What stays taxable
GOV.UK confirms non-residents generally still pay UK tax on:
- Rental income from UK property
- Self-employment carried out in the UK
- Savings interest from UK banks
- A pension held outside the UK, if you were UK resident in the previous 5 years
- Other untaxed UK income
Your Personal Allowance
Whether you keep your UK Personal Allowance as a non-resident depends on your circumstances — GOV.UK notes eligibility differs from person to person. If you're eligible, you pay Income Tax only on income above that amount; otherwise the whole of your UK income is taxable, which makes checking your specific position worthwhile before assuming either way.
Filing an SA109
If you're a non-resident who needs to file, GOV.UK confirms you cannot use HMRC's own online Self Assessment service. Instead you need to submit a paper SA100 together with the residence supplement (SA109), use commercial software that supports SA109, or use an agent who files on your behalf.
Capital gains are a separate question
If you're selling UK property or land while non-resident, that has its own, stricter reporting rule — the 60-day reporting duty applies whatever the tax outcome, which is a different obligation from your annual Self Assessment return.
Getting the paperwork right from abroad
Between the SA109 requirement, the Personal Allowance question and no access to HMRC's online service, filing correctly from abroad is genuinely more involved than a normal Self Assessment return. We handle this for clients based overseas end to end.
Need a hand with your return?
We prepare and file Self Assessment returns for directors, sole traders and landlords, and tell you exactly what is due and when before anything is submitted. Call 0114 327 1480.