UK Tax While Living in Portugal: What Britons Still Owe HMRC

A Briton who moves to Portugal may stop being UK tax resident, depending on the Statutory Residence Test, and HMRC then taxes only UK income, not income or gains from outside the UK. That does not happen automatically on the day you fly: the gov.uk pages say your residence is tested for each tax year, that you must tell HMRC when you leave, and that UK income such as rent keeps being taxable.

This guide sets out what the gov.uk and HMRC pages say on the day we read them. It is not tax advice, and Portuguese tax residence is a different question with its own official pages. Americans face a different system: the United States taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, which our guide to US taxes for Americans abroad covers. Britons are taxed by residence and by the source of the income, as below.

How does HMRC decide whether I am still UK resident?

HMRC uses the Statutory Residence Test. The gov.uk page says whether you are UK resident usually depends on how many days you spend in the UK in the tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April the following year. HMRC’s guidance notes say each tax year is looked at separately, so you may be resident in one year and not the next.

The notes give the order of the steps. You are resident for the tax year if you meet none of the automatic overseas tests, and you meet one of the automatic UK tests or the sufficient ties test. Otherwise you are not resident.

For the sufficient ties test, the notes give two tables. If you were UK resident in one or more of the 3 tax years before, 16 to 45 days in the UK with at least 4 ties makes you resident, 46 to 90 days with at least 3 ties, 91 to 120 days with at least 2 ties, and over 120 days with at least 1 tie. If you were resident in none of the 3 years, 46 to 90 days with all 4 ties, 91 to 120 days with at least 3, and over 120 days with at least 2.

HMRC also offers a residence status checker, and its guidance says to read the notes together with the legislation, Schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013. Because the conditions are detailed (what counts as a home, a work day or a tie), use the official notes or a professional for your own days.

What about the year I move?

The gov.uk page says that when you move out of the UK the tax year is usually split into a resident part and a non-resident part, called split year treatment. It adds that you will not get it if you live abroad for less than a full tax year before returning, and that you need to meet other conditions. The page on leaving the UK says you may be non-resident the day after you leave, depending on your situation and on how split year treatment applies to you.

Can a return to the UK make me resident again?

The page on leaving the UK says you can visit without becoming resident again, depending on why and how long you visit, and that if you work full-time abroad you can usually visit for up to 90 days as long as you work no more than 30 of them. It also warns that you might become resident again if you start new activities in the UK, for example if you get involved in a business or buy a new property.

HMRC’s notes, updated on 11 June 2026, also add a section on temporary non-residence. It says that if you return to the UK after a period of temporary non-residence, you may need to pay tax in the year you return on certain income and gains received during that period. You are regarded as temporarily non-resident if, among other conditions, your period of non-residence lasts 5 years or less. If it is longer than 5 years, the special rules do not apply. The list of income and gains in scope includes certain pension payments and lump sums, and capital gains.

How do I tell HMRC that I have left the UK?

The gov.uk page says you must tell HMRC if you are leaving the UK to live abroad permanently, going to work abroad full-time (including for a UK-based employer) for at least one full tax year, or a foreign national leaving the UK. You do not need to tell HMRC about holidays or business trips. The page says telling HMRC lets it work out whether you are due a refund, advise whether you need to pay tax in more than one country, and make sure you pay the right amount of tax on a pension if you retire abroad.

How you tell HMRC depends on whether you usually file a Self Assessment return.

The P85 guidance page says you can claim online or use the form to tell HMRC that you have left or are leaving and want to claim back tax from your UK employment. You can claim if you lived and worked in the UK, left and may not be coming back, and work abroad full-time for at least one full tax year. It says you do not need to fill in the form if you are sending a Self Assessment return for the tax year you leave. If you have not left the UK yet, you must print and post your claim. The page asks you to tell HMRC if you have a home in the UK, work full-time outside the UK, still have salary paid in the UK, or will spend time in the UK over the next 3 years.

If you are owed a refund, the pages say HMRC can pay you or a nominee, that it will only send a cheque within the UK, and that most cheques can only be paid into a UK bank account in your name or your nominee’s. The P85 page adds that HMRC will not pay fees to convert or transfer the repayment abroad, and suggests keeping your UK bank account open until you receive it. The page on leaving the UK also tells you to let other bodies know, such as your local council so that you stop paying Council Tax.

Two more points from the same page. You cannot claim back National Insurance you paid if you leave the UK permanently, and you might be able to pay National Insurance while abroad if you plan to come back or to claim the State Pension later. And if your circumstances change while you are abroad, for example you move house, you must contact HMRC.

Which UK income is still taxed when I am non-resident?

The gov.uk page says you usually have to pay tax on UK income even if you are not UK resident, and lists pension, rental income, savings interest and wages. If you are eligible for a Personal Allowance you pay Income Tax on income above it; otherwise you pay tax on all of it. You do not normally pay tax when you sell an asset, apart from UK property or land. For other UK assets such as UK shares, the “If you.re taxed twice” page says you do not pay Capital Gains Tax.

The page gives these cases where tax is not due or is already handled: non-residents do not usually pay UK tax on the State Pension or on interest from UK government securities (gilts), and if you live abroad and are employed in the UK, your tax is calculated automatically on the days you work in the UK. It also says Income Tax is no longer automatically taken from interest on savings and investments.

Do I keep the Personal Allowance?

The gov.uk page says you get it if you are a British citizen, a citizen of an EEA country, or have worked for the UK government at any time that tax year. You might also get it if the double-taxation agreement between the UK and the country you live in includes it. As a non-resident you have to claim it at the end of each tax year in which you have UK income, by sending form R43. The overview page says that if your UK income is below the Personal Allowance and tax was deducted automatically, for example by your bank, you can apply for a refund with form R43, or claim in your Self Assessment return.

An American who lives in Portugal and has UK income should read the treaty: the page says the allowance depends on the agreement unless you fall in one of the groups listed. The 2025 convention’s article on non-discrimination says nothing in it obliges either state to grant to individuals not resident there the personal allowances, reliefs and reductions granted to its residents or nationals. We did not find in the pages read a statement that applies the Personal Allowance to U.S. citizens through the treaty, so check with HMRC.

What if I rent out a home in the UK?

The gov.uk page on rental income says you pay tax on rent from UK property. If you live abroad for 6 months or more per year you are classed as a non-resident landlord, even if you are UK resident for tax. There are two ways to be paid. You can ask to get your rent in full and pay through Self Assessment, with form NRL1i; HMRC then tells your letting agent or tenant not to deduct tax, and it will not approve the application if your taxes are not up to date. Or your letting agent or tenant deducts basic rate tax from the rent after expenses they paid and gives you a certificate at the end of the tax year. Without a letting agent, a tenant who pays you more than £100 a week deducts the tax.

You declare the rent in a Self Assessment return unless HMRC tells you not to, completing the residence section (SA109) and the property section (SA105). You can ask for a refund if your rental income is lower than your Personal Allowance and tax was deducted, using form R43, but not if you are not eligible for a Personal Allowance. A gain on selling UK property or land may also be taxed, and the page on double taxation says double-taxation agreements do not apply to tax on gains from selling UK residential property.

Do I need to file a Self Assessment return from Portugal?

The gov.uk page says you usually have to send a Self Assessment return if you live abroad and you rent out property in the UK, work for yourself in the UK, have taxable savings interest from UK banks or building societies, have a pension outside the UK and were UK resident in one of the 5 previous tax years, or have any other untaxed UK income. It says you do not need to report income to HMRC if you have already claimed relief under a double-taxation agreement. The Self Assessment page on who must send a return lists “any taxable UK income, if you’re a non-UK resident” among the reasons, and says you must tell HMRC by 5 October if you need to complete a return for the previous year and have not sent one before.

As a non-resident you cannot use HMRC’s online services for this. The gov.uk page lists three ways: a paper Self Assessment return with an SA109 form sent by post, commercial software that supports SA109 reporting (it may appear as a “residence” or “remittance basis” section), or a tax professional. The paper deadline is 31 October according to the pages, and the page says you are fined if you miss the deadline, which is earlier when you send the return by post. We did not read the date for online filing on these pages.

The SA109 form records your residence status and, for non-residents, lets you claim personal allowances. The HMRC form page was updated on 28 September 2026, when the notes for the 2025 to 2026 tax year were changed. It also links helpsheets on non-residents’ savings and investment income (HS300), dual residency (HS302) and non-residents’ tax relief under double taxation agreements (HS304).

What does the UK-Portugal double taxation treaty change?

The gov.uk treaty page says a new Double Taxation Convention was signed in London on 15 September 2025 and entered into force on 29 December 2025. It is effective in the UK from 1 January 2026 for taxes withheld at source and from 6 April 2026 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. In Portugal it is effective from 1 January 2026. The page lists the 1968 convention as “not in force”.

What follows is a reading of the convention text on gov.uk, not an explanation of how each country applies it.

Two points on how to use these. First, the gov.uk page on double taxation says each agreement sets out the country you pay tax in, the country you apply for relief in and how much relief you get, and that if rates differ you pay the higher rate. Second, the same page says depending on the agreement you can claim partial or full relief before you have been taxed, or a refund after. You send the claim form to the tax authority of the country where you are resident, who confirms eligibility and either forwards it to HMRC or returns it to you. The page lists claim forms for specific countries and says that if you live somewhere else, which includes Portugal, you use HMRC’s standard claim form. It also says the digest of treaties and the treaty itself are what to read for income such as wages and rent, and that most UK government pensions, such as civil service pensions, are only taxed in the UK.

Article 1 of the convention adds a saving clause: it does not affect the taxation by a state of its residents except for the benefits listed there. We did not read how Portugal treats a UK pension in practice, and the UK State Pension is the subject of a separate guide.

What should a Briton moving to Portugal do in order?

1. Before you leave, check your days: the gov.uk page offers a residence status checker, and the HMRC notes set out the tests.
2. Tell HMRC: form P85 if you do not usually file Self Assessment, or the SA109 residence section if you do.
3. List your UK income that continues, such as rent, a pension, savings interest or self-employed work, and check whether the gov.uk page says you must file.
4. If you let a UK home, decide with HMRC whether to receive rent in full (form NRL1i) or with tax deducted.
5. Claim the Personal Allowance by form R43 after the tax year if you qualify.
6. Read the treaty and, where it applies, claim relief through the tax authority of Portugal using HMRC’s standard form.

Your move also touches other parts of the move. Our guide on moving to Portugal as a British citizen after Brexit covers entry and residence for Britons, working in Portugal covers the work routes, and the retirement and passive income visa covers the route many Britons with a pension choose.

What this guide does not cover

How Portugal defines tax residence and taxes your income, the UK State Pension and other foreign pensions in Portugal, National Insurance contributions in detail, inheritance tax, and the domicile and foreign income and gains rules for people who stay UK resident are separate subjects. The remittance basis and the foreign income and gains regime concern UK residents with foreign income and are not covered here.

Related guides on this site: how Portugal defines tax residence; the UK State Pension in Portugal; how foreign pensions are taxed in Portugal.

More guides on this site: UK ISAs and Premium Bonds.

Date of the information

The gov.uk pages mostly carry no date of their own. The latest dated change the guide states is in the HMRC residence notes (RDR3), updated on 11 June 2026 when a section on temporary non-residence was added; the SA109 form page was updated on 28 September 2026 (notes for the 2025 to 2026 tax year, a change this guide does not rely on), the treaty page on 8 January 2026 (the 2025 convention is in force), and the P85 page on 23 August 2024. The update date of this guide, 11 June 2026, refers to the RDR3 change. Rules and forms change, so check gov.uk and HMRC before you act.

Official pages read for this guide: Tax on your UK income if you live abroad (overview, Personal Allowance, rental income and “If you’re taxed twice” pages), Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad, Get your Income Tax right if you’re leaving the UK (P85), RDR3 Statutory Residence Test and its notes, UK residence and tax on the Tax on foreign income guide, Self Assessment SA109, Who must send a tax return, and Portugal: tax treaties with the 2025 UK-Portugal Double Taxation Convention. All were read on 18 October 2026.