Potential Uk bureaucracy issues if you sail off for a few years?

[steve yates]

Wansy’s thread about failed ocean wandering got me thinking about this. What problems have folk found with this when you have gone off on extended cruising trips? (as opposed to leaving for good and living aboard abroad)
And what are the work arounds?
One potential issue seems to be it could be very easy to become non tax resident, and I don’t particularly want that to be the case!
I am self employed but mainly would be supported by uk rental income when away.
I would ideally still have a home address but may have to rent it out, depends on what I buy after downsizing.
One issue of being declared non resident for tax would appear to be a provision for letting agents to remit 50% of rents to customs if the landlord is not uk resident, thats a bit of a fly in the ointment!
Another potential issue could be the making tax digital requirements, which would impact me from april 2027, when quarterly returns are required,, I would have to ensure I had internet access etc for the due dates to process the accounts and submit them.
There is obviously the issue of mail, though I know there are companies who can forward this by scanning etc, any reccomendations?
And then there are health issues, whther the go deregisters you or not, that appears to be a bot of a lottery?
What else is likely to crop up to make the simple life complicated

 

[Sea Change]

We've remained resident in the UK, and our house is still our residence and postal address, even though we rent it out. We're still registered with our GP and we're on the voters' roll. We pay council tax at that address- it would save us quite a bit if we registered it as a business instead.

Despite being out of the UK for over two years at one point, and several times more than a year, we've encountered no problems.

I wouldn't worry about internet access, almost everybody has Starlink now and even if you don't, local SIMs and VPNs will see you right.

 

[lustyd]

If you rent out your house it isn’t your residence and your tenants are well within their rights to either send back mail as not at address or to add you and require you to pay council tax so be careful. The new laws on renting are making it harder to get away with such things.

 

[dansaskip]

it is I think certainly easier if you remain as resident in UK as Sea Change and that was what I did too.
I take it you have studied the Guidance note for statutory residence test? It is here
RDR3: Statutory Residence Test (SRT) notes

I don't think you need to worry about mail you can name its about everything paperless these days so instead of paper post its email.
I rarely had my own internet access but managed OK with internet cafes and the like - might be different if you read relying on it for your self employ, but as per Sea Change local SIMS will see you through.
I did arrange a friend to check for any post just in case and briefed my tenants to this effecting it worked out fine.
I did come back to UK from time to time eg Hurricane season in Caribbean but mostly most authorities didn't even know when I was in Uk or away.

 

[geem]

The statutory test for Ordinarily Resident is very simple to pass. Bank account in the UK. Property in the UK and paying tax on a rental property or two will ensure you keep your tax status. Change your correspondence address to a relative and things become easier.
Internet access is so common that it feels like you are back home most of the time. Starlink at £50/month helps.
We have been living this life for the last 12 years.

 

[Graham376]

Although we have a house here, kept empty when we're away, for the last 20 years we've spent more time out of the UK every year than in so don't actually qualify for UK residence. Never had a problem with HMRC, they think we're resident and GP, who knows what we do, will double up on prescriptions if we ask, normally three months, to 6 months. A friend who inspects the house every couple of weeks (insurance requirement) while we're away, also checks the post for anything which appears important.

 

[steve yates]

it is I think certainly easier if you remain as resident in UK as Sea Change and that was what I did too.
I take it you have studied the Guidance note for statutory residence test? It is here
RDR3: Statutory Residence Test (SRT) notes

I don't think you need to worry about mail you can name its about everything paperless these days so instead of paper post its email.
I rarely had my own internet access but managed OK with internet cafes and the like - might be different if you read relying on it for your self employ, but as per Sea Change local SIMS will see you through.
I did arrange a friend to check for any post just in case and briefed my tenants to this effecting it worked out fine.
I did come back to UK from time to time eg Hurricane season in Caribbean but mostly most authorities didn't even know when I was in Uk or away.

I did, thats actually what prompted my post as according to that, after a couple of years, I would have to return for varying lengths of time, from 46 to 180 days a year, depending on the “ties” to keep tax residency.

 

[steve yates]

It also occured to me that while it was probably pretty easy to fly under the radar previously, since brexit now that we need to tell customs we are leaving uk waters, it may actually start being flagged up automatically that we haven’t returned

 

[lustyd]

It also occured to me that while it was probably pretty easy to fly under the radar previously, since brexit now that we need to tell customs we are leaving uk waters, it may actually start being flagged up automatically that we haven’t returned

That’s literally the point of our electronic entry system, nothing to do with Brexit. Also why they changed the entry procedure to require British passports for citizens.
They also recently linked banking data so having a UK account is meaningless if transactions show you as abroad. Transferring money will also be flagged going forwards.
Sadly it seems this is “what the people want”

 

[Graham376]

It also occured to me that while it was probably pretty easy to fly under the radar previously, since brexit now that we need to tell customs we are leaving uk waters, it may actually start being flagged up automatically that we haven’t returned

Maybe worrying too much? I'm sure HMRC will be quite happy to receive your taxes whatever the circumstances, they seem to be more focused on tax dodgers rather than payers.

 

[lustyd]

While true, there are recent cases where people returned due to illness to find they were cut off from the NHS so it is worth thinking about carefully. It's entirely possible to pay HMRC some tax while also becoming a non-resident accidentally.

 

[Graham376]

While true, there are recent cases where people returned due to illness to find they were cut off from the NHS so it is worth thinking about carefully. It's entirely possible to pay HMRC some tax while also becoming a non-resident accidentally.

The NHS problem has been happening for many years, a friend had treatment refused about 15 years ago. If NHS find out someone isn't resident, they can also cancel GHIC which then means needing expensive private health insurance for Europe.

 

[lustyd]

The recent change is that with bank account access it's far easier than before to identify people automatically. Same with pensions where people move abroad as all transactions are fully available and will be audited going forwards.

 

[oldbloke]

The NHS has , not unreasonably, become concerned about the number of "ghost" patients on gp lists as they feel those GPs are getting paid for doing nothing. (The calculations for GP pay are such that that's not really true if all GPs have the same proportion of ghosts). So nowadays inactive patients , many of whom are just fit and well, are pursued to confirm they are still there and alive. You don't have to be registered with a GP and you don't have to be registered with a GP to qualify for a GHIC but you do have to reside in this country

 

[steve yates]

Maybe worrying too much? I'm sure HMRC will be quite happy to receive your taxes whatever the circumstances, they seem to be more focused on tax dodgers rather than payers.

Being classed non resident will not exclude me from paying taxes on rental properties in the uk. It is possible it may even mean increased taxes, though I haven’t investigated that. I’m not overly worried, I’ll be testing the limits of the envelope gradually but I do wish to be aware of stuff that could catch me out if I just blithely sail off.

 

[SimonX]

GP, who knows what we do, will double up on prescriptions if we ask, normally three months, to 6 months

Gosh, that’s good, ours only gives 2 months and one of mine, an eye drop for my Glaucoma, only one month due to short life. I’ve investigated and its only specific brands and only if not refrigerated so I’ve asked to get the brand that doesn’t need refrigerated or promise to refrigerate but to no avail. So I’ll have to get private prescription specifying brand when we start our two month stints on the boat.

 

[Graham376]

Gosh, that’s good, ours only gives 2 months and one of mine, an eye drop for my Glaucoma, only one month due to short life. I’ve investigated and its only specific brands and only if not refrigerated so I’ve asked to get the brand that doesn’t need refrigerated or promise to refrigerate but to no avail. So I’ll have to get private prescription specifying brand when we start our two month stints on the boat.

I'm using Latanoprost, don't keep in the fridge, the bottle I'm using at the moment issued by pharmacy 09/25, expiry date 01/27 so a decent life span. Pressures checked last week, both fine.