Completing Your Leaving Guernsey Form
Once again I write from the perspective of having lived and worked in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but the same principles apply to Jersey. Just be sure to follow their local processes…
When the time finally comes to wave goodbye to island life, it’s a good idea to ensure you tie up some loose ends in between farewell drinks so no nasty surprises come back around to haunt you.
It’s super important that you notify the States, in particular the Revenue Service, if you’re leaving permanently so that they can accurately record how long you’ve been on the island – it has implications for your residency status and how much tax you pay (as I explained in depth here).
As with everything on this island it’s nice and easy to fill in (just 2 pages!), you’ve just got to know what you’re looking for:
Am I leaving permanently?
If you’re leaving the island and not coming back in the same calendar year, then you’re considered as having “permanently departed” (yes, even if you’re returning on the 1st of January).
If this is your intention, you should fill out the form.
If you’re just going away on holiday then you don’t need to fill out the form. However, if you’re really cutting it fine with your non-resident day count then it might be a good idea to submit one just to be on the safe side – it would be super annoying to overstay by one day and have to repay that big tax refund!
How do I complete the form?
Jump on the gov.gg website and you’ll find the Leaving Guernsey form as a pdf. Print it out, fill it in in block letters with a black pen, and post it off to the States.
What info do they need to know?
Nothing too hectic, just the standard stuff. Personal details, date of departure and income during the current tax year. You’ll need to attach your final payslip to verify the info you provide.
A massive perk to this process is that if you fill everything out correctly, and only received income from wages and bank interest, you won’t need to complete an income tax return for the tax year that you permanently depart the island. You’ve provided them everything they need to know on this form and, in a massive win for Tax Offices and Government Departments everywhere, you don’t need to unnecessarily repeat the information on another form – amazing!
How do I get the money paid into my account?
The default scenario is a cheque in the post (sigh, and I was just getting excited about how efficient they were…) so be sure to provide the most up to date postal address.
The alternative is to complete a “Repayment Request Form” to have your funds electronically transferred into your nominated bank account so you don’t end up with a cheque that gets lost in the mysterious world of the mail system.
Keep in mind that if you provide a non-UK account you’ll be charged £7.50 by the States and possibly a fee from your bank, so pop down a Guernsey/Jersey/UK account if you can to avoid this.
What happens next?
You wait. For many months. An assessor will need to review your file and make sure all the details you provided are correct, and to calculate what you owe/are owed. As with tax departments the world over they tend to collect their debts before issuing any refunds so don’t hold your breath.
Even with a few encouraging phone calls to coax things along I’m still waiting – I’ll update you on my progress as things develop! (Update: it took 11 months in the end!)