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tax return - first timer
I'm hoping I can take my form to the tax advisor in my local commune (1200) but what else do I need to take with me? I have my statement of income from my employer. I don't own property here - I only rent. No children. I do own property back in the UK which is mortgaged but I already declare this on a UK tax return. Do I have to declare that here too? If so, what 'papers' do I need to take about it?
Thanks for any help.
If you have received a Belgian tax return for the year 2013, you must have registered as a resident here at some time during that year. If you don't know the effective date of your registration, you will have to ask your commune; it almost certainly won't be the date on your Ecard as that will have been issued later and it bears its date of issue not of your registration. You will need this date for the tax form as it is the date on which you became legally resident in Belgium and thus liable to Belgian rather than (usually) UK tax.
Depending on your circumstances, you may or may not still be liable to pay some tax in the UK, the details being given in three documents accessible here under "Belgium" http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxtreaties/in-force/b.htm.
In order to stop paying tax in the UK, you will need to get and complete a form from HMRC in the UK and this has to be countersigned by your Belgian Tax Inspector - so get it and take it with you completed. This form also allows you to claim back any tax overpaid in the UK.
Also take with you details of any UK income (interest, dividends, etc including that from ISAs) that you received between your date of registration and 31 December 2013, remembering that it has to be converted from pounds to euros for tax purposes.
You will probably find that the tax advisor at your commune will have to make an appointment for you with your Tax Inspector.
Assuming that you were in employment in the UK prior to 1/9, you will be due a tax rebate from HMRC in respect of PAYE (because the PAYE calculations anticipate a full year's employment and spread allowances and tax rates accordingly) and you should also ultimately (say after 15+ months) receive a rebate in Belgium for the same reason.
I strongly suspect that you will be taxed on your UK house here in Belgium but I will leave it to you to plough through the relevant sections of the DT treaty,
etc. I only avoided being taxed on mine because it had previously been my main residence AND I was in the (snail's pace) process of selling it, so it wasn't available for rent. You will be expected to supply an equivalent Revenue Cadastre figure for your UK house, had I needed it, I was intending to supply its rateable value prior to the introduction of the poll tax(!) which was still used as the basis for the Water Company's charges and which seemed the nearest equivalent to the RC here.
One further point is that it might be worth enquiring as to how much a voluntary payment would be to complete your 2014/15 UK National Insurance payment record for subsequent pension purposes, as, if your UK pay was high enough, there may only be a few pounds more to pay.
