Tax on foreign income

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1. Overview

You may need to pay UK Income Tax on your foreign income, such as:

  • wages if you work abroad
  • foreign investment income, for example dividends and savings interest
  • rental income on overseas property
  • income from pensions held overseas

Foreign income is anything from outside England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are classed as foreign.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Working out if you need to pay

Whether you need to pay depends on if you바카라 사이트檙e classed as 바카라 사이트榬esident바카라 사이트� in the UK for tax.

If you바카라 사이트檙e not UK resident, you will not have to pay UK tax on your foreign income.

If you are UK resident, you바카라 사이트檒l normally pay tax on your foreign income. You may not have to if you바카라 사이트檙e eligible for Foreign Income and Gains relief.

Before 6 April 2025, you may not have had to pay tax on your foreign income if your permanent home (바카라 사이트榙omicile바카라 사이트�) was abroad.

Reporting foreign income

If you need to pay tax, you usually report your foreign income in a Self Assessment tax return. But there바카라 사이트檚 some foreign income that바카라 사이트檚 taxed differently.

If your income is taxed in more than one country

You may be able to claim tax relief if you바카라 사이트檙e taxed in more than one country.

If you바카라 사이트檝e not yet paid tax on the foreign income, you may need to apply for a certificate of residence to prove you바카라 사이트檙e eligible for relief.

2. UK residence and tax

Your UK residence status affects whether you need to pay tax in the UK on your foreign income.

Non-residents only pay tax on their UK income - they do not pay UK tax on their foreign income.

Residents normally pay UK tax on all their income, whether it바카라 사이트檚 from the UK or abroad.

Work out your residence status

Whether you바카라 사이트檙e UK resident usually depends on how many days you spend in the UK in the tax year (6 April to 5 April the following year).

You바카라 사이트檒l only be resident in the UK if both of the following apply:

  • you meet one or more of the automatic UK tests or the sufficient ties test
  • you do not meet any of the automatic overseas tests

Otherwise, you바카라 사이트檒l be non-resident in the UK for tax purposes.

UK tests

You may be resident under the automatic UK tests if:

  • you spent 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year
  • your only home was in the UK for 91 days or more in a row - and you visited or stayed in it for at least 30 days of the tax year
  • you worked full-time in the UK for any period of 365 days and at least one day of that period was in the tax year you바카라 사이트檙e checking

You may also be resident under the sufficient ties test if you spent a number of days in the UK and you have additional ties to the UK, like work or family.

Overseas tests

You바카라 사이트檙e usually non-resident if either:

  • you spent fewer than 16 days in the UK (or 46 days if you have not been a UK resident for the 3 previous tax years)
  • you worked abroad full-time (averaging at least 35 hours a week), and spent fewer than 91 days in the UK, of which no more than 30 were spent working

Get help working out your residence status

If you바카라 사이트檙e still unsure about your status, you can use the residence status checker. This will give you an indication of whether you were a UK resident in any tax year from 6 April 2016.

You may be asked for the following information about the year you바카라 사이트檙e checking:

  • how many days you spent living and working in the UK and abroad
  • roughly how many hours a week you worked
  • family you have in the UK
  • details of your home in the UK

Other ways to get help

You can also:

Your residence status when you move

When you move in or out of the UK, the tax year is usually split into 2 - a non-resident part and a resident part. This means you only pay UK tax on foreign income based on the time you were living here.

This is called 바카라 사이트榮plit-year treatment바카라 사이트�.

You will not get split-year treatment if you live abroad for less than a full tax year before returning to the UK. You also need to meet other conditions.

To find out if you qualify and see which split-year treatment 바카라 사이트榗ase바카라 사이트� you바카라 사이트檒l need to mention on your Self Assessment tax return, you can:

If your situation changes

Your status can change from one tax year to the next. Check your status if your situation changes, for example:

  • you spend more or less time in the UK
  • you buy or sell a home in the UK
  • you change your job
  • your family moves in or out of the UK, or you get married, separate or have children

Residence and capital gains

You work out your residence status for capital gains (for example, when you sell shares or a second home) the same way as you do for income.

UK residents have to pay tax on their UK and foreign gains. Non-residents have to pay tax on income, but usually only pay Capital Gains Tax either:

Residence before April 2013

There were different rules for working out your residence status before 6 April 2013.

3. 'Non-domiciled' residents

UK residents may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income if they바카라 사이트檙e eligible for Foreign Income and Gains relief.

Before 6 April 2025, UK residents who had their permanent home (바카라 사이트榙omicile바카라 사이트�) outside the UK did not have to pay UK tax on foreign income.

The same rules applied if you made any foreign capital gains, for example you sold shares or a second home.

Working out your domicile

Your domicile바카라 사이트檚 usually the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born. It may have changed if you moved abroad and you do not intend to return.

If you need help working out which country you바카라 사이트檙e domiciled in, you can:

There are additional rules for domicile and Inheritance Tax.

Tax if you바카라 사이트檙e non-domiciled

Before 6 April 2025, you did not pay UK tax on your foreign income or gains if both the following applied:

  • they were less than 拢2,000 in the tax year
  • you did not bring them into the UK, for example by transferring them to a UK bank account

If this applies to you, you do not need to do anything.

Chapter 9 in HMRC바카라 사이트檚 guidance on 바카라 사이트�Residence, Domicile and the Remittance Basis바카라 사이트� explains the rules for bringing income or gains to the UK.

If your income is 拢2,000 or more 바카라 사이트� for tax years up to 5 April 2025

You must report foreign income or gains of 拢2,000 or more, or any money that you brought to the UK, in a Self Assessment tax return.

You can either:

  • pay UK tax on them - you may be able to claim it back
  • claim the 바카라 사이트榬emittance basis바카라 사이트�

Claiming the remittance basis means you only pay UK tax on the income or gains you brought to the UK, but you:

  • lose tax-free allowances for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax (some 바카라 사이트�바카라 사이트� may keep them)
  • pay an annual charge if you바카라 사이트檝e been resident of the UK for a certain amount of time

You pay an annual charge of either:

  • 拢30,000 if you바카라 사이트檝e been here for at least 7 of the previous 9 tax years
  • 拢60,000 for at least 12 of the previous 14 tax years

Claiming the remittance basis is complicated. You can:

If you work in the UK and abroad

Before 6 April 2025, there were special rules if you worked both in the UK and abroad.

You did not have to pay tax on foreign income or gains (even those you brought into the UK) if you got the 바카라 사이트榝oreign workers바카라 사이트� exemption바카라 사이트�.

You qualified if:

  • your income from your overseas job was less than 拢10,000
  • your other foreign income (such as bank interest) was less than 拢100
  • all your foreign income had been subject to foreign tax (even if you did not have to pay, for example because of a tax-free allowance)
  • your combined UK and foreign income was within the band for basic rate Income Tax
  • you did not need to fill in a tax return that year for any other reason

If you qualified, you do not need to do anything to claim.

If you바카라 사이트檙e seconded to the UK

You may be able to claim Overseas Workday Relief if your employer sends you to work in the UK on secondment.

If you qualify you:

  • pay UK tax on UK employment income based on the number of days you바카라 사이트檝e worked here
  • do not pay tax on income from days you work abroad

The rules for making a claim changed on 6 April 2025. Ask your employer to find out if you can claim.

Foreign students

There are special rules if you come to study in the UK.

4. Reporting your foreign income

You usually need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return if you바카라 사이트檙e a UK resident with foreign income or capital gains. But there바카라 사이트檚 some foreign income that바카라 사이트檚 taxed differently.

You do not need to fill in a tax return if all the following apply:

  • your only foreign income is dividends
  • your total dividends - including UK dividends - are less than the 拢500 dividend allowance
  • you have no other income to report

Different rules may apply if you바카라 사이트檙e eligible for Foreign Income and Gains relief.

Before 6 April 2025, different rules may have applied if your permanent home (바카라 사이트�domicile바카라 사이트�) was abroad.

Register for Self Assessment

If you do not usually send a tax return, you need to register by 5 October following the tax year you had the income.

You바카라 사이트檒l get a letter telling you what to do next after you바카라 사이트檝e registered.

Filling in your tax return

Use the 바카라 사이트榝oreign바카라 사이트� section of the tax return to record your overseas income or gains.

Include income that바카라 사이트檚 already been taxed abroad to get Foreign Tax Credit Relief, if you바카라 사이트檙e eligible.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has guidance on how to report your foreign income or gains in your tax return in 바카라 사이트�Foreign notes바카라 사이트�.

5. Foreign income that's taxed differently

Most foreign income is taxed in the same way as UK income, but there are special rules for:

  • pensions
  • rent from property
  • certain types of employment income

Pensions

You have to pay tax on pensions if you바카라 사이트檙e resident, or were resident in any of the 5 previous tax years.

You also pay tax on any foreign pension payments, including unauthorised payments like early payments and some lump sums.

Check with your pension provider to find out how you바카라 사이트檒l be taxed.

Rent from property

You pay tax in the normal way on overseas property. But if you rent out more than one, you can offset losses against other overseas properties.

Certain types of employment income

You usually pay tax in the normal way if you work both in the UK and abroad. There are special rules if you work:

6. If you're taxed twice

You may be taxed on your foreign income by the UK and by the country where your income is from.

You can usually claim tax relief to get some or all of this tax back. How you claim depends on whether your foreign income has already been taxed.

There바카라 사이트檚 a different way to claim relief if you바카라 사이트檙e a non-resident with UK income.

Apply for tax relief before you get taxed on foreign income

You have to apply for tax relief in the country your income바카라 사이트檚 from if:

  • the income is exempt from foreign tax but is taxed in the UK (for example, most pensions)
  • required by that country바카라 사이트檚 double-taxation agreement

Ask the foreign tax authority for a form, or apply by letter if they do not have one.

Before you apply, you must prove you바카라 사이트檙e eligible for tax relief by either:

Once you바카라 사이트檝e got proof, send the form or letter to the foreign tax authority.

If you바카라 사이트檝e already paid tax on your foreign income

You can usually claim Foreign Tax Credit Relief when you report your overseas income in your tax return.

How much relief you get depends on the UK바카라 사이트檚 바카라 사이트�double-taxation agreement바카라 사이트� with the country your income바카라 사이트檚 from.

You usually still get relief even if there is not an agreement, unless the foreign tax does not correspond to UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax.

Contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) or a get professional tax help if you바카라 사이트檙e not sure, or need help with double-taxation relief.

What you바카라 사이트檒l get back

You may not get back the full amount of foreign tax you paid. You get back less if either:

  • a smaller amount is set by the country바카라 사이트檚 double-taxation agreement
  • the income would have been taxed at a lower rate in the UK

HMRC has guidance on how Foreign Tax Credit Relief is calculated, including the special rules for interest and dividends in 바카라 사이트�Foreign notes바카라 사이트�.

You cannot claim this relief if the UK바카라 사이트檚 double-taxation agreement requires you to claim tax back from the country your income was from.

Capital Gains Tax

You바카라 사이트檒l usually pay tax in the country where you바카라 사이트檙e resident and be exempt from tax in the country where you make the capital gain. You will not usually need to make a claim.

You have to pay Capital Gains Tax on UK residential property even if you바카라 사이트檙e not UK resident.

When to claim relief

There are different rules if your gain comes from an asset that either:

  • cannot be taken out of the country, such as land or a house
  • you바카라 사이트檙e using for business in that country

You바카라 사이트檒l need to pay tax in both countries and get relief from the UK.

Dual residents

You can be resident in both the UK and another country. You바카라 사이트檒l need to check the other country바카라 사이트檚 residence rules and when the tax year starts and ends.

HMRC has guidance for claiming double-taxation relief if you바카라 사이트檙e dual resident.

7. If you come to study in the UK

Foreign students usually do not pay UK tax on foreign income or gains, as long as they바카라 사이트檙e used for course fees or living costs like:

  • food
  • rent
  • bills
  • study materials

Check that the country your income바카라 사이트檚 from has a 바카라 사이트�double-taxation agreement바카라 사이트� that covers students.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) may ask you to account for your living costs if they바카라 사이트檙e more than 拢15,000 in a tax year (excluding course fees). The tax year is from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

When you need to pay tax

You may need to pay tax on your foreign income in the normal way if you:

  • are from a country without a double-taxation agreement for students
  • have other income that you do not bring to the UK
  • bring it to the UK and spend it on things other than living costs and course fees
  • plan to stay in the UK as your permanent home (바카라 사이트�domicile바카라 사이트�)

If you work in the UK

Some double-taxation agreements mean you do not pay UK tax on your income if you work while you바카라 사이트檙e a student.

If your country does not have an agreement like this, you have to pay tax in the same way as others who come to live in the UK.