# Weird situation commuting wise!



## LoveEU (Jul 7, 2016)

Hi everyone,
I'm so sorry to bother you all and I'm sure there have been a number of threads talking about living in one place, commuting elsewhere but I have a specific situation that is a little different to the norm and I was hoping somebody could help/advise me.

So I work in Live TV which requires me to travel to work all over the world. So I spend anywhere between 25-30 weeks of the year 'abroad', for a period of at least 5 days or up to 14 days at a time. For example, for the European events we'll spend five days in the country, but if we have a couple of events back to back in say China or South Africa we'll stay out there for the full 14 days. Sometimes we'll then go on to another event after that, for example I did two weeks in SA at the start of the year followed by a week in Abu Dhabi.

Anyway the point is I'd absolutely love to leave the UK and live in Italy preferably (but I'm also thinking about France or Germany). The company is based in London, but because the bulk of our work is abroad, they are very understanding about working from home when we're not scheduled on an event so we rarely have to be in the office and can work from home. So the weeks when I'm not on an event I may need to spend anywhere between 0 to 3 days say in the office, and it's never the same week from week.

My questions relate to issues surrounding tax and residency. I've worked out how many days I may be able to be resident in Italy for, anywhere between 170-210. We do a number of events in the UK, I may be scheduled to do some or all but say it would be less than 30 days on events, but then plus the days I'll need to be in the office which are difficult to estimate but say about 50, so about 80 days in the UK. I'd be contracted in London and paid by them in Sterling. 

I'm confused as to what my status would be due to the travel, it may be that I don't hit any quotas for residency in either the UK or my EU country of residence. I know in Germany you have to be there for 183 days, which I'd hope to hit but can't guarantee...

Can anyone understand all this, where would I stand tax wise? What difficulties could arise on a residency front from the constant travel?

I'm in my late twenties, earning a decent wage (also with lots of airmiles which would help pay for commuting flights!), a decent pot of savings, single, female, UK citizen with a good understanding of 3 EU languages and a working knowledge of 2 more.

Thanks in advance for any help! It is very much appreciated!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Be careful because in many countries, that "183 days" thing is only a guideline. (Not sure about Italy.)

The main thing on an international basis is where you are "resident" - which can mean where you spend the most time, or where you always return to (between assignments) and have the bulk of your belongings, administrative interests (i.e. doctor, bank, etc.).
Cheers,
Bev


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

The 183 day rule applies to the three residence tests. If you qualify for any of the three tests you're a tax resident.

Two of the three tests don't require you to be in Italy at all. The simplest is being registered with the commune.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Moreover, Italian tax residence means your worldwide income is taxable (but not necessarily taxed) in/by Italy. Italian source income is generally taxable in/by Italy whether or not you are deemed a tax resident of Italy.

Yes, you can move to Italy. I'm assuming from your flag that you're a U.K. citizen. The U.K. is still a member of the European Union at this writing, and if you're exercising your (still intact, for now) EU treaty rights, no problem. You would become a tax resident of Italy, as NickZ suggests. Your high frequency business travel pattern will not end up affecting that determination. Many (tax) residents of Italy travel a lot on business.

If you're mainly or entirely focused on your personal tax rate then, in the EU/EEA, you might consider Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, or Romania. All of these countries have comparatively low "headline" income tax rates, although you'll want to investigate social insurance taxes (which are often more impactful).


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