UK flat before leaving or after once in CH?

Finance, Taxes, Banking, Insurance and Retirement
21
It won't be empty. There's no surcharge for second homes.

22
Ignore all this and do your own research.

23
This is all a red-herring. You can pretty much ignore it and do your own research from the gov.uk site.

24
I think the property needs to be empty for 2 years to attract a higher rate. But it won't be empty if you use it as a second home.

25
I'm not aware of any advantages. As a UK non-resident you'll be liable for capital gains tax if you sell.

In Switzerland you'll pay more tax because you have a property available to you. Depending on your salary this can be a significant amount. It used to cost me thousands per year.

Don't necessarily believe all the responses you get, even mine. This forum is a hot-bed of mis-information. Double check everything yourself. Every so often I come to the forum to have a look, get frustrated with all the misinformation, then leave again.

26
I am also double checking everything myself. It really depends to some extent on where and how I do things.

Yes it won’t be empty if I use it as a second home, but if I do that I have to check how my Swiss income will be treated by U.K. for ICT purposes. Right now if I just become a CH resident all my income tax is managed there but if I fall into being a U.K. resident too then I don’t want to be subject to U.K. tax for the privilege of keeping a second home. I’ll definitely ask for tax support asap to make my decisions.

I am aware that I would be subject to U.K. CGT especially if it’s a home I don’t live in. I just wonder if there are any other advantages.

Also, thanks for the warning re mis-information. I will be checking everything with gov.U.K.

Just curious when it used to cost your ‘000s per year was that due to Swiss wealth tax taking the property value into consideration or if you had rental income there was that taxed according to U.K. rules or CH rules?

Of course I will check this with gov.Uk and a

Financial expert.

27
It will come down to the number of days you spend in the UK. You could meet the automatic non-resident test when you take up employment in Switzerland but it is done by tax year. Having the property won't in itself make you UK tax resident but the number of days per year will be limited. Bank accounts, transfers and businesses are of no relevance.

It's liable now as a non-resident regardless whether it's a holiday home or not although 'residency' can have different definitions.

Swiss have the notion of 'imputed rental income' - they use the potential rental value of the property to increase your Swiss income tax rate. Wealth tax also comes into play but that's very much canton-dependent.

28
Swiss have the notion of 'imputed rental income' - they use the potential rental value of the property to increase your Swiss income tax rate. Wealth tax also comes into play but that's very much canton-dependent.[/QUOTE]

Hi Landers, thanks for this, I thought the ‘imputed rental income’ tax was only applicable to properties that I buy in switzerland. So not relevant if I buy in the U.K. However wealth tax could be calculated on all my world wide assets incl property, though if I have a mortgage I may be able to deduct that from the total pot.

I will move to Zürich or Zug.

29
Some people do claim it doesn't apply but my understanding is it applies for all properties no matter where they are. You DO NOT pay direct tax on this virtual income but it increases the tax rate for your Swiss income.

Some people simply don't declare their foreign properties and other foreign assets.

Yes a mortgage can be deducted including I believe the interest payments.

30
Ahh yes it impacts how they calculate your wealth and then wealth tax payments, though I can deduct mortgage from it. I think if you have a CH property there is a rental tax thing that applies but that’s not the case for foreign property. So I just need to be mindful of wealth tax implications.

I think I need a financial advisor before I go over hmm

31
'rental tax thing' also applies to foreign properties.

Good luck with it all.