tax-return-uk

<div class="grid-row">
  <div class="column-two-thirds">
    <div class="gem-c-title
  
  gem-c-title--margin-bottom-5">
  <h1 class="gem-c-title__text ">
    Tax if you return to the UK
  </h1>
</div>

  </div>
</div>

<div class="grid-row responsive-bottom-margin">
  <div class="column-two-thirds">
    
<div class="gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube" data-module="govspeak">
    
      <p>If you come back to the UK after living abroad, you’ll usually be classed a <a href="/tax-foreign-income/residence">UK resident</a> again. This means you pay UK tax on:</p>

<ul>
  <li>your UK <a href="/income-tax">income</a> and <a href="/capital-gains-tax">gains</a>
</li>
  <li>any <a href="/tax-foreign-income/overview">foreign income and gains</a> - although you may not have to if your permanent home (‘<a href="/tax-foreign-income/non-domiciled-residents">domicile</a>’) remains outside the UK</li>
</ul>

<div role="note" aria-label="Information" class="application-notice info-notice">
<p>You stayed UK resident if you were abroad less than a full tax year (6 April to 5 April the following year). This means you usually pay UK tax on foreign income for the entire time you were away.</p>
</div>

<h2 id="what-to-do-when-youre-back">What to do when you’re back</h2>

<p>You may need to register for Self Assessment, for example if you start <a href="/working-for-yourself/overview">working for yourself</a> or have other income or gains from the UK or <a href="/tax-foreign-income/overview">abroad</a>.</p>

<p>You don’t need to register if you’re an employee and don’t have other <a href="/check-if-you-need-a-tax-return">untaxed income to report</a>.</p>

<h3 id="if-you-return-to-the-uk-within-5-years">If you return to the UK within 5 years</h3>

<p>You may have to <a href="/tax-foreign-income/paying-tax">pay tax on certain income or gains</a> made while you were non-resident. This doesn’t include wages or other employment income.</p>

<p>These rules (called ‘temporary non-residence’) apply if both:</p>

<ul>
  <li>you return to the UK within 5 years of moving abroad (or 5 full tax years if you left the UK before 6 April 2013)</li>
  <li>you were a UK resident in at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you moved abroad</li>
</ul>

<p>Chapter 6 of <abbr title="HM Revenue and Customs">HMRC</abbr>’s <a href="/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-residence-test-srt">guidance note to the Statutory Residence Test</a> has more information about:</p>

<ul>
  <li>temporary non-residence</li>
  <li>what income and gains you’ll need to pay tax on</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="national-insurance">National Insurance</h2>

<p>You’ll usually start paying <a href="/national-insurance">National Insurance</a> again if you work in the UK.</p>

<p>If you didn’t pay it while you were abroad, you can <a href="/check-national-insurance-record">check your National Insurance record</a> to see how your State Pension might be affected.</p>

<p><a href="/lost-national-insurance-number">Find your National Insurance number</a> if you’ve lost it.</p>

<p>You don’t always need to pay National Insurance if you’re not <a href="/tax-come-to-uk">coming to the UK</a> permanently.</p>

<div role="note" aria-label="Information" class="application-notice info-notice">
<p>Contact the <a href="/international-pension-centre">International Pension Centre</a> if you want to move a pension to the UK.</p>
</div>



</div>

  </div>

  
<div class="column-one-third">
  
<div class="gem-c-contextual-sidebar">

    
  <div class="gem-c-related-navigation">

      <h2 id="related-nav-related_items-e97fa69d" class="gem-c-related-navigation__main-heading" data-track-count="sidebarRelatedItemSection">
        Related content
      </h2>




      <nav role="navigation" class="gem-c-related-navigation__nav-section" aria-labelledby="related-nav-related_items-e97fa69d" data-module="gem-toggle">


  <ul class="gem-c-related-navigation__link-list" data-module="track-click">


        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--sidebar  gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--other" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.1 Related content" data-track-label="/tax-foreign-income" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"4","dimension29":"Tax on foreign income"}" href="/tax-foreign-income">Tax on foreign income</a></li>
        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--sidebar  gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--other" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.2 Related content" data-track-label="/income-tax" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"4","dimension29":"Income Tax"}" href="/income-tax">Income Tax</a></li>
        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--sidebar  gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--other" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.3 Related content" data-track-label="/capital-gains-tax" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"4","dimension29":"Capital Gains Tax"}" href="/capital-gains-tax">Capital Gains Tax</a></li>
        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--sidebar  gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--other" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.4 Related content" data-track-label="/tax-credits-if-moving-country-or-travelling" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"4","dimension29":"Tax credits if you leave or move to the UK"}" href="/tax-credits-if-moving-country-or-travelling">Tax credits if you leave or move to the UK</a></li>

  </ul>
</nav>

  </div>


</div>

</div>

</div>


  <div class="grid-row">
    <div class="column-two-thirds">
        
  <div class="gem-c-contextual-footer">
    
  <div class="gem-c-related-navigation">





      <nav role="navigation" class="gem-c-related-navigation__nav-section" aria-labelledby="related-nav-topics-268a801c" data-module="gem-toggle">

    <h2 id="related-nav-topics-268a801c" class="gem-c-related-navigation__sub-heading gem-c-related-navigation__sub-heading--footer" data-track-count="footerRelatedItemSection">Explore the topic</h2>

  <ul class="gem-c-related-navigation__link-list" data-module="track-click">


        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--footer" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.1 Explore the topic" data-track-label="/browse/visas-immigration/arriving-in-the-uk" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"3","dimension29":"Travelling to the UK"}" href="/browse/visas-immigration/arriving-in-the-uk">Travelling to the UK</a></li>
        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--footer" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.2 Explore the topic" data-track-label="/browse/tax/income-tax" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"3","dimension29":"Income Tax"}" href="/browse/tax/income-tax">Income Tax</a></li>
        <li class="gem-c-related-navigation__link"><a class="gem-c-related-navigation__section-link gem-c-related-navigation__section-link--footer" data-track-category="relatedLinkClicked" data-track-action="1.3 Explore the topic" data-track-label="/topic/personal-tax/coming-to-uk" data-track-options="{"dimension28":"3","dimension29":"Coming to the UK"}" href="/topic/personal-tax/coming-to-uk">Coming to the UK</a></li>

  </ul>
</nav>

  </div>

  </div>


    </div>
  </div>