How does moving abroad affect my UK tax residency?

Full answer

When you move abroad, what changes your UK tax is your tax-residency status, which HMRC determines using the Statutory Residence Test (SRT). The SRT looks at how many days you spend in the UK in a tax year (6 April to 5 April) and how many connecting ties you have here - for example family, available accommodation, UK work and time spent here in previous years. The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before becoming resident. The precise day counts and tie thresholds are set out by HMRC and are not included in this rate card, so work through the official SRT guidance or use HMRC's tool to pin down your status. Why it matters: UK residents are taxed on their worldwide income and gains, while non-residents are generally taxed only on UK-source income - most commonly UK rental income, UK employment income for work done here, and certain UK pensions. A non-resident landlord, for example, still pays UK Income Tax on rent from a UK property and can use the Property Allowance of GBP 1,000 and the normal bands (Personal Allowance GBP 12,570, basic rate 20%). Capital Gains Tax is more complex: non-residents are still within scope for gains on UK land and property, and there are anti-avoidance rules for people who leave and return within a short period. Worked context: if you keep a UK rental and earn, say, GBP 15,000 of rent while non-resident, you would still report it to HMRC and pay tax above your allowances - an income-tax or capital-gains-tax calculator can illustrate the figures. Watch the split-year treatment, which can divide the year you move into a UK part and an overseas part, and check whether a double-taxation agreement between the UK and your new country prevents you being taxed twice. Get the SRT result right first; everything else follows from it.

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