Is my foreign pension taxable in the UK?

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have recently focussed their efforts into collecting underpaid tax from foreign sources. The penalties for underpaid tax can be around 200% of the tax due. In some cases, this could mean your total liability will end up being more than the income that you received in the first place.

If you have more than £300 of taxable foreign income, you are required to complete an annual tax return.

One of the most common types of foreign income is a foreign pension, and unfortunately, pension taxation is a notoriously complex area.  The Chartered Institute of Taxation has produced a detailed (and quite technical) guide highlighting the issues which should be considered:

Should I pay tax on my foreign pension

It is important to identify the UK tax treatment of each foreign pension you may have, and we can help you with this.

You may have not declared your foreign income and underpaid tax, and, if so, we can help by calculating any tax due. We can also liaise with HMRC  to bring your tax affairs up to date and guide you through the whole process, including negotiating any penalties due to ensure that these are kept to a minimum.

Alternatively, you may have been declaring your foreign pension and it could potentially be exempt from UK tax. We can calculate how much tax you have overpaid and claim the refund from HMRC for you. There is a time limit for doing this, so it is important to act quickly.

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