Value-priced Buying or selling property in United Kingdom

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Canadians, Americans and NRIs on UK assignments, UK nationals who moved to Canada with a UK pension still running, and dual filers with property on both sides. Value-priced buying or selling property in United Kingdom with a fixed fee agreed in writing before any work starts. Call the 24-hour helpline on +1 (416) 619-0068, or request a written quote today.

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  • 15+Years of cross-border experience
  • 18,000+Clients served
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Secure a fixed quote

Whatever documents you hold are enough to begin: we read them and put a fixed price in writing first.

24-hour helpline: +1 (416) 619-0068
  • 18,000+ clients served
  • Offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE
  • Google rating 5.0 out of 5
United Kingdom in 60 words

The UK tax year does not align with the Canadian, US or Indian year, so every credit claim is a mapping exercise before it is a computation. For expats the United Kingdom question is rarely whether tax is due here; it is whether the country you left still counts you as resident, which is where this page starts.

Who we act for here

Canadians, Americans and NRIs on UK assignments, UK nationals who moved to Canada with a UK pension still running, and dual filers with property on both sides.

Regional filing pattern

Most European systems run a calendar tax year with employer-administered payroll withholding, and the payslip usually contains social contributions that are not creditable income taxes at home.

The question that decides it

The UK tax year does not align with the Canadian, US or Indian year, so every credit claim is a mapping exercise before it is a computation — and the residence position has to be settled under both domestic rules and any treaty in force before either return is prepared.

Buying or selling property in United Kingdom

This page takes the United Kingdom corridor and narrows it to one situation. The general position is on the United Kingdom country guide; what follows is what changes for this specific case.

The purchase decides the sale. Cost, closing costs, capital additions and any depreciation claimed along the way all feed the eventual gain computation in both countries, and reconstructing them years later is the expensive version.

Two of the firm’s advisers and the team in the open-plan office

What buying or selling property in United Kingdom costs here

Buying or selling property in the United Kingdom is priced on the disposal history rather than the sale price: one flat bought and sold with complete records is a contained job, while a property held for years, let for part of that time, or inherited with no purchase papers means the cost base has to be rebuilt in both currencies.

Non-resident & departure filings

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Returns for the year you leave, the year you arrive, and the years you earn rental or pension income from a country you no longer live in.
See the fee schedule

Individual tax filing

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Individual returns where salary, investments or property sit outside the country of residence, prepared so relief is claimed once and in the right place.
See the fee schedule

Foreign asset & information reporting

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

Accounts, property and company interests held outside the country of residence, reported on the schedules that carry penalties whether or not tax is owed.
See the fee schedule

Estate & trust filing

From $799

fixed, quoted before work starts

The returns an estate or trust owes on each side, prepared together so relief for tax paid abroad is actually claimed.
See the fee schedule

Catch-up & voluntary disclosure

From $349

fixed, quoted before work starts

For a filing history that stopped — the penalty position assessed first, then the years filed in the order that protects it.
See the fee schedule

Corporate cross-border filing

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

Company filings where income, ownership or operations cross a border, with the related-party disclosures that come with them.
See the fee schedule

Payroll & mobility setup

From $999

fixed, quoted before work starts

The employer side of mobility — where to register, what to withhold, and what to report once someone works across a border.
See the fee schedule

Transfer pricing documentation

From $2,500

fixed, quoted before work starts

Intercompany pricing documented before it is questioned — the functional analysis, the benchmarking and the files that support it.
See the fee schedule

All published fees on one page — all of it on a single page, so the number you compare is the number you pay.

Do you still file at home?

For a Canadian, the answer turns on residence: Canada taxes residents on worldwide income and non-residents only on Canadian-source income, and residence is decided on ties rather than on where the post is delivered. For a US citizen or green-card holder the answer is yes regardless — the United States taxes its citizens and permanent residents wherever they live. For an Indian resident, the day-count tests decide it, and the transitional status available to some returning residents can change the scope of what India taxes for a period.

The UK tax year does not align with the Canadian, US or Indian year, so every credit claim is a mapping exercise before it is a computation — and the residence position has to be settled under both domestic rules and any treaty in force before either return is prepared.

Residency and the tie-breaker

A treaty tie-breaker does not divide you between the two countries; it picks one. Permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, in that order, with the competent authorities agreeing where none of them resolves it. Building the evidence for the deciding test in advance is the whole exercise.

We confirm the treaty in force for your year, including any protocol and any modification made through the multilateral instrument, before relying on an article. Treaty networks change, and a summary written three years ago is not evidence about this year.

Income by type: who taxes what

Income typeGeneral treatment
Pensions and retirement incomeDecided by the specific pension article, which is the least uniform provision in the treaty network.
Social security and state pensionsTreated differently from private pensions in most treaties, and sometimes reserved entirely to one state.
Trust distributions received thereDepends on the trust's own residence and on whether the distribution carries income or capital, and the two systems frequently characterise it differently.
Interest on local depositsGenerally taxed where it arises by withholding, with the home country taxing the same interest and allowing credit for what was withheld.
Crypto disposals while resident thereUsually taxed where you are resident at the moment of disposal, which makes the date you became resident the whole question.
Employment incomeGenerally taxable where the work is physically performed, with a treaty exemption for short assignments where the presence, employer and cost tests are all met.
Business profits from a local branchTaxable locally only to the extent attributable to a permanent establishment, computed as if the branch dealt at arm's length with the head office.

The local nuance

The UK tax year does not align with the Canadian, US or Indian year, so every credit claim is a mapping exercise before it is a computation — and the residence position has to be settled under both domestic rules and any treaty in force before either return is prepared. That detail is specific to this corridor, and it is the one that most often changes the answer once the general rules have been applied.

If your position runs mostly in one direction, the Canada ↔ United Kingdom cross-border tax page carries both filing calendars side by side, the treaty article by article, and the withholding table.

We also publish regional pages for United Kingdom — states, provinces and major centres — at our United Kingdom regional index, which is the better starting point if your question is about a specific state or province rather than the country as a whole.

A worked example

Put numbers against it and the shape of the answer is obvious.

Credit relief on one stream of income

Take C$139,000 of income taxed in both countries. Assume the other country charged 32% on it and the home country would charge 43% on the same amount.

ItemAmount
Income taxed in both countriesC$139,000
Tax paid abroad (assumed 32%)C$44,480
Home tax on the same income (assumed 43%)C$59,770
Credit available (lesser of the two)C$44,480
Home tax still payableC$15,290

The credit absorbs C$44,480 and leaves C$15,290 payable at home, because the home rate on this income is the higher of the two. The balance is real cash and it is due on the home timetable, which is why instalments get raised in the first meeting. The shape of that result holds; the size of it depends entirely on your own numbers and dates.

Treat these numbers as a worked example rather than advice — they exist to make the mechanics visible, and the rates and thresholds are assumed for the illustration. For a real filing, we verify each figure with the authority that publishes it, for your year.

Three mistakes we see most

  1. Paying tax twice and calling it double taxation, when the real problem was a credit claimed in the wrong country or in the wrong category.
  2. Applying for a certificate after the payment or the closing instead of before it, which turns a rate reduction into a refund claim.
  3. Filing the two returns in the wrong order, so the credit is computed before the foreign liability it is meant to relieve is known.
  • A 24-hour helpline, +1 (416) 619-0068, before you commit to anything.
  • A change of scope is re-quoted before the work, never added to the invoice after it.
  • 18,000+ clients served across 4 global offices: India, the USA, Canada and the UAE.

Whatever you have is enough to start the conversation, including nothing but the dates.

Checked and signed off for the 2025 and 2026 filing seasons by Udit Gupta, Cross-Border Tax Expert, Legal Quotient Consultants. General information, not advice for your circumstances — call our 24-hour helpline to discuss your own position.

Taxes for expats — what this page covers

If you came here for taxes for expats, this is where it is dealt with. The subject is buying or selling property in United Kingdom, and the page covers who it reaches, what then has to be filed, and what we charge to do the work.

Canadians, Americans and NRIs on UK assignments, UK nationals who moved to Canada with a UK pension still running, and dual filers with property on both sides.

From first contact to filed return

  1. Documents first, questions second

    We read the file before asking anything, so the questions we do ask are the ones that matter.

  2. A quote you can hold us to

    Fixed in writing against a defined scope. No hourly meter, and no revision after the fact.

  3. The order of filing decided deliberately

    Which return goes first can decide whether relief is available at all. That is planned, not discovered.

  4. Nothing filed without your sign-off

    You see the completed work, ask what you need to, and approve it before submission.

What you are actually buying with buying or selling property in United Kingdom

Factor Legal Quotient Hourly billing model
Pricing A fixed fee, agreed in writing before work starts Hourly, billed as incurred
Experience 15+ years of cross-border work, 18,000+ clients Varies by file
Both sides of the border Prepared together by one team, so relief is claimed exactly once One country at a time, reconciled later
Who reviews it A named practitioner, published on the page Whoever the queue reaches
Where the work happens Our offices in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE Whichever single office you can travel to

Four terms worth pinning down

Hybrid entity
An entity treated as fiscally transparent by one country and as a company by the other. The mismatch is where credits get stranded.
FEMA
India's exchange-control law, which defines residence differently from tax law and governs which accounts may be held and how funds may move.
Carryback and carryforward
The mechanism that lets unused foreign tax credit be applied to another year rather than lost. Availability differs by country and by category of credit.
Unified credit
The mechanism by which a US estate and gift tax exemption is applied. The amount available to a non-resident is far smaller than to a US person unless a treaty adjusts it.

Fixed fees around buying or selling property in United Kingdom

A United Kingdom property sale is reported twice, and the fees below reflect that: a disposal return to HMRC on its own timetable, then the same gain again on the Canadian or US return, where the credit must be mapped across two tax years that do not align. Joint owners each need their own filing. Quoted in writing first.

Individual tax filing

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: Personal returns for individuals, expats and non-residents — foreign income, foreign property and treaty relief handled in one engagement.

See this fee page

Non-resident & departure filings

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: Arrival and departure years priced as one engagement, with the part-year residence position and the assets deemed disposed of on exit.

See this fee page

Foreign asset & information reporting

$349fixed, before work starts

Covers: Accounts, property and company interests held outside the country of residence, reported on the schedules that carry penalties whether or not tax is owed.

See this fee page

The difference a dedicated cross-border team makes

Every figure on a page is traceable

Where a rate or a threshold appears in our writing it names the tax year it belongs to. Where it could not be confirmed, the page describes the mechanism and quotes no number.

The order of filing is planned, not improvised

Which return goes first decides whether relief can be claimed at all. That sequence is worked out before anything is submitted.

The reporting penalties get named early

The heaviest exposure on a cross-border file is usually a disclosure form, not the tax. We identify which ones apply before a deadline turns into a penalty.

4 global offices

Meet us in person in India, the USA, Canada and the UAE, or send everything through the secure portal — the same process either way.

The team at work in the open-plan office

Buying or selling property in United Kingdom — the four phases

Step 1

The opening call

We establish what happened and when, because every position here is anchored to a date

Step 2

Scope in writing

A written scope and a fixed price, so you know the cost before committing

Step 3

Prepared and checked

The filings are prepared, cross-checked against each other, and reviewed by name

Step 4

Filed, then supported

You see the result, approve it, and we file it

Two of the firm’s advisers at a desk in the Delhi office

From first document to filed return

  • Step 1: Start with a conversation about the facts – Dates, residence, where the income arose. Fifteen minutes is usually enough to know what applies.
  • Step 2: Scope and price, both written down – You get the scope and the fixed fee together, so there is no question later about what was included.
  • Step 3: Prepared by one team, reviewed by a named practitioner – The same people see both sides of the file, and the reviewer signs their name to it.
  • Step 4: Filed, then followed through – Submission is not the end of the engagement — the queries that arrive afterwards are part of it.

Quoted up front, in writing.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068

Where to go next

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

The work we do for clients like this

Form 5471 — controlled foreign corporation, US international tax The full guide to international tax form 5471, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Shadow payroll Its own page: shadow payroll — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Limitation on benefits — the treaty test Everything on limitation on benefits treaty, at the same depth as this page.
Form 8804 / 8805 — partnership withholding Form 8804 8805 partnership withholding — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Dual citizen with two passports, two returns The full guide to dual citizen two tax returns, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
NRI Indian return — do you need to declare foreign assets? Its own page: do NRI need to declare foreign assets in India — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Canadian with a US brokerage account Everything on Canadian with US brokerage account tax, at the same depth as this page.
Intercompany agreements Intercompany agreements — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
State returns — for a nonresident alien The full guide to nonresident alien state tax return, with the fee fixed before any work starts.

Who we help

Day traders — what you owe in each country The full guide to day traders what you owe in each country, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Cross-border truck drivers — what you owe in each country Its own page: cross-border truck drivers what you owe in each country — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Crypto traders — relief you're probably missing Everything on crypto traders relief you're probably missing, at the same depth as this page.
Tax for cabin crew Cabin crew tax — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Manufacturers cross-border tax The full guide to manufacturers cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Tax for coaches & trainers Its own page: coaches & trainers tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
IT contractors — relief you're probably missing Everything on it contractors relief you're probably missing, at the same depth as this page.
Technology & SaaS — what you owe in each country Technology & saas what you owe in each country — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Medical & dental practices cross-border tax The full guide to medical & dental practices cross border tax, with the fee fixed before any work starts.

Countries and corridors this work reaches

Moving to Australia — the tax year you leave The full guide to moving to Australia, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Canada–Philippines tax corridor Its own page: Canada Philippines tax — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Working remotely from Hong Kong Everything on working remotely from Hong Kong, at the same depth as this page.
Working remotely from United States Working remotely from United States — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Buying or selling property in India The full guide to buying or selling property in India, with the fee fixed before any work starts.
Moving to Ireland — the tax year you leave Its own page: moving to Ireland — mechanism, deadlines and published fees.
Moving back from Saudi Arabia — re-establishing residency Everything on moving back from Saudi Arabia, at the same depth as this page.
Retiring in Germany — pensions & withholding Retiring in Germany — the guide, the FAQ and the fixed fee.
Moving to Italy — the tax year you leave The full guide to moving to Italy, with the fee fixed before any work starts.

The people on your file

Five named practitioners, each with the part of a cross-border file they carry. Every page on this site says who reviewed it, and the reviewer is one of these people rather than an unnamed team.

Udit Gupta

Udit Gupta

Cross-Border Tax Expert

CA (ICAI), In-Depth Tax Trained

Reviews and signs off the practice's cross-border positions, and carries final responsibility for the treaty analysis on every file that leaves the office.

Abhinav Gupta

Abhinav Gupta

Canada Tax / International Tax

Canada Tax, International Tax, Cross-Border Tax, Transfer Pricing

Canadian returns with foreign income, non-resident filings, and the transfer-pricing documentation that runs alongside intercompany work.

Raghav Gupta

Raghav Gupta

International Tax

International Tax, Transfer Pricing Specialist

Benchmarking, method selection and the local-file and master-file sets that support a group's pricing policy under examination.

Anmol Mittal

Anmol Mittal

Canada and US tax

CPA Canada, CPA USA, CA (ICAI)

Files that have to be right on both sides of the border at once — dual filings, streamlined catch-ups, and the foreign tax credit reconciliation between them.

Vinayak Indolia

Vinayak Indolia

CFO advisory

CPA, CA. Fractional CFO and Senior Advisory Specialist

Groups that need the tax position and the finance function to agree: structure reviews, intercompany policy, and the reporting a board can act on.

Meet the whole team

Files that look like this one

Case study 1

An NRI Selling Indian Property With Tax Withheld on the Price

Withholding on a sale by a non-resident is applied to the sale value rather than to the gain, so it routinely exceeds the tax due. A lower-deduction certificate obtained before completion avoids locking the difference up until a return is assessed.

Read how this one runs
Case study 2

A Canadian Working in the US on a Work Visa

Immigration status and tax residence are different tests, and a visa says nothing about which country taxes the salary. The file fixes residence, applies the employment article, and sequences the two returns so the credit lands where it is usable.

Read how this one runs
Case study 3

An Adjustment in One Country and No Relief in the Other

A pricing adjustment taxes the same profit twice unless the other country makes a corresponding one. The mutual agreement route is what produces that relief, and it is opened on a timetable set by the treaty rather than by either revenue authority.

Read how this one runs
Case study 4

Withheld at the Statutory Rate When a Treaty Rate Applied

Where withholding has already gone out at the full domestic rate, the treaty rate is recovered rather than applied. The file establishes entitlement for each payment, then puts the documentation in place so the following year runs at the correct rate from the start.

Read how this one runs
Case study 5

A Retirement Plan That Grows Tax-Deferred in Only One Country

Cross-border retirement accounts are recognised by treaty, but the deferral usually has to be elected rather than assumed. The engagement checks whether the election was made, makes it where it was missed, and reports the account on whichever side requires it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 6

A Residency Determination Review After Leaving the Country

Residence is decided on ties, not on a form, and the review asks for evidence of every one of them. The file assembles the ties that were severed and the ones that remained, and answers the questionnaire against the treaty rather than around it.

Read how this one runs
Case study 7

Three Countries in One File and Two Treaties That Disagree

Income sourced in one country, paid to a resident of a second, held through an entity in a third: three bilateral treaties, no three-way rule. The analysis works out which pair governs each flow, and whether the middle entity is entitled to anything at all.

Read how this one runs
Case study 8

The Local File That Has to Match the Accounts

A local file describes the entity's own controlled transactions and ties them to its statutory figures. Where the two do not reconcile, that is what an examiner opens with.

Read how this one runs

All case studies — every published engagement in one place.

How and where the work is delivered

Browse sideways: the pages below answer the neighbouring questions.

Where the work is delivered

More coverage detail

Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services

International Tax Planning & Advisory

Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.

Treaty residency & tie-breaker
FATCA reporting (Form 8938)
Foreign tax credit (Form 1116)
Multi-country filing calendar
Real estate holding structures
International tax planning
Pre-immigration tax planning
Family office structures
One coordinating team: filings on every side of the border are sequenced so treaty relief and foreign tax credits are claimed once — and in the right country.

U.S. & Cross-Border Tax Returns

Form 1040 from abroad
US state non-resident returns
FBAR (FinCEN 114) filing
Form 5472 — foreign-owned US corp
FIRPTA withholding (Form 8288)
US estate tax exposure
IRS streamlined foreign offshore
PFIC reporting (Form 8621)
Dual filers: U.S. citizens in Canada and Canadians with U.S. income run two parallel systems — we prepare both, in the right order, every year.

Expat & Emigration Tax

Departure tax leaving Canada
T1161 properties on emigration
Residency planning
Step-up in cost base on arrival
Split-year residency
Employment income under a treaty
Social security totalization
Returning to Canada after years abroad
The move year is its own project: the elections and valuations filed that year decide the next decade of both countries’ returns.

Non-Resident Canadian Tax

Section 216 rental return
NR4 & NR6 withholding
Section 217 pension return
Section 116 clearance certificate
Regulation 105 waiver
Non-resident employment income
Taxable Canadian property
Part XIII withholding review
Default withholding is 25% of gross: elective returns routinely turn over-withheld rent and pensions into refunds.

Transfer Pricing & BEPS

s.247 contemporaneous documentation
Functional & risk analysis
Benchmarking study
Intercompany agreements
Country-by-country report
BEPS & Pillar Two
Permanent establishment risk
TP audit defence file
Documentation prepared with the return is the cheapest insurance in international tax; reconstructing it during an audit is the most expensive.

Cross-Border Estates & Trusts

Cross-border wills
US estate tax for non-resident aliens
Terminal return & clearance certificate
Non-resident trusts (s.94)
T1141 & T1142 trust reporting
Inheriting property abroad
Graduated rate estates
Post-mortem planning & pipeline
Wills drafted for one country routinely misfire in the other — deemed disposition here, estate tax there, credits in between.

Cross-Border Corporate Tax

Entity selection across borders
Business profits & PE
Intercompany loans & thin cap
Paying dividends to a foreign parent
Global mobility & day tracking
Debt vs equity funding
Branch or subsidiary
Cross-border M&A due diligence
Expansion raises the same four questions every time — entity, PE, repatriation, payroll. We answer them before the tax authorities do.

India Tax for NRIs & Returning Residents

NRI residency day tests
NRE, NRO & FCNR accounts
TDS on property (s.195)
Lower or nil TDS certificate
Repatriating sale proceeds
Capital gains on Indian shares
India–Canada DTAA
ITR-2 for NRIs
The deduction is taken on the sale price, not the gain — which is why an NRI property sale strands cash unless the certificate is applied for before closing.

Canadian Tax with a Foreign Element

T1135 foreign property
T1134 foreign affiliates
Departure tax
Newcomer's first return
Returning to Canada
Split-year residency
US citizens in Canada
Canada–US corridor
Residency is decided on facts, not on a form — and the year you arrive or leave is the one where the largest amounts turn on the smallest details.

UAE Tax for Expats & Their Home Country

Expat tax in the UAE
Moving to the UAE
Moving back from the UAE
UAE property purchases
Retiring in the UAE
Canada–UAE corridor
India–UAE DTAA
US–UAE corridor
A zero-tax country is only half the answer — the question that decides the bill is whether the country you came from still treats you as resident.

Industries & Client Types We Serve Worldwide

Global E-commerce & Marketplaces
Technology & SaaS
Professional Services Firms
Cross-Border Real Estate
Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers
Athletes, Artists & Entertainers
Remote Workers & Digital Nomads
Investment Funds & Holding Companies

Global E-commerce & Marketplaces

Cross-border tax for sellers shipping worldwide: marketplace withholding, foreign registrations and inventory nexus handled before they become audits.

Marketplaces withhold, remit and report in their own right, so the tax position of a single sale is decided by where the stock sat, where the buyer was and which platform collected — not by where the company is registered. We reconcile the platform's own filings against the returns before either is submitted.

  • Foreign VAT / GST / sales tax registrations
  • Marketplace withholding reviews
  • Inventory nexus & PE analysis
  • Multi-currency books reconciled
Explore E-commerce & Marketplaces

Technology & SaaS

  • Cross-border revenue sourcing & withholding
  • IP structuring with real substance
  • Equity for cross-border teams
  • U.S. expansion: entity & PE setup
Explore Technology & SaaS

Importers, Exporters & Manufacturers

  • Transfer pricing documentation (s.247)
  • Customs value vs transfer price
  • Foreign affiliate reporting (T1134)
  • Country-by-country reporting
Explore Trade & Manufacturing

Athletes, Artists & Entertainers

  • Reg 105 & U.S. CWA agreements
  • Multi-state & country calendars
  • Touring income allocation
  • Royalty & image-rights withholding
Explore Athletes & Entertainers

Remote Workers & Digital Nomads

  • Residency analysis before moving
  • Employer payroll exposure
  • Totalization & social security
  • Foreign tax credits
Explore Remote Workers

Investment Funds & Holding Companies

  • Treaty access & PPT reviews
  • FAPI & surplus computations
  • Withholding-efficient routing
  • Governance & substance
Explore Funds & Holdcos

United Kingdom — questions we are asked

Do I have to file at home while living in United Kingdom?

Residence decides it, and residence is a question of facts rather than of where your post arrives. The one exception is US citizenship, which carries the filing obligation with the person wherever they go. So the first thing we establish is which system still claims you.

Is there a treaty between my country and United Kingdom?

That is verified rather than assumed: we confirm which treaty text governs United Kingdom and your home country for the year in question, because a protocol can move a rate or an article between years. If there is no treaty, unilateral credit rules are what prevent double taxation.

I own property in United Kingdom. Where is the rent taxed?

In United Kingdom, because that is where the property sits. The complication is the base: gross-rent withholding takes no account of mortgage interest, tax or repairs, so a leveraged property can face tax on turnover. An election onto net profit, where it exists, is what fixes that — and it has its own timing.

What does "received a distribution from a foreign trust" mean on my return?

It is asking whether the trust conferred anything on you during the year — cash, property, or the use of trust property, including rent-free occupation of a house and, in some circumstances, a loan. Answering yes brings an information return, and where the distribution includes income accumulated in earlier years the tax computation can carry an interest charge for the delay. Trust accounts showing the composition of the distribution are what keep that computation from defaulting against you. See Form 3520.

Do non-residents pay US estate tax?

Yes, on US-situs assets — and with a far smaller exemption than a US citizen or domiciliary receives, which is why exposure can arise at values people assume are safe. US real property, tangible property located there and shares issued by US companies are generally in; foreign-issued securities and certain deposits generally are not. An estate tax treaty, where one exists, can improve the position considerably. See US estate tax for non-resident aliens.

What is FIRPTA withholding?

FIRPTA is the US regime that treats a foreign person's disposition of a US real property interest as taxable and makes the buyer withhold on the gross proceeds to secure it. Because the deduction is on the price rather than the profit, it routinely exceeds the real tax — sometimes on a sale made at a loss. A withholding certificate applied for before closing can reduce it to something closer to the actual liability. See the FIRPTA withholding certificate.

Tax terms explained

Cost contribution arrangementMark-to-market electionCertificate of coverageNotice of objectionDependent agentNet worth assessmentCbCRPresumptive taxation183-day ruleGraduated rate estateChapter 4 withholdingForeign earned incomeForm 8858Earnings stripping Browse the full A–Z glossary

More on United Kingdom and this corridor

More in this section

All country guidesMoving back from Netherlands — re-establishing residencyRetiring in Portugal — pensions & withholdingRetiring in India — pensions & withholdingWorking remotely from Saudi ArabiaWorking remotely from IrelandBuying or selling property in Ireland

Also relevant

Ghana tax for expats — country guideChina tax for expats — country guideOman tax for expats — country guideNorway tax for expats — country guideLatvia tax for expats — country guideMalaysia tax for expats — country guide

Pricing for this work

T106 information return — fixed-fee priceStreamlined catch-up — 3 years + 6 FBARs — fixed-fee priceSection 116 clearance certificate — fixed-fee priceDual filing — 1040 + T1 together — fixed-fee price
No hourly billing, ever

Let us take your United Kingdom filing off your desk

We scope it on a call, quote it in writing, and you see the result before anything is filed.

Contact Us 24-hour helpline +1 (416) 619-0068 See fixed fees
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  • Fixed fees agreed before work starts
  • 18,000+ clients served

Our practitioners are alumni of leading accounting and tax institutions

Where our partners studied — CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), AICPA, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

Request a Quote +1 (416) 619-0068