An individual may be non-UK domiciled under common law, but nevertheless deemed UK domiciled for tax purposes.
If an individual meets either Condition A or Condition B below, he is deemed to be UK-domiciled for UK tax purposes. These rules took effect from the 2017/18 tax year.
Condition A
This applies to an individual who was born in the United Kingdom, had the UK as his domicile of origin, and was resident in the country during the relevant tax year.
HMRC gives the following example:
- an individual was born in the UK to a UK-domiciled father (therefore acquiring his father’s UK domicile);
- he left the UK at some point, and acquired a domicile elsewhere;
- sometime after the 2017/18 tax year, he returned to the United Kingdom.
- He would be deemed UK-domiciled for all tax purposes.
The effect is pretty much as though his original domicile had revived upon his return to the UK. This situation could actually lead to an individual having two domiciles. And, depending on the tax rules of the other country, this could actually be problematic.
Condition B
An individual is deemed domiciled if she has been resident in the United Kingdom for at least 15 out of the 20 tax years immediately preceding the tax year in question.
However, one can shake off the deemed domicile by leaving the United Kingdom, and remaining non-UK resident for at least 6 years in the 20 tax years immediately preceding the tax year in question.