How this calculator works
Pick a salary and a destination and the tool does two sums. The UK side is exact: it applies the 2025/26 Personal Allowance of £12,570 (tapered away by £1 for every £2 you earn over £100,000, gone entirely at £125,140), income tax at 20%, 40% and 45%, and employee National Insurance at 8% then 2% — the identical logic behind our main salary calculator. The destination side is indicative: it converts your salary at a mid-2026 exchange rate, runs it through that country's published resident tax bands and social contributions, and converts the take-home back to pounds. The 10-year figure simply multiplies the annual gap by ten in today's money — it ignores inflation, pay rises and investment growth, so treat it as a scale marker, not a forecast.
Why the destination numbers say "indicative"
Real overseas tax bills depend on things a salary box can't know: personal and family reliefs, your exact region (Spanish income tax is half-set locally; Portugal's islands differ from the mainland), whether you claim a special regime, and the pound's daily rate. Dubai is the one exception where the figure is genuinely exact — the UAE levies no personal income tax, so your gross salary is your take-home, full stop. For everywhere else, use the number as a well-informed estimate and open the linked country page for the full worked example, the band tables and the caveats. Singapore assumes an Employment Pass holder (no CPF); Thailand assumes standard allowances; Portugal, Spain and Cyprus assume the ordinary resident scale rather than an expat incentive.
The catch nobody mentions: you can still owe UK tax
Moving abroad does not automatically switch off HMRC. The gate is the Statutory Residence Test (SRT): until you are non-UK resident under it — counting days, ties, and where your home and work sit — the UK keeps taxing your worldwide income wherever you live. Even once you pass it and become non-resident, the UK still taxes UK-source income. The big one is rental profit from a property you keep here: the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme obliges your agent or tenant to withhold 20% unless HMRC approves gross payment, and most double-tax treaties leave that rent taxable in the UK anyway. Some UK pensions stay UK-taxable too. The practical order of play is to fix your residence date, file the P85, and register for the NRLS before you fly, not after — our guide to tax when moving abroad walks through the leaver's checklist.
Tax is only half the decision
The headline gap is real, but so is what it buys. There is no NHS in Dubai, Singapore or Thailand — you fund private healthcare — and no UK State Pension accrues while you are away, though voluntary National Insurance can keep that record alive (check gov.uk first). Cost of living swings the other way: much of Thailand, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus undercuts UK prices, while central Dubai and Singapore rents can swallow the entire tax saving. Special regimes can also flip the ranking for the right person — Portugal's IFICI ("NHR 2.0"), Spain's 24% Beckham law, Cyprus's non-dom status and 50% high-earner exemption, and Thailand's LTR visa all cut the bill sharply if you qualify. Model both countries properly, weigh the whole picture, and only then let the take-home number cast its vote.
Want the exact UK figure on any salary first?
UK Salary Calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
Should I leave the UK just to pay less tax?
Tax should rarely be the only reason. Becoming non-UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test can end UK tax on your worldwide income, and destinations like Dubai (0% income tax) or Singapore (about 5% at £50,000) keep far more of a salary than the UK's roughly 21% deduction at that level. But you must weigh cost of living, healthcare, pension accrual and the UK tax you may still owe before deciding — the take-home gap is only the start of the sum.
Which country keeps the most of a UK salary?
Of the destinations here the UAE (Dubai) keeps the most — there is no personal income tax at all, so your gross salary is your take-home. Singapore is next, with an effective rate under 5% on a £50,000-equivalent salary and no social security for Employment Pass holders. Thailand is roughly line-ball with the UK, while Portugal, Spain and Cyprus generally deduct more than the UK at this salary unless you qualify for a special expat regime such as Portugal's IFICI or Spain's Beckham law.
Do I still pay UK tax if I move abroad?
Often, yes — on UK-source income. Leaving under the Statutory Residence Test stops the UK taxing your worldwide income, but UK rental profit, some pensions and certain other UK income stay taxable here. The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme makes a letting agent or tenant withhold 20% of rent unless HMRC approves gross payment. Sort your residence date, P85 refund and any NRLS registration before you fly rather than after.
How much could I save moving from the UK to Dubai?
On a £100,000 salary you keep £68,557 in the UK for 2025/26 after income tax and National Insurance. In Dubai you keep the full £100,000 — about £31,400 more a year, or roughly £314,000 over a decade before any cost-of-living difference. The gap widens as salary rises, because the UK's 40%, 45% and the 60% personal-allowance-taper band take more of every extra pound.
How accurate are these numbers?
The UK figure is exact for 2025/26 — the same Personal Allowance, income tax bands and National Insurance the site's main calculator uses. The overseas figures are indicative: they apply each country's published resident tax bands and social contributions at mid-2026 exchange rates, ignoring personal reliefs and special regimes, so treat them as a well-informed estimate and open the linked country page for the full breakdown.
Full country breakdowns
Each destination has a dedicated page with the band tables, residency rules, special regimes and the UK tax you may still owe:
Before you go: the UK-side guides
Leaving cleanly is a tax job in itself. These cover the part that happens before the destination rate ever applies: