At a glance
Certificates of residence are often needed to ensure that double tax relief or treaty relief is accepted by a country in respect of particular income or profits.
In some cases, a certificate or residence permit is required to avoid Withholding Tax.
There are different procedures to request certificates of residence depending on the entity making the request. These are covered in the applicable tabs.
Companies
Companies need to complete form RES1 and send them to the Customer Compliance Manager or the nominated person for their Large Business.
Companies not dealt with by HMRC’s Large Business unit should send forms to:
Corporation Tax Services
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AX
Form RES1 can be found here:
To be able to complete the form you will need to have the following information:
- Address and Unique Tax Reference (UTR) of the company.
- Tax office ID if applicable.
- Reason for the certificate application.
- Type of income for which the certificate is required.
- The period for which the certificate is required. This must be in the past.
- The ‘other country’ that requires the certificate.
- From the double tax treaty with that other country:
- The article number dealing with the type of income.
- Whether the income must be subject to tax or liable to tax.
In some cases, the relevant double tax treaty may require a letter rather than a form and additional conditions may apply. It will be necessary to check the requirements of the territory to which the certificate is to be provided.
Partnerships
Partnerships can request certificates of residence using form RES1 which can be found here.
Large Businesses should send requests to either their Customer Compliance Manager or Customer Coordinator.
Requests for partnerships with no such HMRC contact should send requests to:
Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
HM Revenue & Customs
BX9 1AS.
To be able to complete the form you will need to have the following information:
- Address and Unique Tax Reference (UTR) of the partnership.
- Tax office ID if applicable.
- Reason for the certificate application.
- Type of income the certificate is required for.
- The period for which the certificate is required. This must be in the past.
- The ‘other country’ that requires the certificate.
- From the double tax treaty with that other country:
- The article number dealing with the type of income.
- Whether the income must be subject to tax or liable to tax.
- Managing partner full name, address and UTR.
- Title, full names and residency status of all partners.
In some cases, the relevant double tax treaty may require a letter rather than a form and additional conditions may apply. It will be necessary to check the requirements of the territory to which the certificate is to be provided.
Individuals and Sole Traders
Individuals can apply for certificates of residence by:
- Using the individual’s (or their agents’) Government Gateway use ID and password.
- Emailing the form which can be found here.
If a non-UK jurisdiction wants a specific form to certify UK residency they need to be sent to:
Pay As you Earn and Self Assessment
HM Revenue & Customs
BX9 1AS
Information required to complete the form includes:
- Contact details for the individual.
- National Insurance Number.
- Unique Tax Reference (if one is issued)
- Date of birth.
- Date of arrival in the UK.
- Days spent outside the UK.
- Nationality.
- Employers PAYE reference.
- Why a certificate is needed.
- The period for which the certificate is needed.
- Amount and type of income the certificate is needed for.
- The applicable Double Tax Treaty and Article.
- Whether or not the applicant is the beneficial owner of the income.
- Whether or not subject to tax provisions apply to the foreign income.
