Domicile

S

slane4

Registered User
Messages
18
We have lived in Ireland for 30 years and have a second home in NI. As we were born in NI I understand we are UK domiciled - by birth.
It appears that being UK domiciled will result in UK inheritance tax on death, with relief for Irish Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) paid.
This will be much more onerous that just Irish CAT, so we would prefer that our estate would be subject only to CAT.
Can we elect to be Irish domiciled? What are the considerations to be aware of?
 
If you have no intention of returning to NI then you can elect to claim a domicile of choice.

applying for Irish citizenship and obtaining an Irish passport giving up the U.K. one is a clear statement of intent (and vice versa).

As is making an Irish Will to dispose of your assets and selecting a burial plot in the State.

If you complete a self-assessment tax return there is now a specific option to select non/domicile

www.globalwealth.ie
 
Thanks, Marc.
We can satisfy most of your points. However depending on the state of our health in due course we may decide to move North.
We have Irish passports and Irish wills and we pay our Irish taxes, completing a self-assessment return.
Does the UK taxman seek to have people like us subject to Inheritance Tax?
 
The test of domicile is “where do you call home?”
The stated intention is more important during one’s lifetime (revenue on both sides of the Irish Sea find it difficult to argue while you are alive -“where do you call home?” Dublin. Case dismissed.

But the facts have to speak for themselves in estate proceedings.

If you do as a matter of fact “return home” (for whatever reason) then your intention arguably was always to do so. Under those conditions it would be easier for HMRC to argue that you retained your domicile of origin and U.K. IHT could be due on the estate.

Returning to the North for any reasonable period of time and certainly seeing out your days there would be difficult to defend.

Certainly worth seeking a legal/tax opinion
 
slane4 said:
Thanks, Marc.
We can satisfy most of your points. However depending on the state of our health in due course we may decide to move North.
We have Irish passports and Irish wills and we pay our Irish taxes, completing a self-assessment return.
Does the UK taxman seek to have people like us subject to Inheritance Tax?
Click to expand...
Domicile is very complex.

Here is where you are going wrong:

- keeping your NI home
- intention you move back there for old age
 
We would consider gifting our NI home to our daughter as she will inherit it anyhow. There would be no Capital Gains Tax issue as it was bought recently and the property market has not improved.
Hopefully we would survive for at least 7 years.
 
Marc said:
You didn’t say you still have a house in the North.
Moving back to a house you had retained “for the purpose” would be a very strong pointer to retaining a U.K. domicile.

You should definitely take legal advice from Lawyers well versed in both U.K. and Irish law and practice.

Irish lawyer http://www.oconnellbrennan.ie/

NI lawyer https://cleaverfultonrankin.co.uk/
Click to expand...
The problem with lawyers for this is it's such a complicated area. You will NEVER get a concrete opinion

OP did mention the house in the first post. As it happens we have managed to keep our Irish domicile - we think - last meeting with one of the top four accountancy firms 10 years ago due to a revenue problem here (not just us but for a certain category of ex pat here) 'confirmed we had. I had read up on it when we moved origianlly and on the special tax status. Unlike others my OH kept his tax status as we did not sell our original home, (there were other factors that helped that I'm not going into that are personel) but we demonstrated very strong links for our case. Those that sold their homes were deemed no longer domiciled in UK/Ireland/whereever.
 
slane4 said:
Thanks, Marc.
We can satisfy most of your points. However depending on the state of our health in due course we may decide to move North.
We have Irish passports and Irish wills and we pay our Irish taxes, completing a self-assessment return.
Does the UK taxman seek to have people like us subject to Inheritance Tax?
Click to expand...
However depending on the state of our health in due course we may decide to move North. - Not good
We have Irish passports - Good
Irish wills - Good
pay our Irish taxes - Good
completing a self-assessment return - Good.
Buriel?
Dispose of NI property = Good
Basically no links, no 'INTENTION' to return ever (not your case)


Are we talking a lot of money here? What assets have you.

 
Thanks to both who responded.
Depending on how our investments recover from the Covid19 impact, we have enough to result in perhaps 100k in death duties.
Burial? We have always intended to be buried in the North, but now I'm not sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top