Tax When You Come to or Return to the UK

When you come to live or work in the UK, or return after living abroad, you need to understand your tax obligations and register with HMRC if necessary. Your tax liability depends on whether you become UK resident, what income you receive, and whether you qualify for any special reliefs. This article explains how to establish your tax position and what you need to do when arriving or returning.

Do You Need to Pay UK Tax?

If you come to the UK to live, work or study, you must pay tax on your income once you're here. This includes wages, benefits, pensions, savings interest, profits from self-employment, and rental income from property.

You'll pay Income Tax on income above your Personal Allowance. You may also pay Capital Gains Tax if you make a profit on selling certain assets such as shares or a second home. Capital Gains Tax applies only to profits above your Annual Exempt Amount.

You will not pay UK tax if you're only visiting for a short trip, such as a holiday or brief work visit.

Understanding Tax Residence

Your tax obligations depend heavily on whether you're classed as UK resident. Your residence status determines what income and gains you're taxed on.

If you're not UK resident, you won't pay UK tax on foreign income (income from outside the UK).

If you are UK resident, you'll normally pay UK tax on both your UK income and foreign income. However, you may not have to pay tax on foreign income if you're eligible for the foreign income and gains regime.

For foreign income received or earned before 6 April 2025, you may not have had to pay tax if your permanent home (known as your 'domicile') was outside the UK.

You can check your residence status through HMRC guidance if you're unsure.

How to Pay Tax

If you're employed in the UK, your employer will deduct Income Tax from your wages through the PAYE system.

You'll need to send a Self Assessment tax return if you:

• Work for yourself
• Have other UK income such as a pension, savings interest, or rental income from property
• Made a profit when selling certain assets like shares or a second home
• Have to pay UK tax on foreign income (such as an overseas pension, savings interest in foreign bank accounts, or overseas rental income)

You can check whether you need to send a tax return if you're not sure about your obligations.

Returning to the UK After Living Abroad

If you return to the UK after living abroad, you'll usually be classed as UK resident again. This means you pay UK tax on your UK income and gains, plus any foreign income and gains—although you may not have to if you can claim Foreign Income and Gains relief.

If you were abroad for less than a full tax year (which runs from 6 April to 5 April), you stayed UK resident throughout. In this case, you usually pay UK tax on foreign income for the entire time you were away.

Temporary Non-Residence Rules

If you return to the UK within 5 years of moving abroad (or 5 full tax years if you left before 6 April 2013), you may have to pay tax on certain income or gains made while you were non-resident. These "temporary non-residence" rules don't include wages or other employment income.

The rules apply if you were UK resident in at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you moved abroad.

What to Do When You're Back

You may need to register for Self Assessment when you return, particularly if you start working for yourself or have other income or gains from the UK or abroad.

You don't need to register if you're an employee without other untaxed income to report.

Avoiding Double Taxation

You may be taxed twice on the same income or gains if the country you've come from also taxes that income. However, many countries have a double taxation agreement with the UK to prevent this. Check whether the country you've come from has such an agreement.

Registering for National Insurance

You'll usually pay National Insurance if you work in the UK. How you pay depends on whether you're employed or self-employed.

If you want to work or claim benefits in the UK (including the State Pension), you need to apply for a National Insurance number.

When You Don't Need to Pay

You don't need to pay National Insurance or get a number if you have either:

• A certificate or document proving you pay social security contributions in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland
• A certificate from a country that has a social security agreement with the UK

Check with the social security authority in your country to find out how to apply for these documents.

If you cannot get such a certificate and you're sent by an employer in your home country to work temporarily in the UK, you usually won't need to pay National Insurance for the first 52 weeks in the UK. This applies if you come from a country outside the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland that doesn't have a social security agreement with the UK.

Checking Your Records

If you've returned to the UK and didn't pay National Insurance while abroad, check your National Insurance record to see how your State Pension might be affected. If you've lost your National Insurance number, you can find it through HMRC.

Split Year Treatment

When you arrive in or leave the UK part-way through a tax year, you may be able to split that tax year into UK resident and non-resident portions. This is called split year treatment. It can affect what income and gains you're taxed on for different parts of the year. Whether you qualify depends on your specific circumstances and when you arrived or left.

Sources

• Tax if you come to the UK
• Tax if you return to the UK

This article provides general guidance based on current HMRC rules. For advice specific to your situation, speak to your accountant.