UK Tax & Finance Guides

Plain English guides to understanding your tax, payslip, pension, and more.

UK Tax Bands Explained 2026/27Complete guide to UK income tax bands and rates for 2026/27. Understand how tax bands work, what you pay at each level, ...How to Read Your PayslipComplete guide to understanding your UK payslip. Every deduction, code, and number explained in plain English....Self-Employed vs Limited CompanyDetailed comparison of being a sole trader vs setting up a limited company in the UK. See which structure saves you the ...National Insurance ExplainedComplete guide to UK National Insurance for 2026/27. Employee, employer, and self-employed NI rates, thresholds, and how...Workplace Pensions ExplainedEverything you need to know about UK workplace pensions. Auto-enrolment rules, tax relief, contribution limits, and how ...UK Student Loan Repayment Guide 2026/27Complete guide to UK student loan repayments. Plan types, thresholds, write-off dates, and whether you should overpay....UK Tax Changes 2026/27Summary of all UK tax changes for the 2026/27 tax year. Frozen thresholds, NI rates, CGT changes, and what they mean for...UK Tax Codes Explained 2026/27Understand your UK tax code. Complete guide to what the numbers and letters mean, how to check yours is correct, and wha... P45 Explained — Every Box on the FormWhat a P45 is, what each of its thirteen numbered boxes means, when you get one, what to do if you have lost it, and how it stops you paying emergency tax. P60 ExplainedThe end-of-tax-year summary from your employer: what it shows, when it arrives, and how it differs from a P45. Split-Year Treatment: The Eight CasesSplit-year treatment has eight separate cases and you must fit one exactly. Which case applies when you leave the UK, and what each one actually splits. HMRC Certificates of ResidenceA certificate of residence is what a foreign tax authority wants before it grants you treaty relief. What HMRC will and will not certify, and how to apply. SA109: The Residence PagesSA109 is where residence, domicile and split-year claims are actually made. Why HMRC own software will not file it, and what each part of the form does. When to Stop Filing a UK Tax ReturnLeaving the UK does not end your Self Assessment obligation. What keeps a non-resident inside the system, and how to be removed from it without penalties. Proving You Are Non-ResidentNon-residence is a claim you have to be able to evidence years later. What an HMRC enquiry into residence looks for, and the file to build before you go. HMRC Online Access From AbroadGovernment Gateway verification assumes a UK phone and a UK credit history. How to keep access to HMRC services once you no longer have either. Paying HMRC From AbroadPaying a UK tax bill from an overseas account brings exchange spreads, transfer fees and value-dating risk. How to pay HMRC on time and cheaply. Claiming Credit for UK Tax AbroadUK tax paid on UK income usually has to be credited by your new country of residence. How that claim works, what evidence it needs, and where it falls short. Section 690 DirectionsA section 690 direction lets a UK employer operate PAYE on only the UK-duties part of an internationally mobile employee pay. How it works and who needs one. Your ISA When You Move AbroadYour ISA does not close when you leave the UK, but you cannot pay into it and your new country may tax it. What survives the move and what stops. Running a SIPP When You Live AbroadA SIPP survives emigration, but contributions, platform access and how your new country taxes the pot all change. What to sort out before you go. Paying Into a UK Pension From AbroadTax relief on pension contributions depends on UK earnings you no longer have. What a non-resident can still pay in, and why the year you leave matters most. Tax-Free Lump Sum as a Non-ResidentThe 25% tax-free lump sum is a UK concept. Taking it after you move abroad can hand your new country a fully taxable payment. How the timing works. Final Salary Pensions and EmigrationA defined benefit pension can be paid overseas, but transferring one out is a different decision entirely. What emigrating does and does not change. UK Tax on a Foreign PensionReturned to the UK with an overseas pension? How foreign pension income is taxed here, which treaty article applies, and where the reporting goes wrong. UK Investments When You LeaveUK platforms often restrict or close non-resident accounts. What to check before you move, and how to keep a portfolio running from another country. Investment Bonds AbroadOnshore and offshore investment bonds are taxed on a chargeable event basis. How residence during the policy affects the gain, and why timing matters. Keeping a UK Bank Account AbroadBanks close non-resident accounts more often than people expect. Why a UK account still matters after you leave, and how to keep one open legitimately. Share Options and RSUs When You LeaveEquity granted in the UK and vesting abroad is apportioned between countries. How the UK taxes internationally mobile employees on options and RSUs. A Bonus Paid After You LeaveA bonus earned for UK work but paid after you emigrate is usually still UK taxable. How the earnings period decides it, and what payroll will deduct. Overseas Workday ReliefOverseas Workday Relief takes the overseas part of an employee earnings out of UK tax for some new arrivals. Who qualifies, and why it is easy to lose. Seafarers' Earnings DeductionSED can remove UK income tax from a seafarer earnings entirely. What counts as a ship, what the eligible period requires, and why claims fail on records. A1 Certificates and Social SecurityNational Insurance follows separate rules from income tax when you work abroad. What an A1 certificate does, who needs one, and what applies outside Europe. Moving Abroad With a Limited CompanyA UK company can become tax resident where its directors are. What happens to your company when you emigrate, and the exit charge nobody expects. Closing a Company Before You EmigrateWinding up a limited company before leaving turns retained profits into a capital distribution. Why the timing relative to your residence change matters. Freelancing Abroad for UK ClientsLiving overseas and invoicing UK clients moves your tax base with you. Where profits are taxed, what UK clients still have to do, and the VAT question. Crypto Tax When You Leave the UKCrypto is taxed on residence, not location, so leaving changes the position. Where crypto is situated for tax, and the rule that follows you home. Expat Mortgages ExplainedNon-resident borrowers face a smaller lender market, larger deposits and more paperwork. What expat mortgages are, and how to prepare an application. Buying Property Overseas: UK TaxBuying abroad has UK consequences while you remain UK resident, from rental reporting to eventual gains. What to establish before you commit money. Keeping a UK Home While AbroadA retained UK home is the single most common threat to a non-residence claim. What availability means, what letting changes, and the costs of holding on. Currency Risk When You Move AbroadSterling income and foreign living costs is an exposure that outlasts any tax planning. How expats manage currency risk on salary, pensions and transfers. Child Benefit When You Move AbroadChild Benefit usually stops when you leave the UK, but the High Income Child Benefit Charge can still apply. What to report and why to keep claiming at nil. NHS Entitlement When You Live AbroadNHS access depends on ordinary residence, not on having paid tax or National Insurance. What you keep, what you lose, and what to arrange instead. Wills and Succession Living AbroadA UK will may not govern foreign property, and forced heirship can override your wishes. What expats need to check about succession law before they move. Territorial Tax Systems ExplainedTerritorial, worldwide and remittance-based systems tax residents very differently. What the labels mean, and why zero income tax is rarely zero tax. Choosing an Expat Tax AdviserCross-border tax needs someone who can read both jurisdictions. What to ask, what qualifications mean, and the warning signs worth walking away from. The Lump Sum AllowanceThe lifetime allowance is gone, replaced by a cap on tax-free lump sums. What the £268,275 lump sum allowance limits, and what it no longer limits. Emergency Tax on Pension WithdrawalsFirst pension withdrawals are usually taxed on a month 1 basis, producing a large overdeduction. Why it happens and the three ways to get the money back. Pension Drawdown vs AnnuityDrawdown keeps control and the investment risk. An annuity buys certainty and gives up the capital. How to think about the choice, and the middle route. Pension Recycling RulesTaking tax-free cash and paying it back into a pension can be an unauthorised payment. What recycling means, and why intention is what HMRC looks at. Gaps in Your NI RecordMissing NI years reduce your State Pension permanently. How to check your record, which gaps are worth filling, and which years cannot be bought back. The Personal Savings AllowanceBasic-rate taxpayers get £1,000 of tax-free interest, higher-rate £500, additional-rate nothing. How the allowance works and why HMRC collects the tax late. Bed and ISA ExplainedSelling an investment and rebuying it inside an ISA crystallises a gain but shelters everything after. How bed and ISA works, and the 30-day rule myth. Share Matching Rules for CGTWhen you hold shares bought at different prices, matching rules decide the base cost. The same-day rule, the 30-day rule and the section 104 pool explained. Claiming Capital LossesCapital losses reduce gains, but only if claimed in time. How losses are set off, how long they carry forward, and the deadline people miss. Gift Aid for Higher Rate TaxpayersGift Aid gives the charity basic-rate relief, but higher-rate taxpayers must claim the rest themselves. How it extends your band and cuts adjusted net income. The Director's Loan AccountMoney taken from your company that is not salary or dividend is a loan. What an overdrawn director loan account triggers, and how to clear one properly. How Discretionary Trusts Are TaxedDiscretionary trusts give trustees control over who benefits and when, at the cost of a heavier tax regime. The three tax charges and what they are for. Deed of Variation ExplainedA deed of variation lets beneficiaries redirect what they inherit as if the deceased had left it that way. What it can achieve, and the window it must fit. What Triggers an HMRC EnquiryHMRC opens enquiries from risk scoring, third-party data and random selection. What raises a flag, what does not, and how to respond if one arrives. The P800 Tax CalculationA P800 says HMRC thinks you paid too much or too little tax. What produces one, how to check it, and what to do when the figures look wrong. HMRC Time to Pay ArrangementsIf you cannot pay a tax bill in full, HMRC can agree instalments. What Time to Pay is, what HMRC asks for, and why silence is the worst option. Week 53 Payrolls ExplainedSome tax years contain 53 weekly paydays instead of 52. What a week 53 payment does to your allowances, and why it quietly produces an underpayment. Splitting Income With Your SpouseMoving income to a lower-rate spouse can save real tax, but only where the underlying asset really moves. The 50/50 rule, Form 17, and the settlements trap. Your State Pension ForecastThe forecast shows two numbers that are easy to confuse. What the estimate assumes, why contracting out changes it, and how to read the year-by-year record. CGT on a Second PropertySelling a rental or second home means CGT at 18% or 24% and a 60-day report. What counts as an allowable cost and how private residence relief applies. Tax When Moving AbroadLeaving the UK? Form P85 refunds, split-year treatment, and how the Statutory Residence Test decides when HMRC stops tax... How to Become Non-Resident for UK TaxThe Statutory Residence Test in full: the automatic tests, the sufficient-ties table, the five UK ties, and the day-cou... Do I Still Pay UK Tax If I Live Abroad?The UK-source income HMRC keeps taxing after you leave — rent, pensions, UK workdays, property gains — and the disregard... UK Tax for Non-ResidentsThe Non-Resident Landlord Scheme's 20% withholding, who keeps the personal allowance abroad, and how NT tax codes work.... Retiring Abroad: Pensions & TaxWhere the State Pension is frozen, the 25% QROPS overseas transfer charge, and how double-tax treaties protect your pens... Working Remotely Abroad for a UK EmployerResidence, the 52-week National Insurance rule, A1 certificates, and the permanent establishment risk your laptop create... Non-Resident Landlord TaxLetting a UK property from abroad: how the 20% NRLS deduction compares with your real bill, NRL1 gross payment, and the 60-day rule on sale... Form P85: Leaving the UKThe form that closes your PAYE record and reclaims the tax a mid-year departure overpays — and when you file SA109 instead... How the Wealthy Structure Their IncomeSalary vs dividends vs capital gains vs pensions — why a pound of salary can lose 47% while a pound of gain loses 24%.... Family Investment Companies (FICs)How wealthy families use FICs for inheritance tax and income planning, what HMRC concluded in 2021, and the catches.... Capital Gains Tax When You Leave the UKWhich gains escape UK CGT on emigration, which never do, and the five-year rule that pulls a realised gain back in when you return... Selling Your UK Home After Moving AbroadPrivate residence relief once you leave, and the 60-day report that is required even when the sale makes no profit at all... UK Inheritance Tax When You Live AbroadWhy emigration removes you from UK income tax long before it removes your estate from inheritance tax, and what stays in scope... Double Taxation Treaty ReliefResidence tie-breakers, how each income type is allocated, and why credit relief means paying the higher of the two rates... NT Tax Code: How to Get OneThe code that stops UK income tax entirely — who qualifies, why it is never automatic, and why it leaves National Insurance alone... Moving Back to the UK: The Tax Year You ReturnHow residence restarts, the five arriver split-year cases nobody writes about, and what to settle before you land... Voluntary National Insurance While AbroadClass 2 at £179 a year against Class 3 at £907 for exactly the same State Pension benefit — and how to be offered the cheaper one... Foreign Income as a UK ResidentOverseas rent, foreign dividends and pensions: what the arising basis catches, how credit relief works, and the currency trap... Student Loans When You Move AbroadPayroll deduction stops, a fixed monthly bill replaces it, and the default rate applied to graduates who never register... The Tapered Annual AllowanceHow the £60,000 pension allowance shrinks to £10,000 above £260,000 of adjusted income, and how carry forward softens it... How Pension Tax Relief Actually WorksThree schemes deliver relief differently, and one leaves higher-rate taxpayers to claim half of it themselves. Which is yours?... Adjusted Net Income ExplainedThe figure behind the 62% band, the child benefit charge and marriage allowance — and the two deductions that move it... Scottish Income Tax ExplainedSix bands against three, where the crossover sits at about £28,000, and the 50% marginal band NI thresholds create... Benefits in Kind and the P11DWhy a perk shows up as a tax code cut a year later, and what a £40,000 electric company car actually costs at 2%... Payments on Account: The January Double BillWhy a first Self Assessment bill arrives at 150% of the tax you owed, and when reducing the instalments backfires...