Income Tax when retiring abroad.

[Sellessal]

My husband and I are considering retiring to Greece. I will be in receipt of my state pension in May this year and he will receive his in September. He also has a small private pension from a former employer which he receives now. Can anyone throw any light on the income tax situation if we decide to retire abroad? I have tried reading the HMRC information sheets but am even more confused now. Do we pay tax on our State Pensions in the UK? Will he then have to pay tax on his private pension to the Greek tax office? When we we're working I seem to remember that we were able to transfer some of our tax code to the person with the greater income, does this still apply and wonder best how we can minimise our tax liability. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I'm not an expert on this, but I thought you had to pay income tax in the country where you were resident.

 

As Greece is in the EU, I imagine they have a dual taxation agreement with the UK, but I'll try to check. Broadly this means you shouldn't pay tax in both countries, but from what I've heard it can be a pain to organise.

 

My best, HB

[honeybee13]

Hi. This is on the HMRC website about current double taxation agreements.

 

Greece

 

1978 UK/Greece Road Transport Agreement (PDF 23K)

1953 UK/Greece Double Taxation Convention (PDF 55K)

 

Here's a link for more info

 

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nonresidents/tmaapplications-and-claims-by-non-residents.shtml

[honeybee13]

You probably know already, but this is the principle.

 

Applications and Claims by Non-residents under Double Taxation Treaties

If you have income from a source in one country and are resident in another, you may be liable to pay tax in both countries under their tax laws. To avoid 'double taxation' in this situation, the United Kingdom has negotiated double taxation ('DT') treaties with more than 100 other countries.

[Sellessal]

Many thanks, Honeybee 13 for the links. Will look into it now.