Tax if you Come to Live in the UK

You have to pay tax on your income (external link) if you come to live in the UK. Income includes:

You will pay Income Tax (external link) on income above your Personal Allowance (external link).

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 (external link) if you work for yourself (external link) or you have other UK income. 

You may also have to send a tax return if you: 

You may have to pay tax on UK income or gains made while you were abroad if you have lived in the UK before (external link).  

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 (external link).

You will need to prove you can work in the UK (external link) to your employer.

Apply for a National Insurance number if you want to work or claim benefits in the UK (external link), 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 (external link) (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 (external link) on the same income or gains unless the country you have come from has a double-taxation agreement (external link) with the UK.

If You have Paid too Much UK tax  

Claim tax relief or a tax refund owed (external link) if you are only working in the UK for a short time and plan to leave. 

Apply to claim back tax (external link) if you are a foreign national assigned to the UK and you think you have paid too much.