Leaving the UK

Do I pay UK tax if I move to Germany?

Answered by Jordan Onraet-Wells, Founder & Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). Published 28 July 2026. Last reviewed 28 July 2026.

The short answer

Yes, usually, but only on UK-source income once you have genuinely left. Moving to Germany does not end UK tax by itself: the Statutory Residence Test decides when you stop being UK tax resident, and until then the UK taxes your worldwide income. Once you are non-resident, the UK still taxes UK rental income and gains on UK property, Germany taxes your worldwide income as your new home country, and the UK-Germany treaty decides where your UK pensions are taxed. The treaty allocates taxing rights so the same income is not taxed twice in full.

Your UK residence position is set by the Statutory Residence Test, not by your visa, your flight date or where you now live.
Most people leaving part-way through a tax year qualify for split-year treatment, so foreign income after departure is generally outside UK tax.
UK rental income stays UK-taxable under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme; register with form NRL1 to receive rent gross.
Gains on UK residential property must be reported and paid to HMRC within 60 days of completion, even as a non-resident.
Return to the UK within five years and the temporary non-residence rule can claw back gains realised while away, if you were UK resident in at least four of the seven tax years before leaving.
Germany taxes residents on worldwide income and has no Beckham-style expat regime, so confirm the German side with a local adviser.

When UK tax stops

Your position turns on the Statutory Residence Test, a day-counting and connection-factor test. While you remain UK resident you are taxed on worldwide income; once non-resident, the UK generally taxes only income arising in the UK and gains on UK land. If you keep a UK home, family or significant work here, you can stay UK resident even while living in Germany. Most leavers who meet a statutory case, such as starting full-time work overseas or ceasing to have a UK home, qualify for split-year treatment, dividing the departure year into a resident part and a non-resident part. Report leaving on the SA109 residence pages of your Self Assessment return; file a P85 only if you are not in Self Assessment.

What the UK still taxes after you leave

UK rental income stays fully UK-taxable under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme; registering with form NRL1 lets you receive rent gross and settle the tax through Self Assessment. Gains on UK residential property remain chargeable and must be reported and paid within 60 days of completion, even where there is no tax to pay. Most UK pensions remain taxable somewhere, and the UK-Germany treaty decides whether the UK or Germany taxes each type; in many cases Germany, not the UK, taxes private and occupational pensions. If you return to the UK within five years, the temporary non-residence rule can also tax certain gains and income realised while you were away.

What Germany will tax

Germany taxes its residents on worldwide income, including your UK-source items, with treaty relief preventing full double taxation. There is no flat-rate expat regime, and a solidarity surcharge and, for church members, church tax can apply on top of income tax, so take local German advice. Our Moving to Germany from the UK guide covers the full departure checklist, pensions, property and the five-year rule in detail.

Go deeper

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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