HMRC targets expat tutors

HMRC

Expatriate tutors are the latest people to come under attack from HMRC, as the UK government’s tax authority continues its relentless assault to claim as much money as possible.

HMRC has announced plans to target private expat tutors, e-marketplace sellers and VAT defaulters in their latest wave of tax claiming measures. In the past similar efforts have been made to claim money from doctors and plumbers, and HMRC has regularly been criticised for its increasingly heavy-handed methods.

Now, a warning has been issued to people who are tutoring abroad.

A spokesman for HMRC said: “This applies to private tutors both at home and abroad who are in the UK tax system. If you are tutoring abroad for less than six months at a time then you should be declaring your earnings in the UK. There is nothing wrong with receiving your pay in a brown envelope, so long as you fill in your self-assessment and tell us how much you are earning. Now is your chance to come forward and 'fess up. It will be more expensive if we come and find people.”

Whether this threat is warranted or not is unknown, as there are no figures suggesting that private tutors abroad withhold their financial information.

If you are an expatriate tutor working abroad and you want advice relating to your finances, get in touch with an international financial adviser who can assist you with your tax and money matters.