Nichola Ross Martin's Tax Consultancy

From April 2008 non-domiciled individuals (non-doms) who claim the remittance basis can elect to receive tax relief for capital losses on disposals of overseas assets.

A non-dom's overseas capital losses can then be set against worldwide capital gains. It may be that this election will prove very useful if a non-dom is facing a tax charge for, for example, gains on offshore bank accounts. These can arise as a result of a currency gain, as these accounts are treated as assets under capital gains rules in the UK.

The election is irrevocable and applies for the year in which it is made and all future tax years. The election needs to be considered carefully, as it affects the order of set-off of gains, matching offshore gains against offshore losses before UK losses. The election must be made within 4 years after the end of the tax year. An election for 2008/09 must be made by 5 April 2013.