Lifetime Election

[kenpoken]

Hi everyone

My wife is a Japanese citizen. She has lived in the UK for almost 13 years.

She wishes to make a “lifetime election to be treated as UK-Domiciled for Inheritance Tax purposes”.
Referring to HMRC’s tax manual IHTM13040 she sent an election letter with all the relevant details. She sent the letter by Royal Mail Special Delivery on 9 June 2023 to the following address:

WMBC Assets Risk Team (Elections)
Inheritance Tax
HM Revenue & Customs
BX9 1HT

Per the HMRC tax manual, she expected to receive form SL15 in response. However, she has had no response whatsoever. In fact, bizarrely, the Royal Mail tracking has shown her letter “Ready for Delivery/Due for Delivery Today” ever since 10 June!

Does anyone have any experience of this? Perhaps she should have sent her letter by ordinary post rather than Special Delivery? Is it normal to wait many months for a response? Is there a different HMRC address to which she should write?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
Many thanks!
Ken

[Laughton]

It sounds to me as though Royal Mail has lost your letter.

Hope there weren't any irreplaceable documents included as, if you didn't opt for additional insurance, all they "pay" in compensation is the cost of the postage.

Report it as lost with Royal Mail - fingers crossed that might make it miraculously reappear.

[Lootman]

It sounds to me as though Royal Mail has lost your letter.

Hope there weren't any irreplaceable documents included as, if you didn't opt for additional insurance, all they "pay" in compensation is the cost of the postage.

Report it as lost with Royal Mail - fingers crossed that might make it miraculously reappear.

I have noticed that for some entities, the address for special delivery is different from the normal postal address. Presumably they have to be signed for or otherwise handled differently.

As an aside what is the benefit of a non-dom spouse volunteering to be dom? Usually UK domicile is something that you want to lose.

[scrumpyjack]

They are probably all still 'working' from home so there is no one to sign for the delivery

[genou]

As an aside what is the benefit of a non-dom spouse volunteering to be dom? Usually UK domicile is something that you want to lose.

Intra-spouse IHT, at a guess.

[Lootman]

As an aside what is the benefit of a non-dom spouse volunteering to be dom? Usually UK domicile is something that you want to lose.

Intra-spouse IHT, at a guess.

That could make up for the extra tax a non-dom would save by not paying UK income tax on foreign income, I suppose, if one takes the long view.

But given how funds and assets freely flow between spouses, with no need for tax or tax reporting, it is not easy to see how HMRC does well at collecting that theoretical extra IHT anyway. Especially since with joint ownership, no probate may be needed. And many non-dom spouses may leave the UK after their UK spouse dies, taking their assets with them.

If Labour abolishes the non-dom rules for income tax, then they may take that opportunity to amend the non-dom spousal exemption for IHT as well, to make things fairer and easier. In other words, abolish the tax concept of domicile altogether, thereby aligning with most of the rest of the world.

[Dicky99]

Hi everyone

My wife is a Japanese citizen. She has lived in the UK for almost 13 years.

She wishes to make a “lifetime election to be treated as UK-Domiciled for Inheritance Tax purposes”.
Referring to HMRC’s tax manual IHTM13040 she sent an election letter with all the relevant details. She sent the letter by Royal Mail Special Delivery on 9 June 2023 to the following address:

WMBC Assets Risk Team (Elections)
Inheritance Tax
HM Revenue & Customs
BX9 1HT

Per the HMRC tax manual, she expected to receive form SL15 in response. However, she has had no response whatsoever. In fact, bizarrely, the Royal Mail tracking has shown her letter “Ready for Delivery/Due for Delivery Today” ever since 10 June!

Does anyone have any experience of this? Perhaps she should have sent her letter by ordinary post rather than Special Delivery? Is it normal to wait many months for a response? Is there a different HMRC address to which she should write?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
Many thanks!
Ken

Hello Ken. Not sure if you're aware that there is an HMRC Community Forum which would likely be the better place to post your query as its respondents are HMRC advisors. If nothing else they'll at least be able to tell you if you posted it to the right place.
You have to register for the forum to post and it can take anything upto a week, in my experience to get a reply.

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/

[kenpoken]

Hello everyone

Thank you very much for all your replies.

Regarding the reason my wife wishes to be treated as UK domiciled:
My wife has few assets and almost no income overseas. And she wants protection from inheritance tax on intra-spouse gifts and on assets she inherits from me on my death.

Thank you Dicky99 - I did not know about the HMRC Community Forum. I will try posting there as well.

My best wishes to you all
Ken