Author Topic: My retirement blog.  (Read 232761 times)

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #390 on: April 20, 2019, 08:25:01 pm »
Waiting for confirmation that CML will respond to the BB and specifically to the middle 20 SMA.

Yes. The scenery in the UK is very similar to the best of Europe. The cost of housing is another story altogether. Let me explain.

I have attached a pic of the type of housing I am referring to. They are not council houses but in a category just above them. Developers normally build new builds here and put them on the market for sale. The state or council will buy some cheaper houses and offer them to families on benefits at low rentals. They in turn can buy them from the council. They can be recognised by the unkempt gardens and car wrecks in the yards. We have them here too and the houses look good but the yards are filthy.

This is a rental home of 3 bedrooms.
Rental £ 750.00 pm 
Utilities £ 150.00 pm
Council Tax £ 195.00 pm
Total £ 1 095.00

That is about R 20 000.00 pm if you earn Rands as I do. That is just above entry class homes.

This pic was taken a few minutes ago from our little garden.

I started here with nothing and still have most of it left.

Mr_Dividend

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #391 on: April 23, 2019, 07:35:11 am »
Our ideal place to live would be on the south coast - but all pretty expensive to buy. But rentals not too bad in Eastbourne and Margate. But closer to you, Stoke-on-Trent has some very cheap houses (mainly terraced) but have no clue what the area is like, would have to rent for a bit and see what it was like. We actually planning to travel around the UK for the first 6 months or so just to get a feel for certain areas - airbnb to airbnb.

gcr

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #392 on: April 23, 2019, 11:52:34 am »
Mr D - why would you not consider a camper. Would not travelling and airbnb not prove more expensive?
With a camper at least you could go where you wanted to go - in search of an ideal location, also once you have finished your travels with the camper you can always sell it. I understand the camping sites are quite well run/maintained not at all like the American Trailer Parks :LHST:
Not everything that counts, can be counted, and, not everything that can be counted counts - Albert Einstein

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #393 on: April 23, 2019, 12:40:33 pm »
Caravaning and camping is exceptionally popular in the UK especially so in Wales. We were looking to buy a sited static caravan to live permanently in but unfortunately getting a bank loan is not the same as a mortgage but rather a car or boat. Ten percent deposit and payments over 5 or so years.

They are double glazed and fully furnished with 2 or 3 bedrooms and central heating. Most are located on beachfront property or river parks. The ground is not yours though. http://www.cardiganbay.co.uk/static-caravans-for-sale-wales.asp 
I started here with nothing and still have most of it left.

Mr_Dividend

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #394 on: April 23, 2019, 07:00:43 pm »
Hi GCR - have looked into camper vans - look like a lot of fun and definitely want to give it a try sometime. Also looked at the static caravans - site fees are often a fair amount though.  Still a ways to go - finished painting, now getting rid of stuff - going to car boot sales.

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #395 on: May 12, 2019, 10:47:48 pm »
Relocating from Portugal to the UK just got better tax wise.

Dividends
Dividends withholding tax in SA is 20%. The tax treaty with Portugal caps it at 15%. This was the percentage I paid while resident in Portugal.

The tax treaty with the UK caps the SA withholding tax on dividends at 10%. This means that my dividends withholding tax in SA will be cut by half so I score 10%. This is a big saving over time.

Interest
Tax on interest according to the DTA Portugal-SA is payable to either country but capped at 10%. I paid this to SA only.

The tax treaty with UK states that only the UK can tax this interest and as the UK does not tax interest I score here as well.

Capital Gains
This remains a residential tax in both DTA's. Portugal has a fixed 28% tax on CG with no exclusion.
The UK has an exemption (exclusion) amount of £12k or R228k pa and a 10% tax on the rest. My gains would never get near this amount so no CGT payable.  :money:


« Last Edit: May 12, 2019, 10:59:16 pm by Orca »
I started here with nothing and still have most of it left.

gcr

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #396 on: May 12, 2019, 11:14:19 pm »
Sounds like a winning solution you have there Orca.
Just a pity you had to find this all out only after you moved overseas - would have been beneficial if you had known all of this ahead of relocating.
I would suspect that your "school fees" have been quite substantial

« Last Edit: May 12, 2019, 11:17:54 pm by gcr »
Not everything that counts, can be counted, and, not everything that can be counted counts - Albert Einstein

Patrick

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #397 on: May 13, 2019, 04:18:11 pm »
Capital Gains
This remains a residential tax in both DTA's. Portugal has a fixed 28% tax on CG with no exclusion.
The UK has an exemption (exclusion) amount of £12k or R228k pa and a 10% tax on the rest. My gains would never get near this amount so no CGT payable.  :money:
Any idea if Portugal applies the same exit tax regime as South Africa? In that breaking tax residency requires you to pay CGT on everything as if you'd sold?

Asking for a friend who may want to take advantage of the 10 year non-habitual tax break in Portugal and still escape the CGT  :whistle:

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #398 on: May 13, 2019, 06:22:10 pm »
I did look into this but found nothing and the language problem restricts research. I doubt any EU country has exit tax due to the freedom of movement.

The 10 year tax break under the NHR regime only applies to income that can be taxed in the country of source by the DTA rules whether it is taxed there or not. CGT is a residential tax and therefore only taxed in Portugal as per the DTA rules. So the 10 year tax break for CGT does not apply.
I started here with nothing and still have most of it left.

Mr_Dividend

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #399 on: May 14, 2019, 11:26:18 am »
Have you looked at the ISA allowance? £20,000 - FOR THE YEAR! And you can hold single stocks unlike our TFSA
On top of that there is also £2000 dividend tax free allowance

With UK share also down and the FTSE100 paying out over 4% in divis, why keep your money in SA?

btw, great read, magazine comes out every thursday - but lots of back issues here. https://www.sharesmagazine.co.uk/

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #400 on: May 14, 2019, 06:07:53 pm »
Two of my daughters are saving to buy property with an ISA. They have a "Help you buy" scheme where if you save £200 pm then the government adds £50 pm to it. Now that is 25% pa tax free bonus from the government. Where else would one get this?

At this stage I am a bit wary of Brexit with investing in the UK so I will stay in SA for some time still. Hopefully Ramaphosa will keep to his promise and turn things around for the SA economy in 2020.
I started here with nothing and still have most of it left.

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #401 on: May 15, 2019, 11:55:25 am »

Any idea if Portugal applies the same exit tax regime as South Africa? In that breaking tax residency requires you to pay CGT on everything as if you'd sold?

Asking for a friend who may want to take advantage of the 10 year non-habitual tax break in Portugal and still escape the CGT  :whistle:
[/quote]

My understanding is that Portugal does not have a "exit" tax for individuals..... There is a risk however that in certain circumstances and that should you relocate to certain countries (I have seen it referred to as "blacklisted" countries, and is actually rather lengthly, include the likes of Cayman Island, Hong Kong, Monaco etc) , Portugal may still regard you as a Portuguese tax resident for tax purposes.     How this interacts with the 10 year NHR visa, I'm not sure.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2019, 11:57:58 am by XXXXX »

Johnny

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #402 on: May 22, 2019, 12:08:28 pm »
Went shopping with the wife today. Geez. Meat prices have gone up by R20 per kilo overnight. Chops are R99.99 per kilo. Not even Best End.  :wtf: Pork chops are R89.99. Lean mince is R79.99. Last time I looked, Beef and Pork fillets were at these prices. Now they are R140.
How can pensioners survive at these prices? Getting worried now.
Hordes of shoppers were just staring at the meat and nobody buying. One woman was telling a packer off at the high prices as if it was his fault.
Walked away with some mince and chicken pieces.

What are the meat prices like in Portugal these days?

I'm on zerocarb in Pretoria, daily eating 700g T-bone (R92/kg), 500g Lamb Rib Chops (R140/kg) and 500g Lamb Shoulder Chops (R140/kg). Could I survive in Portugal with such food price demands?

Orca

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #403 on: May 22, 2019, 05:14:37 pm »
The Portuguese are not big on beef and lamb at all. Most are imported from Argentina and Chile so are very expensive. Most meat are boneless and fat free. The few chops I did see are pork chops cut so thin you can see through them. Most people eat pork, chicken, rabbit, turkey and fish and fish and some fish.

I don't live in Portugal any longer.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2019, 05:18:04 pm by Orca »
I started here with nothing and still have most of it left.

Mr_Dividend

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Re: My retirement blog.
« Reply #404 on: October 23, 2019, 03:26:34 pm »
Time for an update Orca?

How are you finding things over there? We've accepted an offer on our house, unfortunately, dependent on them selling their house. But hopefully, move in a few months. Looking at Derby now, the South is just too expensive for slightly better weather.