Remote working for Ukrainian company in the UK

This information is not intended as legal, tax, accounting or other professional advice. You should consult a professional advisor when making tax or accounting decisions.

Important points to pay attention to:
● Tax-Free Personal Allowance - the amount of annual income on which you do not have to pay tax. Currently, this amount is set at only £12,570 per year. This is calculated on an annual basis for the tax year, with the tax year starting on 6 April. https://bit.ly/3O7AghB
● The PAYE scheme is the UK HMRC's system for collecting Income Tax and National Employment Insurance. It stands for “Pay As You Earn” and deducts income tax and social security contributions from your pay before you receive it.
● Self assessment. — Self assessment is the system HMRC uses to collect income tax. People who have received income of which HMRC is not already aware, such as business income, will normally have to report this income to HMRC in a Self assessment tax return. The tax return shows how much an individual earned and from what sources during the tax year. Most business owners have to prepare a tax return and then send it to HMRC and pay their tax bill by midnight on 31 January each year.https://bit.ly/3xtZDDA
● Dates of the tax year 04.06.2022 — 04.05.2023The deadline for Self assessment registration is 05.10.2023 Tax declarations and tax payment deadline 01.31.2024
● Agreement on avoidance of double taxation between Great Britain and Ukraine
If you work in the UK for a Ukrainian employer, Article 15 of the UK-Ukraine tax treaty states that the income should only be taxed in your country of residence (unless you carry out part of your work while returning to Ukraine). If you've moved here, chances are you're based in the UK, though check here https://bit.ly/3a0majQ. To avoid double taxation, you must tell the Ukrainian tax authorities that you no longer live in the country if you meet the UK tax residency test https://bit.ly/2oX0jic
● Notification of the employer in UkraineYou must tell your employer where you live. There may be tax, social security and other consequences for you and your employer.
● Minimum wageThe National Minimum Wage in the UK is usually £9.50. This may affect the minimum wage for UK employees working for Ukrainian employers. Employees in the UK should be paid at least the national minimum wage. The legal consequences of not paying UK workers the equivalent of the national minimum wage can be a concern for international companies, particularly if they have a presence in the UK. This should be considered if you work remotely in the Ukrainian team of an international employer with a presence in the UK.
● If you intend to settle in the UK for more than 1 year, there are additional implications for National Insurance contributions. If at this stage you are still working remotely for an employer based in Ukraine, you may need specialist advice to set up national insurance payments.

Your remote work situation:
1. You are still working for Ukraine and do not plan to apply for Universal Credit (or any other income-related support in the UK)

How much do you earn?
If you earn less than the tax-free minimum of £12,570, you are not at risk of tax liability. It's important to note that the income here refers to a specific tax year, so the question is whether you earned £12,570 or less while in the UK in the 2022/2023 tax year, not the full 2022 calendar year.
If you earn more than the tax-free minimum of £12,570, you need to check with HMRC, register for Self assessment and you may have to pay some UK tax. You may need to establish whether you are UK resident for tax purposes (https://bit.ly/3MTi5ey), f you have confirmed that you are UK resident for tax purposes, you will need to pay tax on your Ukrainian income in the UK. If the amounts are significant, you can use the services of a tax consultant.

Your actions:
● Check with HMRC● Sign up for Self assessment voluntarily● Check the latest Self assessment deadlines above● Read the tax residency guide and hire a tax adviser (if your income outside the UK is significantly more than £12,570 in the 2022/2023 tax year)● Apply for a National Insurance number

2. You still work for Ukraine and do not plan to apply for universal credit, but do plan to apply for child benefit and/or 30 hours of free childcare
All points above #1 applyIn addition, you will be asked to self-declare your income level in order to receive Child Benefit and/or 30 hours of free childcare.
To qualify for free childcare, you must earn a certain amount within the next 3 months. This is at least the national minimum wage or the living wage for 16 hours a week on average.https://bit.ly/2S8ZsuS
You also need to apply for a National Insurance Number.

3. You still work for a Ukrainian employer and plan to apply for universal credit and/or other income-related benefits
If you are considering applying for benefits in the UK, use the benefits calculator to assess your eligibility for benefits.
The Turn2Us calculator already includes Ukrainian visa schemes: https://bit.ly/3aSLBUt
If, based on your salary level, you are eligible for benefits, taking into account your income from remote work, consider all of the recommendations in #1 at the top of your application for benefits.
This is a more complicated situation and you may have questions about your taxes. The following are good places to contact:
HMRC - https://www.gov.uk/contact-hmrc
TaxAid - a charity that provides tax advice to people on low incomes - https://taxaid.org.uk

This information is not intended as legal, tax, accounting or other professional advice. You should consult a professional advisor when making tax or accounting decisions.