Capital gains tax on investment income

lukeh New member

Member since 07 June 2020

lukehNew member07 June 2020 14:29:26

[cross posted to the two country specific boards, but helpful to get a wider opinion also]

I have a relatively substantial ISA, a form of investment account that is tax exempt in the UK. I'm not required to pay CGT when I buy & sell investments within the account, and do not pay income tax when I withdraw funds.

I am considering relocating overseas, possibly to Portugal or Costa Rica. I will take-up specialist tax advice at the point when plans mature, but currently am just at the stage of early research, so wonder if members of this community might be able to provide some advice on the tax treatment of my investment account in each of the countries under consideration, if I were to become tax resident there.

From the somewhat limited information I'm able to find online:

Portugal - I would be required to pay CGT on profits from sale of stock within the account, and the Non-Habitual Resident scheme would not provide any relief for this type of investment income.

Costa Rica - I would only be liable for income or capital gains within the country, so my UK account would remain entirely tax free.

Have I understood this correctly in each case? In Portugal, are there any authorised mechanisms for preserving the tax efficiency I'm currently benefiting from by remaining a UK resident?

If this is not possible in either of my preferred locations, are there any other countries that might treat the investment account more favourably?

Many thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions.

Luke

atomheart Serial expat

Member since 01 April 2016

atomheartSerial expat09 June 2020 12:22:22

614

In case you haven't found them already, PwC has pretty good tax "guidebooks" on lots of countries, worth looking into.

lukeh New member

Member since 07 June 2020

lukehNew member09 June 2020 14:03:50

Many thanks for the suggestion. I did actually go through the PwC guides, but the situation is still somewhat ambiguous. Did wonder if any folk in a similar situation could share some outline practical guidance based on their own experiences.

Luke

joyfulfeet_immigration Contributor

Member since 16 October 2018

joyfulfeet_immigrationContributor20 June 2020 01:42:20

105

In Panama you are not liable to pay any tax on income earned from abroad or online. Panama is actually better than Costa Rica in quite a few categories. Contact me anytime if you need more insight.

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

Member since 13 March 2014

cccmediaEcuador/Colombia Expert18 April 2021 05:48:06

10285

Consulting accountants and tax attorneys in the relevant countries could produce information that is individual-specific .. and is more reliable than what layman Expats can provide.

An accountant open to new clients will often be willing to answer a question gratis if contacted by email.

cccmedia

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Gordon Barlow ViP

Member since 19 February 2012

Gordon BarlowViP19 April 2021 00:13:51

1188

There are actually quite a few countries that don't levy capital gains tax: Cayman, Bermuda, BVI, Channel Islands (I think), etc etc. I myself live in Cayman, and have written several blog-posts (on my own personal blog/journal) on the topic of taxes. Here's one of them that might interest the OP, if he's still around.