Question on US/UK income

I could use a little advice.

I've recently married a UK citizen/resident and will be moving to the UK (spousal settlement visa) in August or September.  I'm self-employed as a consultant and will continue to have a small amount of US-based income plus (I hope) some UK-based income.  I will also have a significant amount dividend/interest income (including muni bonds) in accounts based in the US, plus company pension and Social Security income beginning several years from now.

I presume I will have to file income tax returns in both the US and UK.  Correct?

Questions:
  1) In general, can I pay US tax on just US-based income and UK tax on just UK-based income?  Or do I have to report all sources of income and pay tax thereon in both filings?
  2) Is my US-based dividend/interest income generally taxable in the UK as well as in the US, or just in the US?  Is my muni bond interest income taxable in the UK (it's not in the US!).
  3) Are US Social Security benefits taxable in the UK?
  4) If I file jointly with my wife in the UK, are there any advantages/disadvantages?  If I file jointly in the UK, can I still file separately in the US?

Thanks for any help here.

If I file jointly with my wife in the UK, are there any advantages/disadvantages?  If I file jointly in the UK, can I still file separately in the US?

I'll just pick up this. In the UK there is no such thing as joint filing. Everyone is responsible for their own taxes, and not those of their spouse.

Also, as regards whether you need to report your US income in the UK, after you move, what are you intending to do with that US income? Leave it in the US, or put it somewhere else outside the UK? Or will you be bringing it to the UK?

I'll be leaving the dividends/interest income in the US, at least for a while.  Employment-related income in the UK will remain in the UK; employment-related income in the US will probably come to the UK via transfer from my US bank to an account in the UK.  Or at least that's the current plan.

You say you will be employed by a US employer after you move plus you also say you are an independent contractor.  From a UK corporate perspective ensure the company takes advice if your presence creates a UK permanent establishment, its obligations to file UK corporate & VAT & PAYE returns and its obligations under English or Scottish employment law.

You will owe UK taxes on worldwide income unless you elect the remittance basis.  It is extremely unlikely that the US employment income could escape UK tax.

Thanks for the input, guya.  My employment-related income (as opposed to "unearned income" such as dividends/interest) in the US would be as a self-employed consultant, reported to the US Internal Revenue Service on Forms 1099.  I plan to work in the UK also as a self-employed consultant, i.e. free-lance.

I will check out what "remittance basis" is all about.  Can you suggest any websites?

I have heard that there is an income tax treaty between the US and the UK such that someone in my situation is not double-taxed.  Is this true?

Are you planning on doing the US work while you are in the UK, or are you going to travel back to the US to preform this work?

Probably a little bit of both.  The consultancy work involves data/information review, thinking, writing, Internet searches, e-mails, etc. etc.  Face-to-face meetings, facility/operations audits, etc. are about the only things that are done at any specific location.

Probably a little bit of both.  The consultancy work involves data/information review, thinking, writing, Internet searches, e-mails, etc. etc.  Face-to-face meetings, facility/operations audits, etc. are about the only things that are done at any specific location.

Based on this detail you are employed under general English law principles & subject to UK tax on the entire income whether or not remitted.  You can of course describe it as self-employed in the US if you like as the legal concepts are different in each jurisdiction.

Try HMRC for initial guidance: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/res-dom-tax-amends.htm

Probably a little bit of both.  The consultancy work involves data/information review, thinking, writing, Internet searches, e-mails, etc. etc.  Face-to-face meetings, facility/operations audits, etc. are about the only things that are done at any specific location.

FYI - To be a bit clearer about when taxation arises (i.e. in what location).  It isn't as simple as saying that you do US consultancy work so it is taxed in the US.  If you are doing the US work in the UK, it falls in the UK tax net.  

ETA: xposted