors aside from just not being in the country.

[arethuza]

"worth paying for tax advice"

I knew someone who, through their employer, got tax advice from one of the big name accounting firms that turned out to be completely wrong - leaving them liable for tax both in the UK and in the country they had travelled to. It all got sorted out in the end but took a long time and was he was rather unhappy with the whole thing, as you can probably imagine.

[raverbashing]

Yeah it's also worth doing your research and seeing if it matches what the advisor is telling you

"you owe/doesn't owe this because A, B, C" is the answer you should be looking for, they might give general advice but they might not know 100% about some specific situations

Note: I'm not saying "you can deal with this by yourself", I'm saying "double checking is a good idea"

[0xfaded]

I had this situation where an employee insisted on tax advice from the company's lawyer. The law firm represents who is paying, same for liability. In the end we sponsored an expensive email basically saying as such.

[arethuza]

One thing I have learned through bitter experience is if there is a significant tax issue at stake then get your own lawyer and/or tax adviser.

[ionwake]

If you are considered a non resident - does that mean you pay less UK tax or that you need to register in another country?

[iso947]

If you permanently emigrate and then work for a foreign company, why would you pay tax in the UK?

Rules for temporary emigration are more complex, but if you get a job in Germany and move there, returning to the Uk occasionally to see friends and family (say 3 or 4 weeks a year) clearly you don’t need to pay tax in the Uk. Will still have to repay your student loans though - declare your income and pay the bill (which is 9% above an income that varies depending on the country you have loved to)

[UglyToad]

Ah OK thanks for the clarification. I will definitely consult an accountant once I'm moved and settled.

[biolurker1]

But there is no real reason for UK to actively track residents and tell them "you know what, we discovered that you should pay your money to another country, not us". What is more reasonable is that the third country would symay "hey buddy maybe you should be paying your taxes here not in UK" but in this case Barbados said they wouldn't

[chpmrc]

Yep, most people get this rule the wrong way around. The 183 day rule is a sufficient (but not necessary) condition to be considered tax resident in most countries. It does not automatically make you non resident in your home country and if you don't actively communicate to your home country that you moved abroad it all comes down to the existing double taxation agreement between the two countries.

[joshvm]

It's also dependent on how long you spend in the UK (not just out) and other things. If you spend half the year abroad, but then come back for 90 days (in a home you own or rent), you're resident again. HMRC have a flowchart you can follow:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-re...

Also remember that tax year counts, not calendar!

[graham_paul]

half a year is still good

[UglyToad]

Luckily since the tax year ends in February (?) it should be possible to take almost the full year by having it split into 2 half years over the tax year ends without having to change any tax stuff, I don't think the non-resident implications are too bad. I'm just going to sort out the accountancy stuff when I'm out there, but even if it's expensive it's worth it for the experience.

[tomatocracy]

UK tax year for individuals is 6 April-5 April.