Non-Resident Landlords

How do I receive my UK rent without tax being deducted?

Answered by Jordan Onraet-Wells, Founder & Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). Published 17 July 2026. Last reviewed 17 July 2026.

The short answer

Apply to HMRC for approval to receive your rent gross using form NRL1 (or the online NRL1i service). Until HMRC approves you under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, your UK letting agent, or your tenant where there is no agent and the rent is over £100 a week, must deduct basic-rate tax at 20% from your rent. Approval does not make the income tax-free: you still declare the rent on a Self Assessment return and settle any tax there instead.

The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme requires UK letting agents (whatever the rent level) and tenants paying over £100 a week direct to a landlord abroad to deduct 20% tax and pay it to HMRC quarterly.
Individuals apply for gross payment with form NRL1 (online as NRL1i); companies use NRL2 and trustees use NRL3.
HMRC will only approve your application if your UK tax affairs are up to date; late returns or unpaid tax will block it.
Approval usually takes effect from the first day of the quarter in which HMRC receives your application, and HMRC confirms it to your agent or tenant in writing.
Joint owners must each submit their own NRL1, even for the same property.
Tax already deducted is not lost: your NRL6 certificate (due to you by 5 July each year) shows the amount, which you set against your Self Assessment bill and reclaim if too much was taken.

How NRL1 approval works

You can apply online through HMRC's NRL1i service or by posting a signed NRL1 form (HMRC says not to use the online service if a tax agent will act for you). HMRC checks that your UK tax affairs are up to date, meaning no outstanding returns or payments. Approval usually takes effect from the first day of the quarter in which HMRC receives your application, and HMRC writes to both you and your letting agent or tenant to confirm. Until that written notice arrives, the agent or tenant must keep deducting 20%, so it pays to apply as soon as you know you are moving abroad.

Gross payment is not tax-free

NRL1 approval changes how the tax is collected, not whether it is due. You must still register for Self Assessment and declare the rent each year; the tax is simply settled through your return rather than withheld at source. The real benefit is cash flow: a flat 20% deduction from rent usually over-collects, because it takes little or no account of your allowable expenses, the basic-rate reduction for mortgage interest, or any Personal Allowance you are entitled to. The full rules, forms and filing routes are covered in our non-resident landlord tax guide.

What to do about tax already deducted

Tax withheld before your approval came through is not lost. Your agent or tenant must give you a form NRL6 certificate by 5 July after each tax year showing the tax deducted; you claim that amount as a credit on your Self Assessment return and HMRC repays any excess. One common trap: if you own the property jointly, each owner needs their own NRL1 approval, so a spouse or co-owner who has not applied will still have tax deducted from their share.

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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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