If you have moved to Portugal, you should have taken steps to ensure that your finances and tax affairs are all set up for your life here. But have you done the same with your estate planning?

While Portugal is relatively straightforward when it comes to inheritance taxes – only charging 10% ‘stamp duty’ on Portuguese property passed between non-direct family members – succession laws work very differently to the UK. If you are not prepared for this, your legacy might not be distributed as you intended.

Staying on top of the latest currency news can help you time your transfers more effectively, so find out what you should be looking out for over the next couple of weeks…

If you’ve been paying any attention to the currency market you’ve probably noticed that exchange rates have been particularly volatile in recent weeks.
But is this trend likely to persist in the coming months? And what should you expect out of the main European currencies this year?

The 2019/20 UK tax year ticked over on 6 April 2019, resetting thresholds and allowances for the next 12 months. We explore changes that may affect expatriates and what you can do to make the most of existing rules.

Staying on top of the latest currency news can help you time your transfers more effectively, so find out what you should be looking out for over the next couple of weeks…

It’s that time of year again, when we need to complete and submit our French income tax returns.  The introduction of the new pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system changes the payment of tax this year, but you need to declare all your income as usual.

As always, take care to include all your worldwide income as required by French tax legislation. This is more important than ever with automatic exchange of information now taking place under the Common Reporting Standard.

Income is reported in different categories: A) Salaries, B) Sole Traders, E) Capital, F) Property, G) Capital Gains and H) Pensions and is taxable in Portugal regardless of its origin. For non-residents, only income actually arising in Portugal is subject to assessment.

Foreign Residents receiving pensions from their home jurisdictions first need to study the nature of their pension to see how it is to be reported and assessed. Three types of pensions are taxable under the rules of this category.

The Common Reporting Standard, where countries around the world automatically exchange information about taxpayers’ offshore income and assets, is now in full flow. Tax authorities are beginning to use the data received to their benefit. 

The UK government published the 2019 version of its “No Safe Havens” policy paper on 13^th March, timed to coincide with the Chancellor’s Spring Statement. It outlines how the UK has seen “huge changes and improvements to offshore tax compliance in recent years” and lists some of the results of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).