Qualifying new resident
Residence history is reviewed to establish whether the required ten-year period of non-UK residence and four-year eligibility window are satisfied.
From 6 April 2025 the remittance basis was replaced by the four-year foreign income and gains regime. Qualifying new UK residents can claim relief on eligible foreign income and foreign gains arising during their available qualifying years.
A FIG claim should not be made automatically simply because relief is available. The tax saved on foreign income or gains should be compared with the allowances and loss reliefs surrendered by making the claim, together with the individual's UK income, gains and wider tax position.
Give us your first UK-resident tax year, previous residence history and main foreign income or assets.
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The first questions are whether the individual is a qualifying new resident, which of the four residence years remains available and whether the particular foreign income or gain qualifies for relief.
Claiming FIG relief can eliminate UK tax on eligible foreign income or gains, but it can also remove valuable allowances and restrict foreign losses for the same tax year. The decision should therefore be modelled rather than assumed.
The advice can be prospective before a UK move or prepared as part of the Self Assessment reporting for a qualifying residence year.
Residence history is reviewed to establish whether the required ten-year period of non-UK residence and four-year eligibility window are satisfied.
Foreign interest, dividends, overseas property profits and other potentially qualifying foreign income are identified by source.
Overseas asset disposals are reviewed to establish the gain and whether it qualifies for a foreign gain claim.
The tax saved by FIG relief is compared with the allowances and loss reliefs surrendered by making a claim.
Where FIG relief is not claimed on an item, foreign tax credit and treaty relief may need to be considered instead.
Foreign income, foreign gains and the relevant FIG claim are reported consistently across the required supplementary pages.
Eligibility is established first, then the foreign income and gains are quantified before the cost and benefit of claiming relief are compared.
We establish prior non-UK residence and identify the available four-year FIG window.
Foreign investment income, property income, gains and other overseas sources are identified.
FIG relief is modelled against the tax position without the claim, including the allowances lost.
The selected claims and underlying foreign amounts are reflected in the Self Assessment return.
The regime is based on tax residence rather than domicile. It is available only within the statutory four-year window following the required period of non-UK residence.
The four-year clock is based on residence years, not the number of years in which a FIG claim is actually made. Choosing not to claim in one qualifying year does not extend the statutory four-year period.
HMRC's current guidance explains the four-year regime and the ten-year prior non-residence condition.
Official FIG guidance ↗HS266 explains qualifying income and gains, claim mechanics, time limits and the effects of a claim.
HS266 FIG guidance ↗The regime can be very valuable, but a partial claim is not automatically preferable to normal arising-basis taxation because statutory allowances are lost for the whole tax year once a relevant claim or OWR election is made.
For someone with modest foreign income but substantial UK income or UK gains, surrendering the Personal Allowance or annual exempt amount can outweigh some or all of the FIG benefit. The claim should therefore be calculated using the individual's complete tax-year position.
FIG eligibility depends on residence, while employment income, pensions and historic offshore liabilities can require separate rules and separate claims.
The result depends on the individual's residence history and complete UK and foreign tax position for each claim year.
Broadly, a qualifying new resident within their first four UK-resident tax years after at least ten consecutive tax years of non-UK residence, subject to the statutory conditions.
No. The four-year period starts from the individual's first UK-resident tax year following the qualifying period of non-residence. Someone who became UK resident before 2025/26 may therefore have fewer FIG years remaining after the regime began.
Yes, qualifying foreign interest and dividends can potentially be included in a foreign income claim where the eligibility conditions are satisfied.
Qualifying profits of an overseas property business can potentially fall within the foreign income relief provisions for an eligible individual.
Foreign employment earnings use the separate Overseas Workday Relief rules rather than ordinary FIG foreign-income relief.
Yes. A foreign income claim, foreign gain claim or OWR election removes entitlement to the Personal Allowance for that tax year.
Yes. Under the post-April 2025 FIG regime, qualifying income or gains relieved under the regime do not depend on keeping the money offshore and can be brought to the UK without a later remittance-basis charge.
No. Claims can be made for selected qualifying foreign income or gains, but the statutory consequences for allowances still apply for the tax year once a relevant claim is made.