[quattrogmbh]

I know there are several tax advisors here so I wondered if this is a simple scenario.... :-)

How do I declare Dividends from foreign shares (US) on an HMRC self assessment?

How do I denote that they have already been taxed "non resident Alien"?
I'm assuming I get some relief from this?


Thanks much in advance..

[xenon]

I'm not a tax advisor but I do get paid in US$ shares held in a US bank. I do it differently though - I fill in a form with the US bank (I think it's W8-Ben, I don't have a copy with me but I can check) and this declares that I'm a non-resident alien and therefore NO tax is deducted by the IRS in the US. However, for any dividends or sale of shares I declare and pay UK tax. As far as I know this is the more common arrangement whereas in your case you're paying tax in a country you're not living in. Are you certain tax has been paid in the US?

[doughboy]

If you're a "non resident" then why would you pay tax there?

Are you sure they're taxed in the US?

[xenon]

Perhaps quattrogmbh has been arrested?

[quattrogmbh]

I suspect I'd have better bandwidth in a prison :-)

I do have a current W-8BEN in force
But my statements from last year still show a Non-Resident Alien Tax withholding by the US IRS.

I'm just going to reference those on the tax return and hope that HMRC know how to credit me and not tax me twice ;-)

Thanks again.

[xenon]

You mean your statements say that tax has been deducted by the US even though you have the W8-BEN?

<runs off to check mine in more detail>

[quattrogmbh]

Allegedly, the W-8BEN covers share transactions, but not income from Dividends which if they are from a US company are still taxed in the US.

I'm yet to discover whether the US<>UK tax treaty permits any tax relief on that, or whether its straightforward "double Taxation"

[xenon]

I shall investigate further. I pay tax on transactions and dividends in the UK so I need to check if dividends are taxed at source - I suppose that's possible. Transactions aren't because that I would notice.