If you’re planning to live – or buy property - in one of the Baltic nations, you’ll need to know how the tax system works there. Speaking to a tax consultant is imperative for professional advice but here we offer some tips to start you in the right direction.

In most cases, the local tax system will only be applicable to you once you are considered a resident in that country, meaning you spend 183 days or more there within a 12-month period.

The first thing you should do before moving anywhere is ask the Inland Revenue in the UK for form P85, as this will finalise your English tax affairs. Also contact the Department of Work and Pensions in Newcastle to find out about your entitlement to a state pension, bearing in mind that anyone retiring after 2010 will find the qualification for a maximum pension is reduced from 40 years’ National Insurance contributions to 30 years, which is good news. You also need to think about will happen to any savings, ISAs or benefits from shares or ISAs you have in the UK.

Here are some tax rates specific to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia:

Lithuania
As of 2011, individuals in Lithuania pay a flat tax of 15 per cent on their income and 5 per cent for income from individual activities. In the case of someone classed as a permanent resident of Lithuania, tax will be calculated on his income earned in Lithuania and overseas. A foreign resident pays tax only on his income in Lithuania.

Occasionally, an individual will be considered a Lithuanian resident even if he is resident in Lithuania for less than 183 days if he/she owns a home in Lithuania that is his/her permanent residence. An employer is obligated to deduct, immediately, each month, the amount of tax and national insurance due from a salaried worker. Lithuania has a double taxation treaty with the UK.

Inheritance tax is payable tax on assets worth over 10,000 but is not applicable on transfers between spouses and immediate family. Capital gains is 15 per cent in Lithuania.

Latvia
An individual's business and salary income is taxable at the rate of 25 per cent. The tax rate for other investment income is 10 per cent. Exemptions are granted to taxpayers with specific types of income and foreign residents pay tax only on their income in Latvia.

Capital gains tax is 15 per cent on the sale of real estate and other assets, including shares. Latvia has a double taxation treaty with the UK.

Estonia
An individual's income is taxable, as at 2011, at the rate of 22 per cent. There is a land tax in Estonia according to the value of the land as assessed by the authorities and it ranges from 0.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent of the value of the land. There is no inheritance tax in Estonia. Estonia has a double taxation treaty with the UK.