{"id":6563,"date":"2023-02-07T11:08:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T11:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/?p=6563"},"modified":"2025-09-05T17:15:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:15:03","slug":"can-hmrc-chase-me-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/can-hmrc-chase-me-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t live in the UK, why is HMRC chasing me?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You may have asked yourself, \u201cCan HMRC chase me abroad?\u201d, and it\u2019s a common fear for expats far and wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technically, yes they can. In 2019, HMRC wrote to 1700 freelancers<\/a>, threatening them with heavy fines if they didn\u2019t declare their tax avoidance by 5th April. They collectively owed as much as \u00a385 million in unpaid tax, dating back to as early as 1999. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do they do it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HMRC can do this using the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to enlist help from foreign authorities to chase expats for criminal investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s important to remember that this is what leaving the country without paying your taxes will be classed as. A criminal proceeding. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div> \n\n

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What\u2019s the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty?<\/h2>\n

A Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty<\/a> is an agreement between two countries that lets you gather information from overseas bodies and authorities to assist a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

If you scarpered to America, for example, with an unpaid tax bill, the UK and US would enact mutual legal assistance to chase you for it.<\/p>\n

An international Letter of Request (LOR) is sent – which sounds exceedingly official – to kick off the process of the foreign authorities cooperating.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div> \n\n

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But, it\u2019s not always that simple\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HMRC are often tripped up by what\u2019s known as the Revenue Rule. It\u2019s a legal principle that says that the courts of one country do not have to enforce the tax rules of another. They can still chase you overseas, but the foreign authority doesn\u2019t have to enforce the rules on their side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where’s it applied?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s regularly applied in places like the US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the Republic of Ireland. Basically, some of the major UK expat destinations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can HMRC chase me abroad for information?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2002, former Charlton FC owner Tony Jimenez<\/a> moved from the UK to live in Cyprus and Dubai. In 2016, HMRC contacted him demanding some of his financial information that they wanted to scrutinise. They did this through a Schedule 36 notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can HMRC ask for?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Their demands included bank statements, financial records and a timeline of his visits to the UK from 2013. Jimenez appealed to a tax tribunal – which you may think seems suspicious – and won on the grounds of not being a UK tax resident. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HMRC strikes back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But HMRC were not done. They appealed too, to the Court of Appeal, and also won on the grounds that sending a notice to request financial records to investigate non-compliance with UK tax laws did not breach the Revenue Rule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ruling was landmark for HMRC, and it has strengthened their powers significantly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can HMRC chase me <\/em>abroad with a Schedule 36?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes, they can, although you have 30 days to appeal the notice once you receive it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely do not ignore it, because this will lead to further financial penalties. The best thing that you can do is to get advice from a professional tax accountant. They\u2019ll be able to help you sort your situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to appeal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are thinking of appealing, make sure that you are eligible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n