Updated on 3 June 2025

P85: Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK

Here we provide an annotated form P85 example, to help migrant workers leaving the UK understand how to complete it. 

A UK flag in the background with a copy of the form P85 and a plane
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As we allude on our main page about UK tax refunds for people leaving the UK or living overseas, the P85 form is primarily designed for UK nationals or residents who are leaving the country, so some of the questions may seem irrelevant or confusing to migrant workers.

If you are a migrant worker who has spent a short period in the UK and are now leaving, you will usually be entitled to a tax refund for the year of your departure so should also complete form P85. This is confirmed in HMRC’s guidance.

You will usually be due a tax refund because you’re generally eligible for the full UK personal allowance, which can be set, in full, against your UK earnings.

Income you earned before arriving in the UK or after leaving will probably not be considered for UK tax purposes, and so does not use up any of the personal allowance, because:

  • If you are only in the UK for a short time and have no significant ties to the country, you are likely to be treated as a 'non-UK resident' for tax purposes. Non-residents are only taxed in the UK on income arising from UK sources. There are some rules around when non-residents are entitled to the UK personal allowance and what evidence you may need to provide HMRC to support your claim – we explain more here.
  • If you have become a UK tax resident—either because of the number of days you’ve spent in the UK or due to your ties here—you are normally liable to UK tax on your worldwide income. However, due to split-year treatment or the provisions of a relevant double taxation agreement, any foreign income you earned before you arrived in or after you left the UK may be excluded from UK tax.

We help migrant workers understand how to answer the P85 questions to get their refund, using a case study and an annotated example of the form, below. 

  So that HMRC can interpret your P85 answers correctly, we also recommend that you send the P85 form to HMRC with a cover letter saying something like the following (tailored for your specific situation): 

Dear Sir or Madam

Ref (your National Insurance number)

I have been working in the UK since [INSERT DATE] under the seasonal worker visa scheme.

I am now leaving the UK on [DATE]. At this stage I have no firm plans to return to the UK. I am therefore leaving permanently or indefinitely.

I hope this information helps you to process my P85 form.

Kind regards

Boiko – leaving the UK after seasonal worker visa stay

Boiko, who is Bulgarian, came to the UK in mid-May 2025 to work on a farm under the seasonal worker visa scheme. Before this, he had only ever been in the UK to visit for brief holidays. As the seasonal worker visa only allows stays of up to six months Boiko is leaving the UK at the end of October 2025. During the winter, he thinks he will work back home as a ski instructor in Borovets – he will make arrangements when he gets home.

He has really enjoyed his time in the UK and would like to come back, maybe next year or the year after, to work on the same farm, but at the moment he isn’t sure of his plans.

Boiko earned £12,050 for his work while he was in the UK. He has paid £1,153 in tax. This is summarised on his final payslip, but should also be on his P45, if he gets one.

The example form below sets out how Boiko should answer the P85 questions and why. Boiko should also read our guidance: UK tax refunds for people leaving the UK or living overseas, for some information on how to submit the form to HMRC. Once HMRC process his P85 form, as his total earnings are below the personal allowance of £12,570 he should receive a tax refund cheque of the full amount of tax back (£1,153) to his home address in Sofia.

example of a form P85 which sets out how Boiko should answer the questions and why
LITRG creation

To see a larger version of this form please click here. 

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