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[11171735]

I am going to be spending my 2007-08 sabbatical as a "Visiting Scholar" at Oxford Brookes U. , and I am struggling with figuring out this might affect my taxes.  I will be receiving a sabbatical salary from my home institution and a small stipend from Brookes.  My accountant told me that I cannot exclude any of this income except the stipend, even if I stay out of US for an entire year.  If I can't take advantage of that option, can I deduct the cost of living away from home--that is, rent and per diem?  I have known people who took one approach or the other, but I do not understand what qualifies you for one or the other.  In addition, Brookes is arranging a "Sponsored Researcher" visa for me, but apparently it won't be ready before my arrival there on Aug 1.  I can enter UK without the visa, but they tell me that I will have to return to USA and come back again to make the visa valid.  Is it not possible to get the visa endorsement at US Embassy in London?  I would be grateful for any advise on these two issues.

glsavage

[seniorscholar]

I can't answer the visa question, though I have spent several different full-year and half-year sabbaticals in the UK without having any visa at all. However, I was never paid by any UK source (once it was on Fulbright), and the last one was in the late 1990s.

The tax question, however, I *can* answer: expenses of living away from home to do research while on sabbatical can be deducted from your US income taxes. The best place to get the information is in the *Tax & Financial Guide for College Teachers* which is invaluable for all sorts of information (and provides examples and citations to IRS documents and court cases). The last edition published was for the 2005 tax year -- there are new editions only when the code is significantly revised -- but you should be able to track one down on your campus by asking around. Here the union office has one and so does the library (as well as a fair number of faculty).

[secretweapon]

No, you can't do the visa at the Embassy - absolutely not.  You will have to leave the UK and return to US - you can't simply go to another country (France, for example).  The answer, therefore, is that Oxford Brookes needs to pick up the pace and get you that visa sooner - or the information that you need to apply for the visa at the British embassy in the US.   

[daniel_von_flanagan]

If your accountant did not know the answer to being able to deduct all living expenses, then you should get another accountant.

My last sabbatical in the UK I don't recall doing anything special for a visa, but I was only there 5 months.  Years ago I had a job there, it wasn't quite ready when I arrived and so I entered as a tourist, spent a week waiting for the work permit, took a week's holiday in France, then re-entered on the work permit.  If secretweapon is correct and you cannot do this nowadays, then it is new since I was there. - DvF

[secretweapon]

It IS new - past year, I think - and is confusing a lot of people.  You might find out, though, that you can go ahead and apply for the visa yourself in the US via the UK Embassy if you have documentation from Oxford Brookes.  I would contact the UK Embassy ASAP to find out/

[qrypt]

For taxes, see: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=11.0

[11171735]

Thanks very much to all for all this useful information.  I have gotten things straightened out with my accountant, I am still waiting on the visa papers, and I found the UK/USA expatriate web site a great resource.