If you are UK resident and receive income from abroad, such as overseas wages, rent, or investments, you may need to pay UK Income Tax and report it through Self-Assessment.

Income Tax is generally payable on taxable income received by individuals including earnings from employment, earnings from self-employment, pensions income, interest on most savings, dividend income, rental income and trust income. The tax rules for foreign income can be complex. 

However, as a general rule if you are resident in the UK you need to pay UK Income Tax on your foreign income, such as:

• wages if you work abroad
• foreign investments and savings interest
• rental income on overseas property
• income from pensions held overseas

Foreign income is defined as any income from outside England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are classed as foreign. Different rules may apply if you’re eligible for Foreign Income and Gains relief.

If you are a UK resident, then you will usually need to complete a self-assessment tax return for foreign income or capital gains. The main exceptions are if your only foreign income is dividends and your total dividends (including UK dividends) are less than the £500 or you have no other income to report.

From 6 April 2025, non-doms face a major shift as the remittance basis is replaced by the Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime, now determined by UK tax residence, not domicile. Reporting obligations have expanded significantly.

Under the new rules, nearly all UK-resident individuals must report their foreign income and gains to HMRC, regardless of whether they had previously claimed remittance basis or are claiming relief under the FIG regime.

Former remittance basis users not eligible for the new FIG relief will now be taxed on newly arising foreign income and gains in the same way as other UK residents. However, they will still be taxed on any pre-6 April 2025 FIG that is remitted to the UK.

A key feature of the new regime is the 4-year FIG exemption, available to new UK residents who have not been UK tax resident in any of the 10 preceding tax years. These individuals can opt to receive full tax relief on their FIG for up to four years. Claims must be made through a Self-Assessment return, with deadlines falling on 31 January in the second tax year after the relevant claim year.

Importantly, claims can be made selectively in any of the four years but must include quantified figures for income and gains otherwise, tax will be due at standard rates. An individual’s ability to qualify for the 4-year FIG regime will be determined by whether they are UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT).

From 6 April 2025, the remittance basis for non-doms is abolished. A new UK tax regime now applies to non-domiciled individuals, focused solely on residence. New arrivals can benefit from a 4-year exemption on foreign income and gains, but action is needed. CGT rebasing, Overseas Workday Relief, and a limited-time 12%–15% repatriation facility could all offer planning opportunities. Review your position now.

Since 6 April 2025, significant changes to the UK tax status for non-UK domiciled individuals have come into force. The remittance basis of taxation has been abolished, and a simplified, residence-based regime is now in place. This marks a fundamental shift in how foreign income and gains (FIG) are taxed for individuals living in the UK.

Under the new system, a 4-year FIG regime has been introduced. Individuals newly arriving in the UK, who have not been UK tax residents in the previous ten consecutive years, can claim 100% tax relief on their foreign income and gains for their first four years of UK residence.

To ease the transition, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rebasing is available. Those who previously used the remittance basis may rebase personally held foreign assets to their 5 April 2017 value, subject to conditions.

Overseas Workday Relief has also been extended to a four-year term, matching the FIG regime. From now on, this relief no longer requires employment income to remain offshore.

A Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) has also been launched. Running for three years from April 2025, it allows individuals taxed under the old remittance rules to bring in pre-reform foreign income and gains at reduced tax rates—12% for the first two years and 15% in the final year. This includes income and gains held in trust structures that were previously untaxed.