Foreign Income

How much UK tax will I pay if I transfer my Australian superannuation to the UK?

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

The short answer

Usually there is no clean transfer at all: the Australia corridor does not work like a standard pension transfer, so Australian superannuation generally cannot simply be moved into the UK pension system, and the planning turns on residence and the UK to Australia tax treaty instead. What you actually receive as a UK resident is taxed as foreign pension income: since 6 April 2017 the UK taxes 100% of foreign pension income, at 20%, 40% and 45% after the £12,570 Personal Allowance. A lump sum is taxable too, but with a deduction for rights that had accrued before 6 April 2017, so it is broadly the growth since that date that is taxed.

Australian superannuation and UK pensions do not transfer cleanly in either direction; Australian super funds generally cannot accept UK transfers as a QROPS, and the reverse corridor is advice-led rather than a product decision.
A UK resident is taxed on 100% of foreign pension income received, since the old 10% deduction was abolished from 6 April 2017; it is reported on the SA106 foreign pages in sterling.
Lump sums from foreign schemes are taxable for UK residents from 6 April 2017, with a deduction for pre-6 April 2017 accrued rights, so broadly only post-2017 growth is taxed; the split needs the scheme history.
The UK to Australia tax treaty usually decides which country has the primary right to tax a pension once residence changes, and double tax relief credits foreign tax against the UK bill so the same income is not taxed twice.
Timing against your UK residence dates matters enormously: the same withdrawal can be taxed very differently depending on when you become UK resident and any split-year position.

Why this is not a transfer question

The Australia corridor is one of the busiest pension routes and the most misunderstood, because people expect a scheme-to-scheme transfer that usually does not exist. In practice the planning turns on residence and the UK to Australia treaty: which country has the right to tax the super once you are UK resident, how split-year treatment applies in the year of the move, and how any lump sum is treated on both sides. Our foreign pensions and QROPS guide covers the framework, and the moving to Australia guide covers the corridor in the other direction.

How the UK taxes what you receive

Once you are UK resident, foreign pension income is taxed in full: since 6 April 2017 the old 90% rule is gone, so 100% of the income is taxable at the normal rates after the Personal Allowance, reported on the SA106 foreign pages with your Self Assessment return. A lump sum is also taxable from 6 April 2017, but with relief for the value of lump-sum rights accrued before that date, so establishing how much is protected pre-2017 value and how much is taxable growth needs the scheme history; do not estimate it from the headline balance. Where Australia has also taxed the payment, double tax relief credits the foreign tax against the UK bill so the same income is not taxed twice.

Residence timing can change the answer completely

The date you become UK resident, and any split-year position, sit underneath every number above, because the UK only taxes foreign pension amounts you receive while UK resident. If you are returning to the UK after 10 or more years abroad, the 4-year FIG regime for new arrivals may also affect how foreign income in your first four UK years is treated, though claiming it has real costs and the classification of a super payment is fact-specific. Sequencing the withdrawal against your arrival date is where most of the tax is saved or lost. Horizon UK Tax Solutions confirms the treaty position and the taxable amount in writing for a fixed fee agreed upfront, with complex cross-border work from £750; book a free 30-minute clarity call at /book before you touch the fund.

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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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