INTM162110 - UK residents with foreign income or gains: certificates of residence: for partnerships
UK partnerships (including English and Scottish LPs and UK LLPs) cannot be resident in the UK for the purpose of most of the UK’s Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs), because they are not themselves liable to tax in the UK. Only in a few limited circumstances, when the DTA specifically states that a partnership can be regarded as resident, such as in the UK/Argentina DTA, will HMRC be able to issue a Certificate of Residence (CoR) in the name of the partnership.
As a result, partnerships are not themselves entitled to claim benefits under most of the UK’s DTAs. However, partnerships will usually be able to claim benefits on behalf of those of its partners who are residents of the UK.
To assist with such claims, HMRC therefore provides a CoR which confirms that whilst the partnership itself is not UK resident, some or all of its partners are.
It should be noted that, with regards to LLPs, references to ‘partners’ below is interchangeable with ‘members’. If requested by the customer, it will therefore be acceptable to replace the references to ‘partners’ in the CoR with ‘members’.
Partnerships with only UK Resident Partners
For partnerships where all partners are UK resident there should not be a problem as we will, if requested, confirm that although the partnership itself cannot be UK resident the individual partners are, and are therefore entitled to the relevant DTA benefits.
Partnerships with Non-Resident Partners
Non-resident partners are not entitled to the benefits arising from DTAs between the UK and its treaty partners because they are not persons resident in the UK as set out in the residence Article of a UK DTA. But HMRC will, if requested, confirm that although the partnership itself cannot be UK resident, the UK resident partners are entitled to the relevant treaty benefits.
Information required
As with any request for a certificate of residence, any partnership requiring a CoR should provide the information listed at INTM162020 as well as:
For partnerships with UK partners only:
- A list detailing the partners’ names with confirmation that each and every partner is UK resident at the date of the request for the CoR.
For partnerships with UK and non-resident partners:
- A contact name and address for the partnership; and
- A list detailing the partners’ names, separately identifying those that are UK resident and those that are not and confirming that each of the UK partners is UK resident at the date of the request for the CoR.
Once the Officer is satisfied that they can issue a CoR (after making the checks at INTM162030-50), they may issue one using the following form of words:
Wording for CoR to Partnership with UK resident partners only (except Kazakhstan, India and Argentina)
To whom it may concern
The partnership of …………………………… is not itself resident in the UK for the purposes of the UK/[name of other state] Convention.
However, I certify that to the best of HMRC’s knowledge, the individual partners in …………….. as at [date] are resident in the UK in accordance with Article [number applicable to residence - usually 4] of the Convention in force between the UK and [name of other state].
Date
Office Stamp Name and signature of Officer
Where a CoR is required for the purpose of claiming relief in Kazakhstan, the wording above should still be used, but without the “as at [date]”. The CoR should still, however, include the date of issue in the letter head and date stamp.
Wording for CoR to Partnership with UK and non-resident partners (except India and Argentina)
To whom it may concern
The partnership of …………………………… is not itself resident in the UK for the purposes of the UK/[name of other state] Convention.
However, I can confirm that the individual partners that are listed below are resident in the UK in accordance with Article [number applicable to residence - usually 4] of the Convention in force between the UK and [name of other state]. There are other partners in the partnership who are not resident in the UK. Details of those partners can be obtained from the Managing Partner at the following address: ….
-——————— List of UK Partners ————————-
Date
Office Stamp Name and signature of Officer
Wording for CoR to Partnership with UK and resident partners only (India and Argentina only)
“I certify that to the best of HM Revenue & Customs’ knowledge [Name and address/Registered Office of partnership] as at [date] is a resident of the UK in accordance with Article [number applicable to residence - usually 4] of the Convention in force between the UK and [other State].”
Wording for CoR to Partnership with UK and non-resident partners only (India and Argentina only)
“I certify that to the best of HM Revenue & Customs’ knowledge [Name and address/Registered Office of partnership] as at [date] is a resident of the UK in accordance with Article [number applicable to residence - usually 4] of the Convention in force between the UK and [other State] to the extent that the income derived by the partnership is subject to tax in the UK in the hands of its partners as income of residents of the UK.
I can confirm that the individual partners that are listed below are resident in the UK in accordance with Article [number applicable to residence - usually 4] of the Convention in force between the UK and [name of other state] and that they are subject to tax on income derived by the partnership. There are other partners in the partnership who are not resident in the UK. Details of those partners can be obtained from the Managing Partner at the following address: ….
-——————— List of UK Partners ————————-“
As stated at INTM162030, HMRC can also certify residence for a particular period (for the purpose of claiming relief in all countries), so long as that period does not end any later than the date of issue. The wording in each case as above can therefore be amended to refer to the period for which certification is required if necessary (although the partnership would need to confirm the periods for which each partner was UK resident).
It should also be noted that requests for certificates from Lloyd’s Syndicates (see LLM2000), which are not themselves liable to tax on its profits and gains and whose members share in those profits and gains instead, should be handled in the same manner as above.