US-UK Tax

Do Americans moving to the UK get the FIG regime?

Answered by Jordan Onraet-Wells, Founder & Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). Published 18 July 2026. Last reviewed 18 July 2026.

The short answer

Yes. The UK's four-year FIG regime is residence-based, not nationality-based, so an American who becomes UK resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years outside UK residence can claim full UK tax relief on qualifying foreign income and gains for their first four tax years. The catch is that the relief is UK-side only: the United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so the same income normally remains taxable on the US return.

The FIG regime replaced the remittance basis on 6 April 2025 and relieves qualifying foreign income and gains from UK tax for your first four UK-resident tax years.
Eligibility needs 10 consecutive non-UK-resident tax years before arrival, a test most first-time American arrivals satisfy automatically.
The US taxes citizens and green card holders on worldwide income wherever they live, so a FIG claim does not reduce the US bill.
Income the UK does not tax under a FIG claim generates no UK tax to credit on the US return, so the US often becomes the main taxing country for those four years.
Claiming costs your UK Personal Allowance and Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount for the year, and the claim must be repeated annually on the SA109.

Yes on the UK side: Americans can qualify

The four-year FIG regime turns on residence history, not passport. An American qualifies on becoming UK tax resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence, a test a first-time arrival from the US passes automatically. A claim relieves qualifying foreign income and gains from UK tax for the first four tax years, with no charge for bringing the money into the UK; for a US arrival that typically covers US dividends, interest and rental income. The price is losing your Personal Allowance and Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount for each year you claim. UK-source income stays taxable as normal, and foreign employment income is relieved separately through Overseas Workday Relief.

No on the US side: the IRS keeps taxing you

The United States taxes its citizens and green card holders on worldwide income wherever they live, so moving to the UK does not end the annual US filing obligation and a FIG claim does not change it. There is a knock-on effect too: the US foreign tax credit relieves tax actually paid abroad, so where the UK is not taxing income because of a FIG claim there is no UK tax to credit, and the US tax on that income is payable in full. In practice the regime moves tax on sheltered income from HMRC to the IRS rather than removing it. The US filings themselves are handled by our US partners (Enrolled Agents and CPAs), whom we coordinate for you.

Is a claim still worthwhile?

Usually, but it needs modelling on both sides. Where UK tax on the sheltered income would exceed the US tax, a claim can lower the combined bill; where foreign income is modest, the lost UK allowances can cost more than the claim saves. Because the claim is annual and optional, the answer can differ year by year. Our US-UK tax guide covers the wider dual-filing picture, including the 2001 double taxation convention and foreign tax credits.

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Sources and further reading

This is general information for the 2026/27 UK tax year, not personal tax advice; speak to a Chartered Tax Adviser about your own position.

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