Leaving the UK

Do I pay UK tax if I move to Ireland?

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

The short answer

Usually yes, but only on UK-source items, not on everything. Once you are non-UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test, often from your departure date with split-year treatment, your worldwide income generally falls out of the UK tax net. UK rental income, UK property gains, pay for UK workdays and some pensions stay UK-taxable, and Ireland will tax you as a resident there under its own rules.

The Statutory Residence Test alone decides your UK position; the Common Travel Area covers free movement, not tax.
Spending 183 days or more in the UK in a tax year makes you automatically UK resident; fewer than 16 days usually makes you non-resident.
UK rental income stays taxable: letting agents, or tenants paying over £100 a week, deduct 20% basic-rate tax unless HMRC approves gross payment.
Selling UK property as a non-resident means reporting and paying any Capital Gains Tax within 60 days of completion, even if none is due.
Return to the UK within 5 years and the temporary non-residence rule can tax gains you realised while away.
Most ordinary UK occupational and private pensions become taxable only in Ireland under the UK-Ireland treaty; government-service pensions usually stay UK-taxable.

What the UK stops taxing when you leave

Move to Ireland and, provided your UK days and ties are low enough under the Statutory Residence Test, you become non-UK resident and your foreign income generally leaves UK tax. Split-year treatment can divide the year you move into a UK part and an overseas part, so the change often takes effect from around your departure date rather than the following 6 April. It is not automatic: you must meet one of the specific cases and claim it on the SA109 residence pages. Tell HMRC you are leaving with form P85 or through your Self Assessment return.

What stays UK-taxable

UK-source income keeps its UK tax charge. Rent from a UK property remains taxable under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, with 20% deducted at source unless you apply for gross payment on form NRL1. Gains on UK property must be reported and any tax paid within 60 days of completion. Pay for days physically worked in the UK often stays taxable here too. And if you were UK resident in at least 4 of the 7 tax years before leaving and return within 5 years, the temporary non-residence rule brings gains realised while you were away into charge in the year you come back, an easy trap given how simple returning from Dublin is.

The Irish side of the move

Ireland levies its own taxes on you as an Irish resident, so the move is a handover between tax systems, not an escape. The UK-Ireland double tax treaty decides which country taxes each item, and it reallocates most ordinary UK occupational and private pensions to Ireland while leaving government-service pensions with the UK. As at mid-2026 Ireland still offered a remittance basis to non-Irish-domiciled residents, with no time limit or annual charge, but that is an Irish point to confirm with a local adviser. The full picture, including a worked example of the 5-year trap, is in our Ireland country guide.

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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