Spend 183 days or more in the UK in a tax year and you are automatically UK resident — no exceptions, per HMRC's Statutory Residence Test (RDR3). Fewer days? The detail below decides.
What Happens to Your Tax When You Leave the UK
The UK taxes people according to residence, not citizenship. While you are UK tax resident, HMRC generally taxes your worldwide income; once you become non-resident, you are normally only taxed on UK-source income (GOV.UK: Tax on your UK income if you live abroad). Getting the residence question right is therefore the single most important part of the move.
Leaving part-way through a tax year also matters for PAYE. Your tax code spreads your personal allowance of £12,570 across a full year of pay, so if you stop earning UK salary in, say, September, you have usually paid too much tax by the time you go. Someone on £60,000 pays roughly £11,432 income tax and £3,211 National Insurance over a full year on 2025/26 rates (thresholds frozen to 2028) — take home about £45,357 — and a mid-year leaver on that salary is a classic refund case. That is what form P85 is for.
The Statutory Residence Test in Brief
Whether you stop being UK resident is decided by the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), set out in HMRC's RDR3 guidance note. Very broadly:
- 183 days or more in the UK in a tax year makes you automatically UK resident — HMRC says there are no exceptions to this rule
- Fewer than 16 days in the UK makes you automatically non-resident if you were UK resident in any of the previous three tax years (fewer than 46 days if you were not)
- Full-time work overseas can also make you automatically non-resident, provided you spend fewer than 91 days in the UK and work more than three hours here on fewer than 31 days
- If no automatic test settles it, the sufficient ties test applies: the more UK ties you keep (family, accommodation, work, and past UK time), the fewer days you can spend in the UK without becoming resident again
Keep a careful diary of UK days. Under the sufficient ties test, a returning visitor with a home, family and work ties here can become UK resident again on surprisingly few days.
Form P85: Telling HMRC and Claiming Your Refund
Form P85 — "Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK" — is how you tell HMRC you have left or are about to leave, and how you claim back overpaid PAYE tax from your UK employment (GOV.UK). Key points from the official guidance:
- It is intended for people leaving the UK to live abroad permanently, or to work abroad full-time for at least one complete tax year
- You will need the details from your P45 ("details of employee leaving work") to complete the claim
- Do not file a P85 if you will send a Self Assessment tax return for the year you leave — the return does the same job
- You can claim online or by post, and according to the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, HMRC repays P85 claims by cheque rather than bank transfer
Split-Year Treatment: Not Taxed as Resident for the Whole Year
Tax residence normally applies to a whole tax year — but that would be brutal for leavers, so the SRT includes split-year treatment. If you qualify, the tax year is divided into a UK part (taxed as a resident) and an overseas part (taxed as a non-resident). HMRC's Residence and FIG Regime Manual sets out eight cases: three cover people leaving the UK and five cover arrivers. For leavers the cases are, broadly, Case 1 (starting full-time work overseas), Case 2 (accompanying a partner who starts full-time work overseas) and Case 3 (ceasing to have a home in the UK).
Two things trip people up. First, split-year treatment is automatic if the conditions are met — you cannot pick and choose. Second, where more than one case applies, priority ordering rules decide which case sets the split date. The conditions are detailed, so check the manual or take advice before relying on a particular split date.
High earner leaving? Mind the £100k zone first. Between £100,000 and £125,140 the personal allowance taper creates a 62% effective marginal rate on 2025/26 rates. If your final UK year lands your income in that band, a pension contribution before departure can be exceptionally efficient — see our guide to the £100k tax trap.
What You Still Pay UK Tax on After You Leave
Becoming non-resident does not cut every tie with HMRC. You remain taxable on UK-source income — most commonly rent from a UK property (under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme), UK pensions, and any employment duties you still perform in the UK (GOV.UK). Our companion guide to UK tax for non-residents covers those rules in detail, and there are also temporary non-residence rules that can tax certain gains and income if you return within five years — worth professional advice if you hold significant investments.
Leaver's Checklist
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Tell HMRC | File form P85 (or a Self Assessment return if one is due) — GOV.UK |
| Check the SRT | Work through RDR3; keep a day-count diary and evidence of overseas work/home |
| Split-year position | Identify which of Cases 1–3 applies and from what date |
| Letting your home? | Register under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (form NRL1 for gross rent) |
| State Pension | Consider voluntary National Insurance to protect it — see GOV.UK: National Insurance if you go abroad |
| Keep records | Payslips, P45, tenancy and travel evidence — HMRC can ask years later |
For context, the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings puts UK median full-time pay at £39,039 (April 2025). Most emigrants earn above that — typical expat postings and remote roles cluster in the higher-rate band, where the UK's 40% + 2% marginal deductions make getting the residence date right worth real money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get a tax refund when I leave the UK?
Often, yes. PAYE spreads your personal allowance over a full year, so leaving part-way through usually means you have overpaid. File form P85 (with your P45 details) to claim it — unless you are filing a Self Assessment return for that year, which replaces the P85.
How many days can I spend in the UK without being tax resident?
It depends. 183 days or more always makes you UK resident. Fewer than 16 days makes a recent leaver automatically non-resident. In between, HMRC's sufficient ties test applies: the more ties you keep (family, home, work, past UK time), the fewer days you can spend here — full detail is in HMRC's RDR3 guidance.
What is split-year treatment?
Normally you are taxed as UK resident for a whole tax year. Split-year treatment divides the year of departure into a UK part and an overseas part, so foreign income in the overseas part escapes UK tax. HMRC's Residence and FIG Regime Manual lists eight cases; three apply to leavers (full-time work overseas, accompanying a partner, or ceasing to have a UK home). It applies automatically if you meet the conditions.
Do I still pay UK tax after I move abroad?
Only on UK-source income — most commonly rent from UK property, UK pensions, and any work you physically do in the UK (GOV.UK). British citizens can usually still claim the personal allowance against that income. See our non-resident tax guide.
Related Guides
Keep reading with these related guides and articles:
- UK Tax for Non-Residents — the rules once you've left: rent, allowances and NT codes
- Working Remotely Abroad for a UK Employer — residence, NI and employer risks
- Retiring Abroad — State Pension, frozen pensions and QROPS
- How Tax Codes Work — what your code means, including the NT code
- The £100k Tax Trap — the 62% marginal zone to fix before you leave
- High Earner Tax Tips — legal ways to cut a six-figure tax bill
Check your take home pay
See exactly what you'll earn after tax with our free calculator.
Calculate Your Take Home Pay →