Moving to Australia from the UK: Tax Guide for 2026

Moving to Australia from the UK is usually a long-term move, and the tax planning needs to match. The two countries' tax years start three months apart, Australia taxes residents on worldwide income from the day they arrive, and your UK pension choices have deadlines that start running when you land.

Leaving also doesn't end your UK tax. HMRC keeps taxing UK rental income, UK workdays and gains on UK property, and pension lump sums don't get the same treaty protection as regular pension income.

This guide covers when Australia treats you as resident, how to break UK residence, what HMRC still taxes, your UK pension options, selling your UK home, and the UK filings for the year you move.

When do you become tax resident in Australia?

What makes you an Australian tax resident? The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) uses four tests, and you only need to meet one:

• The resides test: the main test. If you've moved to live in Australia, with your home, family and work there, you'll usually be resident from the day you arrive.

• The domicile test: your permanent home by law is in Australia, unless your permanent place of abode is outside it.

• The 183-day test: you're in Australia for more than half the income year, unless your usual home is abroad and you don't intend to live in Australia.

• The Commonwealth super test: for certain Australian government employees working overseas.

Australia's income year runs from 1 July to 30 June, and the year you arrive is part-resident, with a pro-rated tax-free threshold. For 2026/27, residents pay nothing on the first A$18,200, then 15%, 30%, 37% and 45% from A$190,000, plus the 2% Medicare levy.

Image 1 — two tax years, two start dates

• UK split year: only if one of the eight cases applies. Otherwise HMRC taxes your worldwide income until 5 April 2027.

• Australian residence: mainly the resides test. Moving to live there usually makes you resident from the day you arrive.

• 2026-27 rates: 0% to A$18,200, then 15%, 30%, 37% and 45%, plus the 2% Medicare levy.

👉 ATO: your tax residency

Are you a temporary resident?

Does your visa change how Australia taxes you? It can. You're a temporary resident if you hold a temporary visa and neither you nor your spouse is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Temporary residents generally only declare Australian income and gains on Australian property, so most UK income and gains stay outside Australian tax.

That sounds like good news, but it has a UK cost. HMRC's guidance on the Australia treaty form says temporary resident visa holders can only claim UK treaty relief for income paid before 1 July 2006. In practice, if Australia exempts your UK income, expect the UK to keep taxing it. Once you get permanent residency, you're taxed on worldwide income, and the treaty works normally.

👉 ATO: foreign and temporary residents
👉 HMRC form: UK-Australia treaty relief on pensions and other income

How do you stop being UK resident?

Does moving to Australia make you non-resident in the UK? Not by itself. HMRC applies the Statutory Residence Test to each tax year separately, and an Australian visa makes no difference to it.

• Automatic overseas tests: fewer than 16 UK days if you were UK resident in any of the previous three tax years, fewer than 46 if you weren't, or full-time work abroad with fewer than 91 UK days and fewer than 31 UK workdays.

• Sufficient ties test: if no automatic test settles it, HMRC weighs your UK days against your family, accommodation, work, 90-day and country ties.

• Split-year treatment: in the year you leave, the tax year can be split into a UK part and an overseas part, if one of the statutory cases applies. If none does, HMRC taxes your Australian salary for the rest of the UK tax year.

Distance helps: few people moving to Australia visit the UK often enough to stay resident. The risk is usually in the year you leave, if you don't meet a split-year case. See our guides to the Statutory Residence Test, split-year treatment and, if both countries claim you, dual tax residency.

👉 HMRC guidance: RDR3 Statutory Residence Test

What does HMRC still tax once you've moved?

Which UK income stays in the UK tax net? Broadly anything with a UK source:

• UK workdays: salary for days you physically work in the UK stays UK-taxable, even if an Australian employer pays you.

• UK rental income: taxed in the UK first, with Australia giving credit for the UK tax. Register for the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme to receive rent without tax deducted. UK property income rates rise by two percentage points from 6 April 2027.

• Savings interest and dividends: for most non-residents, the disregarded income rules cap UK tax at whatever was deducted at source. Australia taxes them at your marginal rate.

• Gains on UK property: taxed in the UK whatever your residence.

British nationals keep the £12,570 UK personal allowance wherever they live. ISAs aren't recognised in Australia, so income and gains inside them become taxable there. See what the UK taxes after you leave.

What happens to your UK pension in Australia?

How is a UK pension taxed once you live in Australia? The UK-Australia treaty is unusually simple on regular pension income, and unusually silent on lump sums.

• Regular pension income: under Article 17, pensions, including government pensions, and annuities paid to an Australian resident are taxable only in Australia. That covers the State Pension, workplace pensions and personal pensions. Apply to HMRC for an NT code on its Australia treaty form, certified by the ATO, so your provider stops deducting UK tax.

• Lump sums: Article 17 doesn't mention them, so HMRC's view is that a UK pension lump sum stays taxable in the UK. The 25% tax-free element stays tax-free in the UK.

• Australian tax on lump sums: Australia taxes a lump sum from a UK pension only on the growth since you became resident, the applicable fund earnings. If it's paid within six months of becoming resident, none of it is taxed.
  
  

Image 2 — three routes for your UK pension

On a temporary visa? Australia exempts most foreign income for temporary residents, and HMRC may then refuse treaty relief on it. Check your status before relying on an NT code.

Transferring to Australian super

Should you move your UK pension into an Australian super fund? It can simplify things, but it has rules on both sides:

• UK side: the receiving fund must be a recognised overseas pension scheme (ROPS) on HMRC's list, and only a limited number of Australian funds are. A 25% overseas transfer charge can apply unless an exemption covers you, such as living in the same country as the scheme.

• Australian side: a transfer within six months of becoming resident is tax-free. After that, the growth since you arrived is taxed at your marginal rate, or at 15% inside the fund if you elect.

• Contribution caps: the amount transferred counts towards your non-concessional contribution cap.

The six months run from the day you become Australian resident, not the day you get round to it. Take regulated financial advice before you move, not after. See UK pension tax when living abroad for the UK rules.

👉 HMRC: recognised overseas pension schemes (ROPS) notification list

Selling your UK home after moving to Australia

Planning to sell your former home once you've gone? Non-residents pay UK capital gains tax on UK property. For 2026/27, the annual exempt amount is £3,000, and residential gains are taxed at 18% within your remaining basic rate band and 24% above it.

• Private residence relief: covers the years it was your main home, plus the final nine months of ownership.

• April 2015 rebasing: if you owned the property on 5 April 2015, you can usually use its value at that date.

• 60-day deadline: report the sale and pay any tax within 60 days of completion, even if there's nothing to pay. With a time difference of up to 11 hours, get the valuation and figures ready before you exchange.

On the Australian side, most assets you own when you become resident, other than Australian property, are treated as bought at their market value on that date. So Australia only taxes growth after you arrive, with credit for the UK tax on the same gain. Temporary residents are generally outside Australian tax on UK property. See our non-resident capital gains tax guide.

👉 HMRC: report and pay capital gains tax on UK property

UK-Australia double tax treaty: who taxes what

Beyond pensions, the 2003 UK-Australia treaty decides who taxes what when both countries could:

• Rental income and property gains: the UK taxes UK property first, and Australia gives credit for the UK tax.

• Dual residence: tie-breaker rules settle years when both countries treat you as resident.

• Government salaries: pay for UK government service stays taxable in the UK, though government pensions follow Article 17 and are taxed in Australia.

Relief is never automatic. You claim it on your returns, or through an NT code. See double tax treaties: how relief works.

👉 GOV.UK: UK-Australia double taxation convention

What else changes: State Pension, National Insurance and inheritance tax

What happens to the rest of your UK position?

• State Pension: frozen at the rate you first receive in Australia, or the rate when you move if you're already claiming it. There's no UK-Australia social security agreement.

• Voluntary National Insurance: since 6 April 2026, you can't pay voluntary Class 2 contributions from abroad. Class 3 is the only option, and new applicants need 10 years of UK residence or contributions.

• Inheritance tax: Australia has no inheritance tax, but the UK can still charge it. If you've been UK resident for at least 10 of the last 20 tax years, your worldwide estate stays within UK inheritance tax for 3 to 10 years after you leave. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds come into the calculation too.

👉 GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad
👉 HMRC guidance: inheritance tax if you're a long-term UK resident

What if you come back within five years?

A move to Australia is rarely short, but people do return early for family reasons or when a posting ends. If you were UK resident in at least four of the seven tax years before you left, and you return within five years, the temporary non-residence rules can tax some income and gains in the year you come back:

• Pension withdrawals: flexible drawdown and lump sums the treaty kept out of UK tax.

• Close company dividends: from 6 April 2026, this includes dividends paid from profits earned after you left.

• Gains on assets owned before you left: such as shares, taxed as if made in the year you return.

Your UK checklist for the year you move

1. Check your split-year case before you set your leaving date, especially if you're moving for a job.

2. Tell HMRC you've left. Use form P85 if you won't be filing a return, or the SA109 residence pages if you will.

3. Diary the six-month pension window from the day you become Australian resident.

4. Apply for NT codes on HMRC's Australia treaty form for any UK pension you're drawing, unless you're a temporary resident.

5. Register as a non-resident landlord if you're letting your UK home, and get a valuation if you might sell.

6. File by 31 January 2028 for 2026/27. HMRC's free online service can't file the SA109, so you'll need commercial software or an adviser.

If you'd like the whole move looked at in one place, see how we help people leaving the UK, or try our leaving the UK tax calculator first.

See HMRC forms for expats and do I need to file a UK tax return.

👉 HMRC: check if you need to send a Self Assessment return

How we help people moving to Australia

Need UK tax advice before you move to Australia? Global Tax Consulting advises people leaving the UK for Australia on their UK tax position before they go: when UK tax residence ends under the Statutory Residence Test, split-year treatment, what the UK still taxes after you leave, and the temporary non-residence rule if you return within about five years. All advice is reviewed and signed off by Emma McDermott, ATT. A leaving the UK exit plan typically costs £1,000 to £4,000, fixed before work starts.

Frequently asked questions

What are the UK tax implications of moving to Australia?

Moving to Australia does not end your UK tax obligations by itself. You need to confirm when your UK tax residence ends under the Statutory Residence Test, tell HMRC you have left, keep reporting UK rental income, check how your UK pensions are taxed under the UK–Australia treaty, and report any UK property sale within 60 days. The UK and Australian tax years do not match, and the temporary non-residence rule can apply if you return within about five years.

Is my UK pension taxed in Australia or the UK?

Regular pension payments, including government pensions and the State Pension, are taxable only in Australia once you're Australian resident, under Article 17 of the treaty. Lump sums aren't covered by that article, so HMRC can tax them in the UK.

Can I transfer my UK pension to Australian super tax-free?

On the Australian side, yes, if the transfer is made within six months of becoming resident. On the UK side, the fund must be a recognised overseas pension scheme, or a 25% overseas transfer charge can apply.

When do I become an Australian tax resident?

Usually from the day you arrive to live there, under the ATO's resides test. The Australian income year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so your first year is part-resident, with a pro-rated tax-free threshold.

Do temporary residents pay Australian tax on UK income?

Generally not. Temporary residents declare Australian income and gains on Australian property, but most foreign income is exempt. The UK may then refuse treaty relief, so UK tax can still apply.

Will my UK State Pension go up if I live in Australia?

No. The UK State Pension is frozen for people living in Australia, so it stays at the rate you first receive there.