Tax if you Come to Live in the UK
You have to pay tax on your income if you come to live in the UK. Income includes:
- wages
- benefits
- your pension
- savings interest
You will pay Income Tax on income above your Personal Allowance.
You will not have to pay UK tax if you only make short business trips here, for example, a training course or meeting.
How to Pay
If you are employed your employer will deduct Income Tax from your wages.
You will have to send a Self Assessment tax return if you work for yourself or you have other UK income.
You may also have to send a tax return if you:
- made a profit when selling (or ‘disposing of’) certain assets, such as shares or a second home
- have to pay UK tax on foreign income, for example savings in an overseas bank account, rent on a property you let out or an overseas pension - this depends on if you are ‘resident’ in the UK
You may have to pay tax on UK income or gains made while you were abroad if you have lived in the UK before.
National Insurance
You will usually pay National Insurance if you work in the UK. How you pay depends on whether you’re employed or self-employed.
You will need to prove you can work in the UK to your employer.
Apply for a National Insurance number if you want to work or claim benefits in the UK, including the State Pension.
When You do not Need to Pay
You do not need to pay National Insurance or get a number if you have either:
- Portable Document A1, E101 or E102 that proves you pay National Insurance in another European Economic Area (EEA) country
- a certificate from a country that has a bilateral agreement on social security with the UK
Ask the social security authority in your country for the document or certificate.
The countries with a bilateral agreement are:
Barbados, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Isle of Man, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Guernsey, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Philippines, Serbia, Turkey, USA.
You will not have to pay National Insurance for the first 52 weeks if you both:
- are sent by an employer in your home country to work in the UK temporarily
- come from a non-EEA and non-bilateral agreement country
If You are also Taxed Abroad
You may be taxed twice on the same income or gains unless the country you have come from has a double-taxation agreement with the UK.
If You have Paid too Much UK tax
Claim tax relief or a tax refund owed if you are only working in the UK for a short time and plan to leave.
Apply to claim back tax if you are a foreign national assigned to the UK and you think you have paid too much.
For further information: