Not sure who we need to pay 2019 taxes to?

Hi there

My wife moved to the UK on 30th May 2019 on an FLR(M) visa. Since then, she has nad no full-time employment but has been working as a freelance writer for US companies, and paid in USD to her US bank account.

Between June and December 2019, she has continued to pay her US taxes quarterly for these freelance projects (as well as previous full-time work before she moved), but now we are wondering if that was a mistake and we should be paying these taxes to HMRC instead?

Due to the difference in the tax years between US & UK, we're unsure what to do with the January-April 2020 payment and which country this should go to - should we continue paying the US, or switch to HMRC now?

As you can probably tell, we're in a bit of a muddle! Any advice on what steps we need to take next would be hugely appreciated.

I believe she should be paying taxes to both the UK and the US and claiming back her UK taxes paid on her US return as foreign tax credits.

This has been my situation since moving back in 2016 and receiving both US and UK pensions plus other income from both countries.

Great, thanks for that!

So basically we have to:
1. Register for 2019/20 Self Assessment tax with HMRC
2. Fill in this and find out how much she owes HMRC for June 2019 - April 2020.
3. File her US taxes for 2019 and state that she has/is going to pay X amount to HMRC between June -December 2019.
4. Then we'll get some sort of rebate for the money she accidentally paid the US during this time period to ensure we aren't doubled-taxed?

Is that correct?

Great, thanks for that!

So basically we have to:
1. Register for 2019/20 Self Assessment tax with HMRC
2. Fill in this and find out how much she owes HMRC for June 2019 - April 2020.
3. File her US taxes for 2019 and state that she has/is going to pay X amount to HMRC between June -December 2019.
4. Then we'll get some sort of rebate for the money she accidentally paid the US during this time period to ensure we aren't doubled-taxed?

Is that correct?

You've got it I think.

Even though UK taxes aren't due to be paid until Jan 31st I always pay them before December 31st.

I usually file my US taxes in June by which time I have a good idea what I'll be paying HMRC so when I file forms 1116 I check the box saying the foreign taxes are "Accrued" since I haven't actually paid them but will do by the end of the year. My US taxes are then reduced by those credits and the following year I can adjust if I got it wrong. This is similar to filing Federal taxes and entering what State tax was paid, and any State tax refund you get is adjusted the following year.

The UK has the primary right to charge tax and NIC. Standard planning is to make a payment to HMRC by 31 December each year to ensure there are adequate foreign tax credits.

In the US she has foreign source income for 2019 so the foreign source self-employment will be reported on Schedule C plus Forms 1116 & 8858. She will want to obtain a certificate of coverage from HMRC.

Brilliant, thanks very much for you help guys! Much appreciated. Will get stuck into it.

Hi guys - thanks for your advice before - we're plodding through it...!

In terms of receiving the certificate of coverage, is there anywhere online we can apply for this, or do we have to call/write to them for one?

Hi guys - just wondering if anyone knew where to get the certificate of coverage from?

I've searched all over the web and cannot find anything for the life of me - can I apply online or do I have to do it by phone/writing?