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Tax for moving abroad — start here

Leaving the UK is procedural before it is strategic — SRT + split-year + P85 do most of the lifting; the mistakes that cost money are administrative.

Leaving the UK does not automatically end your UK tax exposure. UK tax residence is determined by the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) — a mechanical day-counting + ties test — not by where you live or work. From the day you become non-resident you may still owe UK tax on UK-source income (rent, employment days, certain pensions), and from April 2025 the UK shifted IHT scope from domicile to a Long-Term Residence (LTR) test. This page is the short orientation; the full cohort hub at /moving-abroad covers each pillar in depth.

Key facts

Statutory Residence Test (FA 2013 Sch.45) is the only test for UK tax residence — domicile no longer governs IHT scope from April 2025. (as of 2013-04-06)
April 2025 IHT reform: scope moved from domicile to Long-Term Residence (LTR) — broadly 10 of last 20 tax years UK-resident. (as of 2025-04-06)
P85 filing flags HMRC that you're leaving; SA109 supplementary covers split-year treatment in the SA return. (as of 2025-04-06)
Non-Resident CGT applies to all UK land + property disposals by non-residents (since April 2019), reported within 60 days. (as of 2019-04-06)
UK State Pension is payable abroad; uprating depends on country — frozen in some (e.g. Australia, Canada, NZ pre-2025 review). (as of 2025-04-06)

What most people in your position get wrong

Assuming you're non-resident the day you leave.
SRT operates over the full tax year (6 April – 5 April). Without split-year treatment under SA109, you can be 'resident for the full year' even if physically in the UK only 2 months.
Typical cost: Full UK tax on worldwide income for the leaving year instead of just the UK portion.
Selling a UK property after moving and forgetting the 60-day NRCGT window.
Non-residents must report + pay CGT on UK land/property disposals within 60 days of completion, regardless of whether the gain itself is small.
Typical cost: Penalties as for the 60-day domestic CGT regime; £100 + £300/5% at 6 + 12 months.
Believing the April 2025 IHT reform doesn't apply because 'I'm not domiciled in the UK'.
Domicile-based IHT scope was abolished April 2025. New Long-Term Residence (LTR) test: UK-resident in at least 10 of the prior 20 tax years pulls worldwide assets into UK IHT scope, with a tail of up to 10 years after leaving.
Typical cost: Worldwide-assets IHT exposure at 40%; estate-planning value can be 6-figure.
Stopping NI contributions on departure and losing State Pension qualifying years.
Class 3 voluntary NI fills gaps for State Pension; under certain conditions Class 2 (cheaper) is available while working abroad. The qualifying-year cap is 35 for full new State Pension.
Typical cost: Each missed year: ~£328 of annual pension at full new State Pension rate, for life from State Pension age.

Who this is for

You are leaving the UK, considering leaving, or recently arrived back. Covers employees on overseas assignment, retirees, founders relocating, families emigrating, returning expats deciding when to re-trigger residence.

Who this is NOT for

Business owners specifically — see /business-owner-moving-abroad for PE risk, close-company traps, and director-fee mechanics. Pure inbound expats arriving in the UK have different framing — see the FIG regime (replacing remittance basis from April 2025) inside the moving-abroad hub.

Start with these guides

Statutory Residence Test (SRT) — full mechanics →

Day-counting + ties test; arrivers / leavers / split-year.

Leaving the UK — procedural checklist →

P85, SA109, NRL1, payroll cessation, bank notifications.

UK-source income for non-residents →

What stays taxable in the UK after you leave.

NRCGT + temporary non-residence anti-avoidance →

Property reporting + 5-year clawback rule.

NI + State Pension abroad →

Voluntary Class 2 / 3, totalisation, frozen pensions.

April 2025 IHT reform + LTR test →

End of domicile-based IHT scope; new LTR rules.

Returning to the UK →

Re-triggering residence + remittance-basis-era assets.

Useful calculators

Capital Gains Tax calculator →

NRCGT-relevant residential property gains.

Income Tax calculator →

Split-year UK-only portion of income.

Go deeper

In plain English

Tax doesn't follow your suitcase. Day-counting (SRT), where your assets are, what kind of income you receive, and how long you were UK-resident before leaving all decide what the UK keeps taxing after you go. The mistakes are almost always procedural — missing a P85, missing a 60-day CGT filing, mis-applying split-year — rather than complex avoidance schemes.

Statute reference

Finance Act 2013 Sch.45 (Statutory Residence Test); Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 Sch.2 (60-day reporting) + s.10A (temporary non-residence); Inheritance Tax Act 1984 as amended by Finance Act 2025 (LTR test replacing domicile); Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (voluntary Class 2 / 3 NI).

Worked example

UK-resident leaving to work in Dubai mid-tax-year 2025/26; departure date 1 December 2025; meets sufficient-overseas-work split-year condition.

UK PAYE Apr–Nov 2025: £60,000
Dubai salary Dec 2025–Mar 2026: £40,000-equivalent
UK property rental Dec 2025–Mar 2026: £4,000
SRT outcome: Non-resident from 1 Dec via split-year Case 1

Calculation: Apr–Nov: full UK tax on £60,000 PAYE = ~£12,432 IT + ~£4,460 NI = ~£16,892. Dec–Mar: not UK-resident, Dubai salary outside UK tax. UK rental still taxable: £4,000 less expenses, taxed at marginal rate (likely 20% as overseas earnings don't count). NRL1 needs filing to receive gross rents.

Outcome: Effective UK tax for the year: ~£17,500 vs ~£32,000 if treated as full-year UK resident with double-tax credit. Split-year + P85 + NRL1 are mechanical filings without which HMRC defaults to worse outcomes.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-24. Statute references are for orientation, not advice. Always confirm specifics for your situation against current HMRC guidance or a regulated professional.