# Living on UK State Pension



## Labronia (Dec 28, 2016)

I am hoping to retire to Portugal in three years time and hope someone can help regarding how much tax I would have to pay on my income which is a UK State Pension which works out at approx £9,000 per annum.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You may want to start by taking a look at the tax treaty for the UK and Portugal. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/portugal-tax-treaties

Not fun reading, but generally in these treaties they define which country gets to tax a pension where someone is resident in one country, but getting their pension from the other. If your pension is taxable in the UK, then they usually will withhold the tax from the amount they transfer to you each month. If not, then we need to find someone who can point you to the Portuguese tax rules on pensions from "overseas."
Cheers,
Bev


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## iota2014 (Jul 30, 2015)

Labronia said:


> I am hoping to retire to Portugal in three years time and hope someone can help regarding how much tax I would have to pay on my income which is a UK State Pension which works out at approx £9,000 per annum.


Mightn't this depend in part on the outcome of the Brexit process?

At present, AIUI, British expat pensioners have the right to live in another EU country, receive health care, receive state pension increases, etc. Brexit might change some or all of the present rights, I should think. 

Some info on the current situation at https://www.gov.uk/tax-uk-income-live-abroad/taxed-twice

A document called "Living in Portugal" (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-portugal) looks worth reading.


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## Labronia (Dec 28, 2016)

Thank you both for the useful information and links. Must admit I thought I had posted this in the Portugal forum! Last year I read an article that in Portugal no tax is payable for the first ten years, which would make a huge difference for me.


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## iota2014 (Jul 30, 2015)

The DTT digest says:


> State Pension relievable under the Other Income article if ‘subject to tax’.


Meaning, I take it, that if the pension is subject to tax in Portugal, HMRC will give you a tax credit to cover or reduce the UK tax that would otherwise be payable. 

You won't need a tax credit if it's not subject to tax in Portugal. If you are allowed the (UK) personal allowance, that should cover the UK tax, as it does for me, living in the UK. But post-Brexit, you may not get the personal allowance.


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