Foreign (Vietnamese) tax on UK ISA?

[lisiu]

I will be moving to Vietnam soon. I intend to open a S&S ISA before I leave and transfer a lump sum from an existing cash ISA into the S&S ISA.

I realise I will not be able to contribute to the ISA after I leave the UK. That's ok by me – I just want somewhere to park a lump sum and let it accumulate interest in the medium to long term whilst I live abroad.

Would the Vietnamese tax authorities require me to declare this investment and any interest I receive from it? The S&S ISA will be on an accumulation basis rather than income, and I don't plan to withdraw from the ISA.

I'll check in with a tax advisor about this, but I wanted to gauge this subreddit's thoughts too, and ask if anyone else has been in this position.

Thanks!

 

[myjesus777]

@lisiu Functionally no. They might require it on paper but I don’t see how Vietnam would know anything about the ISA without you volunteering that information, nor do they have any system for discovering it. I have not heard of expats in Vietnam having to do this. Vietnamese authorities are mainly interested in the taxes they can easily enforce, such as income, permitting, etc.

 

[whitesunshinee]

@lisiu Should be ok on a tax front - If it's outside, it could be liable for CGT. But inside and left alone it should be ok. Worth checking the GOV website for the double taxation agreement. I find some information like this on websites such as Investments for Expats, Experts for Expats, and similar places that have good blogs or YouTube Channels.

 

[lisiu]

@whitesunshinee Thank you for your reply and advice. Please can you clarify what you mean by 'outside' and 'inside'? Thanks!

 

[whitesunshinee]

@lisiu Sorry just logged back in! Outside your ISA and inside your ISA.

If it's outside your ISA then you could be liable for CGT, it's something I was talking to a tax advisor about recently because my brother is an expat and we have shares in our names.