Estroller:
Who else is rooting for Senegal tonight

yolkman20:
Hello ancestors,

My wife's about to finish her study so we're planning to relocate to outside of London. I was planning west midlands, anywhere commutable to Birmingham city center, but my uncle is against it because we have no one there to help with our baby, this is because we normally drop her with his wife when our shift clashes.

More so, He advised we get sponsorship first before securing a house, but we really want to leave because we're currently living in a shared apartment and our neighbor is really crazy, I had to call the police on her last week. We can't wait that long as we're still looking out and london is out of it. I believe we should be able to get care or support worker sponsorship within Birmingham or anywhere close, (if anyone can help with plugs, I'd appreciate.)

Another challenge is the house thing, most agent insist because I'm not on full employment and my self employed isn't up to a year, they won't be able to proceed with me. Please, any tricks or ideas to bypass this will be appreciated.

We wish to move in before xmass.

Looking forward to your comments.

rowon:
My wife is a student and I am her dependant. Council just brought tax of £1222.21. How can we get full exemption ?

lightnlife:
At an average daily rate of £7.50, it's high.

Even if your house is all electric - power, heating and eating - you shouldn't be paying that high. Either there's a debt on the bill or the energy rating is between band E - G, abi person don tap your light .

For context, I stay in a one-bed flat. Prior to the current weather, my electricity (pre-paid) was £30 per month and gas was £31. Now, I'm doing £40 - £50 for electricity and £46 for gas (cooking and heating). Both are still under £100.

Even if it's only electricity you're using for power, heating and eating, £250 is rather too much.

vanod:


Good everyone,

pls do you encounter any challenge when you want to withdraw from your Nigeria USD card here? what are issues faced, how can one go about resolving the issue. pls your response will be greatly appreciated.

MrMash:



Please how do I know if Dem don tap my light ? The energy rating is B (83). I already contacted a new supplier , they will be installing a new meter in 5 days . I topped-up 25pounds around 10pm yesterday, I just checked I have 11 pounds left . If it is a case of energy "tapping" changing supplier won't help.

xterra2:


Is the sim given to you at TLS Lebara.? If yes, i was also given such in Abuja TLS May. - My sim did not work in Nigeria, immediately i landed in heathrow , it activated and was active, it came with data plan too (3G or so i think) and some minutes.

To answer your question yes you can, i advise use VPN and set location to UK first, go for Monzo. You can use your int'l passport as means of ID for Monzo, that is what i used and have revalidated it using Int'l passport. You also do not need a proof of address to open like Barclays.
You need to secure accommodation before thinking of the bank account as that is where they'd send the card too. But you can use Airbnb if you book a private accommodation but seek permission from the host first before sending a post to his/adress, although i do not know why you are in a hurry as monzo card comes fast. it came in 1 business day to me in London this Nov. Otherwise within 3 as that is when i got previously in east midlands.

Phil46:

....Just one quick question please - if I use my Gtb dormiciliary card in an ATM, I'm going to get pounds cash equivalent of the dollar amount, right?

bigtt76:
Yes that's correct if GTBank head come down and they allow you

Estroller:


No HMRC won't tax your USD receipts automatically, but you do have a responsibility to declare it and pay applicable tax on it if it is classed as an income via self assessment. You only get taxed automatically on income you receive as as an employee via the PAYE system. Other incomes you'll have to declare and pay appropriate tax on them through self assessment.

rayralph:


Send them a mail requesting for an exemption or full student discount.

Quote/check the links for references


https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff72860d03e7f57ea8dcf/amp

Or

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/local-government/65852.article

MrMash:



Please how do I know if Dem don tap my light ? The energy rating is B (83). I already contacted a new supplier , they will be installing a new meter in 5 days . I topped-up 25pounds around 10pm yesterday, I just checked I have 11 pounds left . If it is a case of energy "tapping" changing supplier won't help.

hustla:


Me, just cos I don't like England and their noise / overhyped bs

lightnlife:
Thanks for the insight.

It's gets interesting with this twist.

Essentially, I'm trying to avoid paying tax on the funds. The contract was awarded in Nigeria and payment needs to be made to the workers in Nigeria in USD. I'm unable to transfer from my Nigerian USD account while here as per CBN/Forex issues in Nigeria. Having the funds taxed will be a huge burden on me as 80% is meant for workers - my profit would have been lost to tax and transaction fees.

If I decide not to declare the income to the HMRC, what are the consequences?

Or what alternatives do the advise to receive and send USD without being taxed in the UK. Thanks

lightnlife:
Thanks for the insight.

It's gets interesting with this twist.

Essentially, I'm trying to avoid paying tax on the funds. The contract was awarded in Nigeria and payment needs to be made to the workers in Nigeria in USD. I'm unable to transfer from my Nigerian USD account while here as per CBN/Forex issues in Nigeria. Having the funds taxed will be a huge burden on me as 80% is meant for workers - my profit would have been lost to tax and transaction fees.

If I decide not to declare the income to the HMRC, what are the consequences?

Or what alternatives do the advise to receive and send USD without being taxed in the UK. Thanks

jadepinkett:


You could actually only spend £45/week on Airbnb. If you have to be in the office twice a week, then get the room for one night. Go in the morning, spend the night, work the following day and then return home. This way, you also do not have to pay transport twice. Unless there are specific days they want you to come in. Due to distance, I believe this can be negotiable.

In the long run, see how it impacts you to spend two consecutive days and if your take home covers it.

Phil46:


Hmnnnn, meaning it's not certain that the card will always work, right? How else does one transact with the account?

I'm coming this December and was hoping I could rely on it pending the time I'll open UK bank account.

Phil46:


Thank you very much for this well detailed reply. Yes, the sim is Libara and comes with free 7GB and some minutes.

I only wanted to open an account beforehand to avoid being stranded with cash. But I've decided to hold off on that, and get some cash from Nigeria instead. I'll be staying in an Airbnb for a few days and wouldn't want to use the address for any registration. I'll do all that after securing a permanent residence.

Thanks again for the heads up!

lightnlife:
Ha! I see you literally took my most useless opinion to heart. I can understand why sha - it's the obvious thinking from back home.

Anyway, I wouldn't think that (tapping) is a possibility here.

But if you think it is, you'd be better off calling an electrician or speaking with your landlady to arrange an electrician to assess the energy efficiency and components of the house. Won't be necessary for you to mention the possibility of tapping . Just tell them your plight about crazy unit consumption. Best wishes.

lightnlife:
That's correct. You'll be paid in pound (GBP) but charged in USD as on your card.

If you're still in Nigeria, I'd advise you withdraw your USD, exchange it to Naira then use the Naira to buy pounds. Bring your pounds in cash from Nigeria.

It's better than converting your USD to GBP over the ATM.

You can always deposit the GBP to a bank account once you're here.


Phil46

bigtt76:
Yes. ...not certain cos they might disappoint you but worth trying. Once you get here you can easily open either Revolut or Monese or Monzo accounts. To fund them you will need cash to pay in at the post office though

bigtt76:
You can use your AirBnB for your Revolut account opening, get a card delivered and thereafter change the address ....very easy and stress-free. I will suggest you do this.

eniola1010:
This is gonna be long.
For over 2 days i slept on youtube looking for that one video that will explain to someone how uk NI(national insurance) and income tax is being taxed.

I noticed a lot of people on the thread dont really understand the arithmetic aspect of how the tax works. Even if there are calculators online to do the whole thing for you, i'm sure guys like me are on the thread who loves hand on deck calculations just to see exactly how the system works.

This is also good if you want to compare different countries tax and see which country u wanna settle in.

First, the tax bands are as follows, dont let this confuse you. It is my examples that will give you clearer understanding.

£0 - £12570 is 12570 and 0% (personal allowance)
£12571 - £50270 is 37699 and 20% (basic band)
£50271 - £150000 is 99729 and 40% (higer band)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We want to know what your net pay is after tax have been taken from your gross pay.
Your gross pay is your salary before tax.
Your net pay is your salary after tax.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXAMPLE1
Your salary is £60000
First and foremost, you are entitled to personal allowance of £12570 and this will not be taxed.

60000
-12570
-------------
47430

This 47430 falls between band2 (37699) and band3 (99729)

What then happens is this.

37699 from your 47430 will be taxed at 20%. Which is 37699x0.2 is 7539.

When 37699 is taking from the 47430, you know it will remain 9731, now that 9731 will be taxed at 40%. That will be 9731x0.4 which is 3892.

Conclusively, it means if your salary is 60000, you will be taxed 11,431 being (3892+7539).






EXAMPLE2
Let us assume your salary is 52000.

First and foremost remove the 12570 that is not taxable.

52000
- 12570
--------------
39430


39430 falls in the range of (37699) and (99729), which are 20% and 40% respectively.

So, 37699 from your 39430 will be taxed at 20%. Which is 37699x0.2 is 7539.

Now, remember that when 37699 is taken from your 39430, it will remain 1731.
This 1731 will now be taxed at 40%.
So, 1731x0.4 is 692.

Conclusively, on your salary of 52000, you are taxed 8231 being (692+7539).







Example 3
Let us assume your salary is 25000
First and foremost, remove your 12570.

25000
- 12570
-------------
12430

Since 12430 falls on the personal allowance band. They'll just use the basic band. Which is 20%. 12430x0.2 is 2486.

Conclusively, your tax from 25000 is 2486.












Note i did some round up. This is not perfect. But near perfect.
Let me know if u find this useful. Then i'll do the one with NI included.