Looking for an accountant if you are planning to move overseas?

If you are considering moving overseas, it’s vital to plan well ahead, consider the potential impact on both your personal and business finances, and seek international tax advice on what the changes mean for you and your company.

Moving to an overseas country and dealing with both UK and non-UK tax affairs can be complex.

International & UK tax advice

Which country you pay corporation tax, income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax can significantly affect your personal tax bill and your business profits.

You’ll require an accountant and international tax advisor who understands the complex rules around international tax, residency, and tax planning.

With professional international tax advice, you can minimise tax liabilities, avoid potential double-tax issues, and mitigate the tax impact on your profits and income.

Here at dns accountants, our international tax team thoroughly understands the tax consequences for individual’s moving abroad, non-resident director’s of UK companies, contractors and landlords. Our team can assist you in resolving any international tax issues and ensure compliance.

If you are considering leaving the UK, you must understand the corporate and personal tax issues that apply to you and your business before, on and after your departure. You need to consider the rules in the jurisdiction to which you relocate. Tax planning in advance could significantly reduce your tax liabilities.

Expat services for individual’s

The services our international team offer can include:

• Tax planning before leaving the UK.

• Reviewing and advising on worldwide assets, including capital gains tax rules in the UK and abroad.

• How to demonstrate that you are still or have ceased to be UK resident and/or domiciled in the UK for UK tax purposes.

• Global mobility and moving between tax jurisdictions.

• Disposal of UK and foreign assets.

• Wages if you work abroad.

• UK & Foreign investment income.

• Income from pensions in the UK and overseas.

• UK or foreign rental income.

• UK tax returns.

Moving abroad FAQs

Can I run a UK limited company from overseas?

Yes! No legislation prevents you from setting up or running a UK-based limited company if you are not a UK resident.

If you run an established business in the UK and are considering moving either yourself or your business abroad, seek professional advice.

If you are setting up a new UK company and live abroad, you must register your company with Companies House. Companies House in the UK incorporates and dissolves limited companies.

Find out more about non-residents being UK company director’s here.

What should I do before I move overseas?

If you plan to move abroad permanently, you must contact HMRC before moving.

If you are self-employed, you should submit your self-assessment tax return to HMRC with the SA109 section residence amended to reflect your new overseas address.

Employed director’s should use form P85 to inform HMRC that you’re moving overseas and you will need to obtain parts 2 and 3 of your P45.

Does an overseas director of a UK company need to pay UK income tax?

Generally, a non-resident director of a UK company is classed as an office holder, and income received regarding their UK role will be treated as earnings in the UK.

Do company director’s who are residents outside the UK pay National Insurance Contributions?

Whether a company director pays NICs depends on many factors, including where the director has ongoing social tax obligations, other directorships, location, and the rules in those tax jurisdictions. We recommend you seek professional advice from a dns accountant.

Whether or not the UK duties of a Non-Resident Director (NRD) will trigger UK National Insurance Contributions (NIC) will depend on the director’s residency and if there is a social security agreement between the UK and the director’s country of residence. Otherwise, your social security liability may move to your new country of residence.

Can I move my UK limited company abroad?

Once an existing company has been incorporated and registered in the UK, it will remain registered there until it is dissolved in the UK. Therefore, you cannot change which jurisdiction your UK limited company is registered in.

The only way to move your company to another country is to dissolve the company in the UK and incorporate a new company in your new country of residence. When your new company is set up overseas, you can transfer your business assets from the existing company.

Consider the effects this will have on your company and its tax liabilities. Remember, where your business is incorporated and registered can hugely affect business taxes, so seek professional advice before making the move.

Which countries have tax treaties with the UK?

People often believe that a tax treaty between the UK and their new country of residence will exempt their income in the UK from UK income tax. However, this isn’t always the case.

Without careful tax planning and professional advice, you may be taxed twice – once in the UK and once in your new country of residence. To avoid this problem, many countries have ‘double tax treaties’ for companies and individual’s.

Double taxation treaties are agreements between two countries designed to protect against the risk of double taxation of the same taxable income in both countries.

For countries without a treaty, both countries will tax income or gains or may consider an individual or entity to be resident simultaneously.

Seek advice from qualified accountants and tax advisors, such as dns accountants, before you move overseas to avoid double taxation and to ensure you pay the correct taxes for yourself and your company.

Have you set up a permanent establishment?

Another critical question for company director’s moving overseas is whether you have created a ‘permanent establishment’. A permanent establishment is created when a company has a presence in a country and trades via that presence.

A permanent establishment is a fixed place of business through which business activities are carried out. The rules are complex, but if you have staff working for you outside the UK, you need to consider whether their presence there could create a permanent establishment.

Your permanent establishment could be a place of management with an office, factory or workplace.

Advice for contractors living and working overseas

Can I contract in the UK whilst I work abroad?

Yes, you can. However, seek professional advice to ensure you pay the right amount of tax in the correct country or spend enough time in the UK to continue paying UK taxes. You need to consider how you will gain work abroad and how you will live abroad while still accessing potential opportunities in the UK.

Should I use an umbrella company to contract in the UK from abroad?

If you are contracting abroad without clear advice from an accountant or tax adviser, you may be paying too much tax in the UK and your new temporary or permanent foreign country.

Many overseas contractors use an umbrella company that specialises in international contracts. Umbrella companies act as employers for contractors and freelancers. They can help negotiate contracts with clients, find work opportunities, obtain relevant licences, handle tax affairs, provide payroll services, and manage expenses.

When contracting overseas, using an umbrella company can be easier and cheaper than setting up your own limited company. It can also give you peace of mind and make the whole experience quicker.

The disadvantage of working this way is that you essentially become a permanent employee of the umbrella company and, therefore, lose the tax benefits of being self-employed.

Does IR35 still apply if I work abroad?

Working overseas does not mean that IR35 rules will not apply to contractors. For example, contractors working in remote areas, such as offshore installations or survey vessels for long periods, are not excluded from IR35 if they and their company are UK residents for tax purposes.

So, IR35 off-payroll rules may still apply if you’re contracting abroad, but this will depend on your residency status, how you contract, your tax and working status.

Here at dns accountants we can advise you on your IR35 status.

What are the tax implications when I work abroad for a short period?

If you work abroad only for a few weeks or months, there are usually no tax implications to consider, as most countries allow a short period during which you will be classed as a non-resident (please check the country’s law before travel).

How does inheritance tax work if I live abroad?

From 6 April 2025, a new residence-based system was introduced in the UK for inheritance tax purposes.

From 6 April 2025, non-UK assets will be subject to inheritance tax if an individual qualifies as a long-term resident (a person who was a UK resident for ten out of the previous twenty years).

individual’s who move abroad will remain subject to UK inheritance tax for three to ten years after their departure.

Trusts holding non-UK assets will also be subject to UK inheritance tax charges at relevant chargeable events if the settlor is a long-term resident.

individual’s should review how assets are held, succession plans, timing of transactions and overall succession planning to minimise inheritance tax when leaving the UK.

Will I pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in the UK when living abroad?

If an individual resides in the UK, they are usually charged Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the gains when they dispose of assets.

If you live abroad, the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) rules determine an individual’s residence status. The SRT rules provide that a tax year may be split into a UK and overseas part. CGT typically only applies to gains arising in the UK part of a split year.

Seek professional advice on the statutory residence test and Capital Gains Tax.

How can dns accountants help with UK taxation and international tax advice?

International tax relief

Available tax reliefs can make a huge difference to your tax bill. Our international tax advisers can help with which countries have double tax treaties and claim double tax relief for personal and corporate tax.

International tax services

Managing tax efficiency and tax treatment globally is essential in international tax planning, and our international tax teams advise a wide range of clients on tax-efficient ways to move abroad.

Corporate international tax

Our international tax expert advice includes:

• Tax-efficient business ownership structures

• Repatriation of business profits

• Withholding taxes and tax clearances

• Double taxation relief

• Managing enquiries from UK and foreign tax authorities

• Disposing of international assets

Personal international tax

Global mobility is commonplace as individual’s move worldwide and across different tax jurisdictions. Many of our international clients and high-net-worth individual’s have complex international tax aspects to their financial matters.

Our international tax specialists provide advice on:

• Income tax

• Capital gains tax

• Inheritance tax

• Implications of leaving the UK for both short and long periods of time.

To access our full range of UK and international tax and accountancy services, contact us today on 0333 060 3321, or e-mail us at enquiry@dnsaccountants.co.uk

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