UK legislation allows the purchasing of UK properties by offshore companies or non-UK residents. There are mainly the tax requirements that companies have to follow so that no legal action can be taken against them.
Can an offshore company trade in the UK?
Non-EU registered offshore companies (e.g. BVI companies) conducting UK trades are simply chargeable to tax in the UK on the trading profit, either to UK corporation tax or basic rate income tax, depending on whether the BVI company has a permanent establishment in the UK or not. UK corporation tax is 20%.
How do I start an offshore company in the UK?
How to Set up an Offshore Company in UK
- Choose a trading name.
- Fill the application form with personal and company details (this won’t take more than 5 minutes)
- Choose other options for your company as an offshore bank account, recommended services like nominee director, virtual office, IP services etc.
Why do you need an offshore company in the UK?
For temporary UK residents and non-domiciled individuals, an overseas company can help to keep a UK business from becoming UK tax resident when the individual does, ready for when they move back overseas.
Can a UK resident be attributed to an offshore structure?
The UK’s first-tier Tax Tribunal (Tribunal) has recently considered a number of issues relating to the anti-avoidance rules which attribute the income of offshore structures to UK residents in the case of A Rialas v HMRC [2019] UKFTT 520. Some of the comments made by the Tribunal could be quite helpful to taxpayers.
Do you have to pay UK tax on offshore assets?
Where assets (whether in the UK or elsewhere) are held by an offshore company, the owners of which are UK resident, many tax aspects need consideration. In certain cases, the company itself may still be required to file UK tax returns and pay UK tax, potentially on its worldwide profits.
Can a UK company own an overseas property?
It seems surprising that choosing to acquire a UK asset through an offshore company should amount to tax avoidance for this purpose. One of the points made by Mr Rialas was that parliament has recently introduced a rule under which inheritance tax is still chargeable on the shares in an overseas company which owns UK residential property.
