Residence decides what the UK can tax. Timing decides how much.
Moving country changes which of your income and gains the UK has a claim over, and when that claim starts or stops. Most of the value in getting it right sits in the months before you move.
A move is a tax event, even when nothing has been sold
Residence is not a matter of choice or of where you feel settled. It is decided by a statutory test applied to facts, and those facts are far easier to arrange before the move than to argue about afterwards.
Moving a business as well as yourself?
If a company is coming with you or being set up here, the corporate side sits with our business team.
Almost everything useful is decided before you land
The outline below is the general shape of a move. Where each step falls for you depends on the statutory residence test applied to your own facts, and on any treaty between the UK and the other country — neither of which can be assumed.
Which country will tax what, and whether the timing of a disposal, a bonus or a vesting event should sit either side of the move.
Travel dates, days present, accommodation and work patterns. These are the inputs to the residence test, and reconstructing them years later is difficult.
The tax year may be divided into a UK part and an overseas part where the conditions are met, which changes what falls into scope.
Registration, the return itself, and relief claimed for tax already paid in the other country where a treaty allows it.
Day counts and ties change. A position that held in year one does not automatically hold in year three.
Establish the position, then file on it consistently
Applying the statutory residence test to your facts, and telling you what would change the answer.
Talk to us → 02 · TimingPre-move planningDeciding what should happen before the move and what should wait until after it.
Talk to us → 03 · ReturnFirst UK filing yearRegistration, the residence pages, and a written explanation of the position taken.
Talk to us → 04 · ReliefDouble taxation reliefWhere the same income is taxed twice, claiming relief under the relevant treaty with the evidence to support it.
Talk to us → 05 · EquityAwards earned across bordersOptions and RSUs granted in one country and vesting in another, where both may have a claim.
See how it works → 06 · AssetsInvestments held abroadOverseas portfolios, funds and digital assets, reported correctly once you are within UK scope.
See how it works →The ones that come up every year
How is UK residence actually decided?
By the statutory residence test, which applies a defined set of rules to your days in the UK and your connections to it. It is a factual test rather than a matter of intention or paperwork, which is why the underlying facts matter so much.
I have already moved. Is it too late?
Not for filing correctly, which still has to be done properly. It may be too late for the timing decisions that only existed before the move, which is the main reason we ask people to come to us early.
Will I be taxed twice on the same income?
Often relief is available where the UK has a treaty with the other country, but it has to be claimed and evidenced rather than applied automatically. The mechanism and the amount depend on the treaty and the type of income.
Do I need to tell HMRC I have left?
There are circumstances in which you do, and leaving without doing so can leave an open filing position behind you. We check what applies rather than assuming the obligation ends when the flight does.
What about property I own in the UK or abroad?
Property has its own rules and its own reporting deadlines. Where property is a significant part of the picture, we work alongside UK Property Accountants, our specialist group firm.
You will know the number before we start
Engagements start at £450, priced by the engagement and fixed before we begin. All figures exclude VAT.
How our pricing works →Tell us the dates.
A short set of questions about where you have been, where you are going, and what you hold in each country. We come back with a scope and a fixed price. If we are not the right firm for you, we will say so rather than quote for it.
Start scoping →