IR20 - Residents and non-residents liability to tax in the United ...

This guidance does not apply from 6 April 2009. The guidance it contains is replaced by the
guidance provided in HMRC6 – Residence, Domicile and the Remittance Basis. It is kept
available for those people who need to make reference to IR20 for their tax affairs before
5 April 2009.
If the social security authorities in the other country agree to the request, you will need
to ensure that you have a valid EHIC to provide cover for healthcare for yourself and
any family who accompany you for the period of employment in the other country.
There are also special arrangements that allow you to continue paying UK NICs for
longer periods, but usually for no more than five years. The social security authorities in
the other country must agree to this.
11.7 Similar rules apply if you are self-employed. You must obtain forms E101 & E102 from
CAR Residency Newcastle. Application packs for EHIC’s in respect of healthcare cover
in any EEA countries are available as per the information provided at 11.5
11.8 Different rules apply if you belong to one of the following groups
• those who work in more than one country
• mariners
• transport workers
• civil servants
• members of the staff of diplomatic or consular posts
• those who work for a member of the staff of a diplomatic or consular post
• members of the staff of the European Communities
• members of Her Majesty’s forces
• civilians who work for Her Majesty’s forces in Germany, or for an organisation like
NAAFI which serves Her Majesty’s forces.
In many of these cases, you will continue to pay UK NICs.
11.9 If you work in another EEA country in any other circumstances (for example, for a
foreign employer) or you intend to remain abroad indefinitely, you will probably have to
pay social security contributions to the other country’s scheme. If so, you will not be
required to pay UK NICs. However, it may be possible for you to pay UK voluntary NICs
to protect your UK basic pension rights. There are more details in leaflet NI38], which
contains an application form to pay UK voluntary NICs.
Agreement countries
11.10 If you are going to a country with which the UK has a bilateral Social Security
Agreement covering NICs, the position will depend on the terms of the particular
agreement. The general rule is that you will be subject to the social security legislation
of the country in which you work; but there are some exceptions to this rule, as
explained in the following paragraphs. There are information leaflets for each country
(see paragraph 11.3 on how to obtain copies).
11.11 If your UK employer sends you to work in a country with which the UK has an
agreement, you may be required to continue paying UK NICs as if you were still in the
UK. How long you continue to pay UK NICs depends on the particular agreement. Your
employer will need to apply on your behalf to CAR Residency Newcastle (see
paragraph 9 of the introduction) for a certificate confirming that UK NICs continue to be
paid while you are working in the other country. This will ensure that you are not
required to contribute to the other country’s social security scheme.
Unlike the EEA, there is no general provision for healthcare arrangements in most of the
bilateral agreements.
Some agreements include provisions which may allow you to continue paying UK NICs
for longer than the normal period under the agreement.
11.12 Not all agreements cover the self-employed. In the case of those that do, similar rules
IR20 48
HMRC 03/09