International Tax

An international tax adviser works out which country can tax you on what, and how to keep the total bill fair and lawful. For the UK that means your residence status, the treatment of foreign income and gains, inheritance tax on worldwide assets, and how treaties and foreign tax credits fit together. At ASWATAX the advice is led personally by Omar Aswat, a Chartered Tax Adviser, and it is planned before you move, not after.

Yes. From 6 April 2025 the remittance basis and domicile-based rules were replaced by a residence-based system. Domicile no longer decides your income tax, capital gains tax or, for most purposes, inheritance tax. New arrivals can claim a four-year foreign income and gains regime, and everyone else is taxed on worldwide income and gains as they arise. The change affects long-term residents and new arrivals very differently.

If you are UK resident, you are generally taxable on worldwide income and gains as they arise, often with credit for foreign tax. The main exception is the four-year foreign income and gains regime for people who have been non-UK resident for at least ten consecutive tax years. Once that relief ends, or if you do not qualify, tax applies whether or not the money ever comes to the UK.

UK residence is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, which looks at days in the UK, work patterns, accommodation, family and your past residence. There are automatic overseas tests, automatic UK tests and a sufficient ties test for cases in between. It is decided tax year by tax year. Our free UK Residency Checker walks you through the test, and we can then confirm the answer and the evidence to keep.

Tax residence is about where you live for tax purposes in a given year. Domicile was a longer-term legal concept linked to your permanent home and family roots. Since 6 April 2025 UK tax mostly follows residence. Domicile can still matter in other legal areas, such as which country's succession law governs your will, so it has not disappeared from your wider planning.

There is no form to ask permission to leave, but you should report your departure correctly on your Self Assessment return and confirm any split year treatment. Many people also need to consider gains on assets, the temporary non-residence rules and inheritance tax after leaving. We prepare the evidence file before you go, so the position is clear if HMRC ever asks questions.

Yes, it can happen, especially in a year of moving. Double taxation treaties usually decide which country has the primary right to tax each type of income, and tie-breaker rules decide treaty residence if two countries both treat you as resident. Where both countries still tax, foreign tax credit relief normally reduces the second country's charge. The detail depends on the treaty and the type of income.

Usually yes. Non-residents pay UK tax on UK rental profits and on gains from UK property, and must report disposals of UK land within 60 days. A non-UK resident buying UK residential property in England or Northern Ireland also pays a 2% Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge. Inheritance tax applies to UK property whatever your residence. We help owners abroad structure ownership and reporting sensibly.

No. From 6 April 2025, inheritance tax on worldwide assets depends on whether you are a long-term UK resident, meaning UK resident in at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years. Once you are long-term resident, non-UK assets are in scope. If you leave, a tail of between three and ten years keeps worldwide assets in scope, depending on how long you lived here.

The tail runs for three to ten tax years after you leave, depending on how many of the last 20 years you were UK resident. Residence in 13 or fewer of those years gives a three-year tail, rising by one year for each extra year of residence, up to ten years for those resident in all 20. Planning before departure can matter a great deal.

A treaty does not switch off UK tax by itself. It allocates taxing rights and offers tie-breaker rules where two countries each claim you as resident. If you genuinely cease to be UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test, the UK taxes you far less. These treaties cover income and gains, not inheritance tax, so estate planning needs separate thought.

Nationality does not decide UK tax. Your residence status under the Statutory Residence Test does. A British citizen who is non-UK resident is taxed in the UK mainly on UK income, such as UK rental profits, and on gains from UK property. If you remain resident, you are taxed on worldwide income. Employment contracts, home ownership and days in the UK all affect the answer.

Qualifying new residents can claim relief from UK tax on foreign income and gains for up to their first four tax years of residence, and may bring that money to the UK without a further UK charge. The cost is that the personal allowance and the capital gains tax annual exempt amount are lost in each year you claim. Because it is a yearly claim, modelling matters.

It is a time-limited option for people who used the remittance basis before 6 April 2025. They can designate qualifying overseas income and gains from before that date and pay a flat charge, 12% for 2025/26 and 2026/27 or 15% for 2027/28, instead of full tax if the money is remitted. Designation is made in a Self Assessment return and strict conditions apply.

There is no single magic number. If you were UK resident in any of the previous three tax years, you are automatically non-resident only if you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK, or meet the full-time work abroad test. Otherwise the sufficient ties test applies. If you return within five years, the temporary non-residence rules can bring some gains and income back into the UK charge.

Yes. We advise on the UK side: residence, UK property, UK companies, inheritance tax and the relevant double tax treaty. We do not give local-law advice, so we work alongside local advisers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and coordinate with them so the whole picture lines up. Clients abroad can book a call at a time that suits their time zone.

Typically a day count for recent years, your travel and work pattern, details of homes and family ties, an outline of overseas income and assets, and any company or trust structures. If you are moving, we also need your intended dates. You do not need everything in advance: the first call is free and helps us decide what is genuinely needed.

We reply the same working day, and because advice comes directly from a Chartered Tax Adviser, we can usually frame the key decisions in a first call. Timing matters because residence is judged over whole tax years, and some steps, such as selling assets or paying dividends, are best taken before or after a particular date. Do not wait until the move has happened.

No. A single move, a job offer abroad, a UK rental flat or an inheritance from overseas can raise real international tax questions. The stakes rise with wealth and complexity, but the principles are the same. We scale the advice to what you need, and the first call is free, so you can find out whether specialist input is worthwhile before committing to anything.