FIG Regime UK: The 4-Year Foreign Income Relief

The remittance basis ended on 6 April 2025. In its place, the UK now offers the FIG regime: four tax years in which qualifying new residents can claim relief from UK tax on their foreign income and gains, whether or not they bring the money to the UK.

It's more generous than the old rules in some ways and stricter in others. You must qualify on a 10-year residence test, you must claim it each year, and every claim costs your personal allowance. And after four years, the relief stops completely.

This guide covers who qualifies, what the regime relieves, what a claim costs, Overseas Workday Relief, how to claim, and how to plan for year five.

Who qualifies for the FIG regime?

Who counts as a qualifying new resident? For the first year, you must meet all of these:

• UK resident: you're UK resident for the tax year under the Statutory Residence Test.

• 10 years away: you weren't UK resident in any of the 10 consecutive tax years immediately before it.

• Age: you're at least 10 years old at the start of the tax year.

• Not an MP or peer: members of the House of Commons or House of Lords are excluded.

You then qualify for the next three tax years too, as long as you're UK resident in each. Nationality and domicile don't matter, so British citizens returning after 10 years away can qualify as well.

Image 1 — ten years away, four years of relief

Three details catch people out:

• Split years count as full UK years. If you arrive in January, that tax year is year one of four. See our guide to split-year treatment.

• Treaty non-residence doesn't help. If you're UK resident under the SRT but treaty resident elsewhere, it still counts as a UK year. See dual tax residency.

• Earlier arrivals can use their remaining years. If you arrived in 2022/23, 2023/24 or 2024/25 after 10 years away, you can claim for whatever is left of your four years from 2025/26.

👉 HMRC manual: qualifying new resident (RFIG44000)

What does the FIG regime cover?

Which income and gains are relieved? The regime covers foreign income and gains that arise in your qualifying years:

• Foreign investment income: such as dividends and interest from non-UK sources.

• Foreign property income: rent from property outside the UK.

• Foreign gains: such as selling overseas property or a non-UK share portfolio.

• Foreign trade profits: but only where the trade is carried on wholly outside the UK.

It doesn't cover UK income or UK gains, which are taxed normally. Foreign employment income is dealt with separately, through Overseas Workday Relief.

Claims are made source by source, so you can claim on some foreign income and not on others. And once relieved, the money can be brought into the UK freely, with none of the old remittance tracking.

What does a FIG claim cost?

Is the relief free? No. For any year you make a claim, you lose:

• Your personal allowance: £12,570, worth up to £5,028 to a higher-rate taxpayer.

• Your CGT annual exempt amount: £3,000.

• Foreign losses: foreign capital losses arising in that year aren't allowable.

This applies however small the claim is, and whether you claim on foreign income, foreign gains or Overseas Workday Relief alone. Relieved income also still counts towards adjusted net income, which matters for the High Income Child Benefit Charge and childcare support.

Image 2 — when a claim is worth making

Worked example: when a claim pays

• Anna earns a UK salary of £60,000, so any claim costs her about £5,028 in lost personal allowance.

• With £5,000 of foreign dividends, the UK tax without a claim is about £1,609. Claiming would leave her £3,419 worse off.

• With £40,000 of foreign dividends, the UK tax without a claim is about £14,121. Claiming saves her £9,093.

The decision is made each year, so model it every year. A claim that doesn't pay in year one may pay in year three.

👉 HMRC manual: allowances lost when you claim (EIM43580)

Overseas Workday Relief

What about salary for work done abroad? If you qualify for the FIG regime and some of your employment duties are performed outside the UK, you can elect for Overseas Workday Relief (OWR). It exempts the pay for those overseas workdays.

• Four years: OWR runs alongside the FIG window, up from three years under the old rules.

• No offshore account needed: the pay can be brought to the UK freely.

• A cap: relief is limited to the lower of 30% of qualifying employment income and £300,000 a year.

For example, on earnings of £1.5 million, 30% would be £450,000, but the cap limits relief to £300,000. On earnings of £200,000, the limit is £60,000, or less if fewer workdays were overseas.

👉 HMRC manual: Overseas Workday Relief (EIM43550)

The all-or-nothing rule for self-employment

Can sole traders use it? Only if the trade is carried on wholly outside the UK. If any part of the business is managed or performed in the UK, all of the profits are taxable here. Living in the UK while running a business entirely from abroad is rarely realistic, so few self-employed people benefit.

👉 HMRC manual: qualifying foreign income (RFIG45100)

How and when to claim

How do you claim? On your Self Assessment return. You tick the foreign income or foreign gains claim boxes on the SA109 residence pages, then enter the amounts on the relevant pages, such as SA106 for foreign income and SA108 for gains. You must still report the income and gains in full, even though they're relieved.

The deadline is the first anniversary of the 31 January after the tax year:

• 2025/26 tax year: ended 5 April 2026, return due 31 January 2027, claim deadline 31 January 2028.

• 2026/27 tax year: ends 5 April 2027, return due 31 January 2028, claim deadline 31 January 2029.

HMRC's free online service can't file the SA109, so you'll need commercial software or a paper return. See do I need to file a UK tax return.

👉 HMRC helpsheet: HS266 Foreign income and gains (FIG) regime

Planning for year five

What happens when the four years end? From year five, you're taxed on your worldwide income and gains as they arise, at up to 45% on income, 39.35% on dividends and 24% on gains. Rates on savings and property income rise by two percentage points from April 2027.

Things to review before the window closes:

• Realise gains while they're relieved. Selling and reinvesting in a FIG year means future gains are measured from the higher value.

• Restructure foreign income. Look at how overseas investments, companies and trusts will be taxed from year five.

• Use UK wrappers. Pensions and ISAs keep sheltering income and gains after the window. See UK tax-efficient investing.

• Plan for inheritance tax. After 10 years of UK residence, you become a long-term resident and your worldwide estate is in scope.

Former remittance basis users can't use FIG for income and gains from before April 2025, but may benefit from the Temporary Repatriation Facility. The best time to plan is year three, not year five.

Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies for the FIG regime?

Anyone who becomes UK resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-residence. Nationality and domicile don't matter. You can then claim for up to four tax years, starting with the first year of UK residence.

Can British citizens returning to the UK use the FIG regime?

Yes, if they weren't UK resident in any of the 10 tax years before they return. The test is based only on residence under the Statutory Residence Test.

Do I have to keep my foreign income outside the UK?

No. Unlike the old remittance basis, relieved foreign income and gains can be brought to the UK without a further charge. You still have to report them on your return.

Does claiming the FIG regime cost my personal allowance?

Yes. Any claim, including an Overseas Workday Relief election on its own, removes your personal allowance and CGT annual exempt amount for that year. Modest foreign income may not be worth claiming on.

What is the FIG claim deadline for 2025/26?

31 January 2028, the first anniversary of the 31 January 2027 filing deadline. The claim is made on your Self Assessment return, using the SA109 residence pages.