I have a couple of offshore investment bonds taken out when I lived abroad in the mid-1990s. I returned to the UK in late 1999 and the bonds have been held since then. The combined value is now circa £300,000 but I am unclear how to access the funds tax efficiently.
RE, via email
Lee Anderson, chartered financial planner at Atomos’, says
These types of investments are usually taken out by higher- or additional-rate taxpayers who wish to defer their taxable gains until later in life, when they may have retired and become either a non-taxpayer or a basic-rate taxpayer. In some instances, such as yours, living outside the UK can pose a challenge in finding an appropriate way to invest lump sums in a tax-efficient way, and taking out an offshore bond is one way an overseas investor can do this.