Amended Returns and Citizenship

Hello All,

I have a query regarding my citizenship application.

Background: I came to the UK in Feb 2010 on a Tier 2 ICT visa and then got it converted to a Tier 1 general visa in Sep 2010. Since then I have got the Tier 1 visa renewed in Sep 2012 and then got the ILR in Feb 2015. I am about to apply for my citizenship in Feb 2016. During all this time I have been employed and paid taxes and NI and have submitted my tax returns every year.

In 2011 my accountant advised me that I may be able to lower my tax liability by claiming some expenses under the scenario of resident, not ordinarily resident and not domiciled in the UK (which is accurate). He therefore amended my tax returns and got tax refunded from HMRC. Please note that my income was true in my return and only the expenses were claimed, which means that whetever income (true) I showed to Home office to get my Tier 1 and ILR is exactly the same as what I showed to HMRC (again true). I did this for my first two returns in 2011 and 2012, post which I filed normal returns, since my intention changed to reside long term in the UK, which is in line with the HMRC regulations.

Problem: Reading some posts I got the feeling that some members had issues with their ILR/citizenship because they amended their returns. I just wanted to have comments from gurus/moderators as to if this is likely to cause an issue with my citizenship application or not.

As always many thanks for your help.

Thank you.

wildstreak wrote:...

Problem: Reading some posts I got the feeling that some members had issues with their ILR/citizenship because they amended their returns. I just wanted to have comments from gurus/moderators as to if this is likely to cause an issue with my citizenship application or not.

As always many thanks for your help.

Thank you.

Yes, certain members have encountered problems, largely of their own &/or accountant's making (for which they are ultimately responsible in terms of immigration applications & tax liabilities).

You can get up to speed on the 'good character' requirements for the privilege of citizenship here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _D_v02.pdf

Note: There are no tax consultants here & this immigration forum is purely for migration, travel & citizenship matters.

Thanks again noajthan.

I did read this document and it is very high level especially for people who are employed. I read another document (link below) which suggests that HMRC records are only checked for some requests only.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ustoms.pdf

May be nothing for people who pay tax via PAYE

wildstreak wrote:Thanks again noajthan.

I did read this document and it is very high level especially for people who are employed. I read another document (link below) which suggests that HMRC records are only checked for some requests only.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ustoms.pdf

May be nothing for people who pay tax via PAYE

If you pay your tax via PAYE through employment, why do you have to file the tax returns ??

You have to file returns if your income is over a certain threshold.

Without going into the tax implications too much, to me the point that appears rather strange is the one in bold below.

wildstreak wrote: I came to the UK in Feb 2010 on a Tier 2 ICT visa and then got it converted to a Tier 1 general visa in Sep 2010. Since then I have got the Tier 1 visa renewed in Sep 2012 and then got the ILR in Feb 2015. I am about to apply for my citizenship in Feb 2016. During all this time I have been employed and paid taxes and NI and have submitted my tax returns every year.

In 2011 my accountant advised me that I may be able to lower my tax liability by claiming some expenses under the scenario of resident, not ordinarily resident and not domiciled in the UK.

Do you understand or know the background of why you were classified as such by your account, during the given year where you were working in the UK as a skilled migrant? So long as that was a legitimate classification of your actual status & the amendment was done due to that reason then I can't see it being seen as an issue. I presume that this is the area which you are concerned about.

solospy wrote:If you pay your tax via PAYE through employment, why do you have to file the tax returns ??

Tax returns are generally not required, if you pay your taxes through PAYE, and don't have any other sources of income which is not taxed at source - example rental income from a second property, or tenants. Also, in some instances, you may also benefit from filing a tax return if you have deductible expenses. And as the OP has indicated your income threshold is also a key factor.

@cs95tdg: thank you very much for your reply. You have rightly pointed out the statement which I am concerned about. The reason I did was because when I cam to the UK I had no intention of residing in the UK for long term. I also came to the UK first as an expat, which is why the accountant advised this tax treatment. My intention to reside in the UK for long term changed as soon as I renewed by Tier 1 visa, and therefore I switched back to filing normal returns within that financial year.

Hope this provides more clarity.

Understood. I personally do not know much about those particular classifications other than what I've read about at a high level on the HMRC website. Tax law is a specialist area, especially the aspects around being domiciled in the UK, foreign income etc, and as this isn't a tax forum not the place for a discussion on the topic.

Based on what you have said if you have the documentation to support your residence classification (your accountant may have already shared this with you) over that period and you understand your accountants actions, I see no issue. Personal circumstances change all the time, so your residence status may have very valid reasons for being classified as such. If you are interested and haven't already seen this, it may be worth a read... https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... /hmrc6.pdf
I generally read up on areas that are applicable to my circumstances at a given point in time, and do know that while I was living in the UK as a international student in the past, I was classified as not ordinarily resident in the UK, even though I spent around 4 years in the UK, with only short semester breaks such as Summer & Xmas away.

@cs95tdg: many thanks for your insights. I read this document long back in 2012, when I was applying for my Tier 1 extension wherein I changed my intenttion to stay long term in the UK and as such changed the tax treatment. I was looking for it again to understand what I did back then, but could not find it . Thank you so much for sharing this link. Based on what I have read it does appear that my accountant did the right tax treatment.

Given this whole thing is complicated, I think the fundamental question is if Home Office is going to request information from HMRC and if they comprehend the information in the right manner. Fingers crossed

But again many thanks for your help, very much appreciated.