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Income tax in the UK for newcomers – 2026/27 rates, National Insurance and the FIG regime

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Moving to the UK changes what you owe, and to whom. Here is how tax works in your first years: whether you count as resident, the 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance rates, the new FIG regime for foreign income, Self Assessment deadlines, and what you can bring in without paying duty.

Woman with glasses using a calculator and laptop with papers at home
Photo: fizkes/Adobe Stock

Income tax in the UK is collected by HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) over a tax year that runs from 6 April to 5 April. On 6 April 2025, the non-dom remittance basis was replaced by a 4-year regime for foreign income and gains – the biggest change for newcomers. Since 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must also report digitally every quarter – from 6 April 2027, those over £30,000 too.

Are you UK resident for tax?

Everything starts with residence, decided by the Statutory Residence Test: residents are normally taxed on worldwide income, non-residents only on UK income. Where no automatic test below applies, the sufficient ties test decides.

In the tax year, you…Usually
Spend 183 days or more in the UKResident
Have your only home in the UK for 91 days or more in a row, staying there at least 30 daysResident
Work full-time in the UK for any period of 365 daysResident
Spend fewer than 16 days in the UK – 46 if you were non-resident in the 3 previous tax yearsNon-resident

Source: HMRC, read 23 September 2026.

In your arrival year, the tax year is usually split into non-resident and resident parts, claimed on a Self Assessment return. If Anna moves in September and split-year treatment applies, her months before the move are taxed only on UK income.

What are the UK income tax rates for 2026/27?

The standard Personal Allowance – the income you pay no tax on – is £12,570. It shrinks by £1 for every £2 of adjusted net income above £100,000 and is gone at £125,140. At Budget 2025, the government set out that it will stay at £12,570 until 5 April 2031.

BandEngland, Wales, Northern IrelandScotland
Personal Allowance, 0%Up to £12,570Up to £12,570
Starter–19%: £12,571 to £16,537
Basic20%: £12,571 to £50,27020%: £16,538 to £29,526
Intermediate–21%: £29,527 to £43,662
Higher40%: £50,271 to £125,14042%: £43,663 to £75,000
Advanced–45%: £75,001 to £125,140
Additional or top45%: over £125,14048%: over £125,140

Source: HMRC, read 23 September 2026.

Welsh rates, set by the Welsh Government, match England's in 2026/27; they apply if you live in Wales longer than anywhere else in the UK that tax year, and your tax code starts with C. Scottish codes start with S, and Scottish rates do not apply to savings interest or dividends.

Without details of your previous pay, your employer uses an emergency tax code – from 6 April 2026, 1257L W1, M1 or X – which can take up to 35 days to correct, so hand over any P45. Tax-free each year: £1,000 of savings interest (£500 at higher rate, nothing at additional rate), £500 of dividends and £3,000 of capital gains.

How much National Insurance do you pay?

National Insurance (NI) builds your State Pension record (part 9). Apply for an NI number online once you are here; it can take up to 4 weeks, but you can start work first if you can prove your right to work. Check your UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) account first: with an eVisa, you may already have a number.

WhoRate, 2026/27
Employee8% on earnings between £242 and £967 a week, 2% above
Employee earning £129 to £242 a weekUsually nothing, but NI credits still build up
Self-employed (Class 4)6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above

Source: HMRC, read 23 September 2026.

What is the FIG regime for new UK residents?

Since 6 April 2025, residence rather than domicile decides how foreign income is taxed: UK residents pay on it as it arises, unless they claim the 4-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime.

You qualify in each of your first 4 tax years of UK residence after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence. Claim it, and foreign dividends and interest, overseas property income and profits of a trade carried on wholly abroad are free of UK tax, even if you bring the money here – and because the test is residence, returning British citizens qualify too.

FIG ruleWhat it means
How to claimOn your Self Assessment return, one year at a time
The priceYou lose the Personal Allowance and the Capital Gains Tax allowance that year – which can outweigh the relief
Unused yearsCannot be carried forward
Deadline12 months after the online filing date – 31 January 2028 for 2025/26
Foreign employment incomeNot covered; Overseas Workday Relief may apply, capped at 30% of that income or £300,000, whichever is lower

Source: HMRC, read 23 September 2026.

Do you need a Self Assessment tax return?

You must file if, in the last tax year, you earned over £1,000 as a sole trader, were a partner in a business, owed Capital Gains Tax or had to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge outside your tax code. Rent, foreign income, savings interest or dividends may also mean a return – and FIG and split-year claims need one.

Deadline, 2025/26 tax yearWhat
5 October 2026Register, if you have never sent a return
31 October 2026Paper return
30 December 2026Online return, if you want the bill collected through your tax code
31 January 2027Online return and payment

Source: HMRC, read 23 September 2026.

Filing late costs £100 at once, then £10 a day after 3 months, up to £900, and more at 6 and 12 months. Paying late adds 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months, plus interest.

Can you bring belongings and pets into the UK duty-free?

If you move your main home to Great Britain – or to Northern Ireland from outside the EU – Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief lets you bring belongings, vehicles and pets free of import duty and VAT, provided HMRC approves your online ToR1 form in advance. From the EU to Northern Ireland, you need no relief. Goods that do not qualify pay duty and VAT before you can collect them.

What you bringThe rule
Belongings and vehiclesAfter at least 12 consecutive months abroad, for goods you have had for 6 months, imported within 12 months of moving and not lent, hired out or transferred for 12 months; never alcohol or tobacco
CashDeclare £10,000 or more between Great Britain and a country outside the UK; in Northern Ireland, €10,000 to or from non-EU countries or Great Britain
Dog, cat or ferretMicrochip before or with the rabies vaccination, given from 12 weeks old; travel at least 21 full days later
Pet from the EUEU pet passport, or a Great Britain pet health certificate – enter within 10 days of its issue
Pet from an unlisted non-EU countryAlso a blood test at least 30 days after vaccination, then a 3-month wait
DogTapeworm treatment 24 hours to 5 days before arrival, unless coming directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway

Source: HMRC and the government's pet travel guidance, read 23 September 2026.

Break the pet rules and your animal can spend up to 4 months in quarantine, at your cost. Northern Ireland follows EU pet rules; if you live in Great Britain, taking a pet there needs a free Northern Ireland Pet Travel Document.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check your residence status and split-year treatmentThe tax year you arrive
2Find your NI number in your UKVI account, or apply onlineYour first week
3Check the tax code on your first payslipYour first payday
4Register for Self Assessment if neededBy 5 October 2026 for 2025/26
5Decide on a FIG claim, then file and pay onlineBy 31 January 2027 for 2025/26
6HMRC helplines: Income Tax 0300 200 3300, Self Assessment 0300 200 3310Weekdays, 8am to 6pm
7Get ToR1 approval; vaccinate pets (Pet Travel helpline 03000 200 301)Before you ship; 21 days or more before pets travel

Source: HMRC, read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.