What happens if I retire abroad?

If you retire abroad you might still have to pay UK tax, even if you become non-resident in the UK for tax purposes.

This page only provides guidance on your UK tax position. You may need to seek tax advice in your destination country too.

The guidance on this page applies to you whether or not you have reached your state pension age before you go to live abroad. You can work when you reach state pension age by using the tool on GOV.UK.

What happens to my state pension if I retire abroad?

A frequent concern for pensioners who retire abroad is whether they can get increases to their state pension.

If you are retiring to an EEA country or Switzerland, we recommend you review the latest guidance on GOV.UK.

In particular, note that if you are a UK national living in an EEA country or Switzerland by 31 December 2020, then under the UK’s withdrawal agreement with the EU you will continue to get your UK state pension uprated for every year you continue to live there. We understand this is also the case where an individual is in scope of the new UK-EU protocol on social security coordination (see paragraph 113 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Summary).

For individuals not within scope of either the withdrawal agreement or the new protocol on social security coordination, please check GOV.UK.

We publish some more information about how the UK state pension works for individuals who have worked in the UK at How does the UK state pension work for migrants?. You can also find detailed information in the House of Commons briefing paper on Brexit and state pensions.

If you are retiring to a country outside the EEA or Switzerland then the position depends on whether or not that country has a social security agreement with the UK:

• If you retire abroad to a country that has a social security agreement with the UK you will generally get annual increases in your state pension, just as you would if you continued to live in the UK. You can find a list of relevant countries on GOV.UK
• If you retire abroad to any other country, you will not get any annual increases in your state pension. However, there is an exception – if you retire abroad ‘part-time’ but live in the UK for six months or more each year. In this instance, you will get annual increases in your state pension.

If you retire abroad to a country where you do not get annual increases in your state pension and cease to be ordinarily resident in the UK, the rate of your pension will remain at the level it is:

• on the day you leave the UK; or
• when you first qualify for the pension if you are already abroad.

If you return to or visit the UK for any reason you will get a higher rate of pension, but this will be reduced again once you return abroad if your stay in the UK is only temporary.

You may also find the information on GOV.UK helpful. Detailed guidance can be found in DWP’s technical guidance (paragraph 075780 onwards).

What do I need to do before I leave the UK?

If you leave the UK to retire abroad, you need to tell various government departments and you must let them all know separately. In the next question we list government departments concerned with tax and benefits that you may need to inform.

You also need to think about the international effects of different actions that you might take when you move location, like selling a house.

You cannot assume that the tax consequences of doing things in the UK apply in the country to which you are moving. Let us take a simple example. If you move within the UK and sell your main residence and it has increased in value since you bought it, then UK law says that the capital gain is usually exempt from tax (see our pages on capital gains tax for a simple guide to this exemption). But if you move to another country and the sale of your main residence in the UK takes place after you arrive there, that other country may charge you tax on the whole of the gain that arose whilst you were in the UK.

The lesson is that all significant actions taken around the time of a move abroad have to be considered in the light of the tax regimes of both countries. You may also need to consider the terms of a double taxation agreement, if one exists, between the UK and the country you are moving to.

Who do I need to tell that I am leaving the UK?

You may need to inform some or all of the following government departments that you are leaving the UK:

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

• if all your sources of income are taxed under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, then telling HMRC once should be sufficient in respect of all PAYE sources. You can telephone the HMRC helpline. Ask them if you are likely to be due a tax repayment and to get on with making it. They will probably send you a form P85 to complete or you can download the form from GOV.UK;
• if you normally file a Self Assessment tax return, you should complete the residence pages (SA109 Residence, remittance basis, etc.) in the tax return for your year of departure. If you have any questions, you should contact the Self Assessment helpline;

Child benefit

• If you claim child benefit contact the child benefit helpline;

Winter fuel payment

• If you are entitled to the winter fuel payment you may be entitled to continue to receive it – GOV.UK gives more information;

UK state pension

• The Pension Service, who will decide whether you will be entitled to increases to your UK state pension whilst you are abroad;

Other benefits

• If you are receiving other benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) then you need to contact the particular office dealing with each of the benefits. Do not assume that one office will tell another one;

Council tax and housing benefit

• Contact your local council about your liability to council tax, and housing benefit if you were in receipt of it.

⚠️ The above list is not comprehensive, and there may be other UK government departments and organisations that you need to tell, depending on your own personal circumstances.

Is there anything else I need to consider before I leave the UK?

We list below a number of things you should think about; it is not a complete list as circumstances are so variable. If there are significant assets involved it is a good idea to take professional advice from a tax adviser familiar with international issues. We tell you how you can find a tax adviser in our Getting Help section.

Capital gains tax if you sell or give away any assets

• If you sell or give away something on which a capital gain might arise, then you need to understand the tax rules in the UK and the country to which you are moving, in order to understand the tax impact of what you are doing in both countries. If there is a double taxation agreement between the UK and the country you are moving to you also need to consider that. There is a list of the UK’s double taxation agreements on GOV.UK. The timing of a gift or sale could be very important as we explain on our CGT page, Capital gains tax for individuals not resident in the UK;

Letting or selling UK property

• If you are going to retain a property in the UK then you need to understand the rules in the UK for non-resident landlords. There is more information on GOV.UK. In addition, the overseas country may expect you to pay tax there on your UK rental profit;
• You need to tell HMRC if you sell a UK property – see GOV.UK for more information. There are additional factors to consider if the property is, or was previously, your main home in the UK. 
• If you want to transfer property of any sort between spouses or civil partners, remember that the UK has generous rules which often allow that to happen without tax consequences. The overseas territory may not be as generous, so the timing of when you do it is important;

Continuing to have UK income

• If you are going to continue having other UK income sources when you are abroad you need to understand how the UK and the overseas country are going to tax those sources. You should also approach HMRC Residency to determine whether any UK sources which are currently paid to you with deduction of UK tax at source can be paid gross;
• HMRC may want you to complete a Self Assessment tax return if you have continuing (or new) sources of income in the UK. Even if you do not normally complete a tax return, you should consider whether you should start to do so once you have left the UK. If so, you will need to tell HMRC by 5 October following the end of the relevant tax year (which ends on 5 April);

Withdrawals from UK pension funds

• If moving abroad coincides with cashing in pension funds or receiving a golden handshake (termination/redundancy payment), this needs to be considered with both tax regimes in mind;
• If you have a pension from a government or local authority source, some countries will not tax these but they will continue to be taxed in the UK. You need to check whether the UK has a double taxation agreement setting out the rules for which country taxes such pensions;

Taking an extended holiday

• Some people moving abroad have an extended holiday between leaving the UK for good and arriving in their new home. Transactions which occur in this window may still be taxed in the UK even though you have left the UK permanently. The precise rules are complex and advice from a tax adviser may be needed if you have significant assets;

Social security

• You might be able to continue to receive benefits or make a claim for benefits if you went to a European Economic Area country before 31 December 2020, or if you are within scope of the new UK-EU protocol on social security co-ordination, or a country that has a social security agreement with the UK. You can find a list of countries with which the UK has a social security agreement on GOV.UK. It is important to check the social security agreement with the country you are moving to before you leave;
• You should check with the authorities in the other country you wish to claim benefits in that country.

What do I need to do in my destination country?

If you retire abroad, you may have to pay tax both in the UK and in your destination country. Sometimes, you may have to pay tax on the same income in both countries, although you may be able to get double taxation relief. However, if you become non-resident in the UK (including during the overseas part of a split year) then you will not be liable to tax in the UK on non-UK sources of income. For more information, see HMRC’s guidance RDR1.

Many people from the UK who retire abroad will continue to have sources of income, and possibly capital gains, arising in the UK.

For people on relatively low incomes it is often possible to prevent the payers of that income from deducting any UK tax at source.

The most common sources of income back in the UK for pensioners who have retired abroad are:

• state pension;
• occupational or private pension;
• trivial commutation of pension funds;
• rental income;
• interest.

Below, we consider each of these sources to see how, and if, the UK tax liability can be reduced, eliminated or refunded.

First it is necessary to consider what allowances are available to set off against those sources of income.

Am I still entitled to a UK personal allowance after I have retired abroad?

You are normally entitled to a UK personal allowance if you are resident for tax purposes in the UK. In addition, even if you are not resident for tax purposes in the UK, you are entitled to the UK personal allowance if you are a national of either the UK or an EEA country.

If your total income arising in the UK is less than the personal allowance then no UK tax should be payable.

If this applies to you and you are in the Self Assessment system, you may wish to consider approaching HMRC Residency to try and remove yourself from the Self Assessment system. There is information on how to contact HMRC on GOV.UK.

As a non-resident, you may need to claim personal allowances and a subsequent repayment of any taxes paid in income within them, using form R43.

If your taxable UK income is higher than your personal allowance then you should consider whether each source of income can be removed from the charge to UK tax another way. You may have to complete a UK Self Assessment tax return to give effect to this. See the questions How is my UK pension income taxed?, How is my UK rental income taxed? and How is my UK savings income taxed? for more information.

How is my UK pension income taxed?

State pension

The DWP does not deduct tax under PAYE when making payments of the state pension. If HMRC believe that there is tax payable then they should issue you with a Self Assessment tax return or, if your tax affairs are straightforward, they may issue a Simple Assessment of your tax bill.

If there is a double taxation agreement in force between the UK and your country of residence it is likely that this agreement will provide for the country of residence to have primary taxing rights over the pension. However, there are some exceptions for pensions of a certain type. There is a list of the UK's double taxation agreements on GOV.UK.

You may also find our guidance helpful for determining how to interpret a double tax agreement in the context of a cross-border pension.

Occupational pensions

Occupational pensions from the UK are divided into two categories:

• UK government and most local authority pensions;
• Other occupational pensions.

Under some double taxation agreements, UK government pensions and local authority pensions are only taxable in the country of payment. This means it is not possible to have them paid without deduction of PAYE if they exceed your personal allowances. Your new country of residence might not tax such pensions. If they do, they should allow a tax credit for any tax due in the UK. You may find our guidance helpful for determining how to interpret a double tax agreement in the context of a cross-border pension.

Other occupational pensions are usually taxed in the country of residence, so you can make a claim to HMRC to have them paid without deduction of UK tax. There is more information on GOV.UK and, for those in Self Assessment, in HMRC’s helpsheet HS304.

Contact HMRC Residency if you have need further assistance. There is information on how to contact HMRC on GOV.UK.

Trivial commutation of pension funds / flexible pension withdrawals

Trivial commutation occurs when you convert an entitlement to a small amount of certain types of pension into a taxable lump sum. At the present time, it is not possible to take advantage of double taxation provisions in advance. The pension payer will deduct UK tax and you will have to reclaim the tax.

The same occurs when you take a lump sum pension payment under pension flexibility rules.

If you want to reclaim this tax once you have left the UK and become non resident, you can start the repayment process by downloading, completing and sending in a repayment claim on form R43. You might also be able to claim relief under a double taxation agreement. You should check the tax position of such payments in your destination country.

How is my UK rental income taxed?

UK rental income is always taxable in the UK no matter where you live.

If you are not resident in the UK (or are just outside the UK for more than 6 months), HMRC operate a special scheme called the non-resident landlord scheme (NRLS) on the rent you get from letting out your UK property. Under the scheme your tenant or letting agent collects the tax due on the rent and then pays it over to HMRC.

Your letting agent (or, if there is no agent, your tenant) must supply you with a certificate of tax deducted for the previous year ended 31 March by the following 5 July.

You must then complete a UK Self Assessment tax return and work out whether you have any tax to pay. You can normally get double taxation relief by setting off your UK tax against any tax liability arising on the rental income in your new country of residence. You may find our news item Migrant workers in the UK: are you receiving rental income from property in your home country? If so, read this! helpful for determining how to interpret a double tax agreement in the context of a rental income.

Provided your tax affairs are up to date you can apply to HMRC to have your rental income paid gross, that is with no tax taken off before you get them. You can apply online or download the application form NRL1 on GOV.UK. If you own the UK property jointly with someone else, you each need to fill in an application form.

If you apply to receive your rental income gross under the NRLS, you must agree to complete any Self Assessment tax return that HMRC send you.

How is my UK savings income taxed?

From 6 April 2016, UK banks and building societies do not deduct tax from interest they pay to you. You can find more information in our guide on savings and tax.

However, any UK savings income will still be in scope of UK (under domestic UK law) tax even if you are non-resident in the UK. As a non-resident, you will still be entitled to the starting rate for savings and the personal savings allowance, depending on your total taxable income. You may also be eligible for a UK personal allowance, for example if you are a UK or EEA national.

If you find you have tax to pay on your UK savings income because it exceeds all UK allowances and reliefs to which you are eligible, you should consider whether the terms of a double tax agreement restrict the UK’s right to tax the income. Often, savings income is taxed only in the country of residence. Other times, the double tax agreement may provide for income that is not exempt from UK tax to be charged at a reduced rate. Please see HMRC’s Digest of Double Taxation Treaties for further information as well as What if I am liable to tax in two countries on the same income?.

Where can I find more information?

You can find more information about UK tax if you retire abroad on GOV.UK.

GOV.UK also has form P85 – Leaving the UK – getting your tax right, which you might need to complete and send to HMRC when you leave the UK.

You can find out how to make a claim under a double taxation agreement on GOV.UK.

There is an explanation of how to file a Self Assessment tax return if you live outside the UK on GOV.UK. Please be aware that you cannot use HMRC’s online Self Assessment services to file a tax return with the SA109 Residence, remittance basis, etc pages or certain other supplementary pages. As such, you will need to either file a paper return (which has an earlier filing deadline) or use specialist software, or appoint a tax adviser to prepare your tax return for you – see our Getting help page.

To claim personal allowances and a subsequent repayment of any taxes paid, if you are not resident in the UK, use form R43.

For information on your state pension if you retire abroad, go to GOV.UK.