Why the form says 2026 when the tax year is 2025/26
The naming trips up a lot of first-time filers. HMRC publishes each year's SA109 after the tax year ends and labels it by that end year, so the form for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 is the SA109 form 2026. The 2025 form, still titled "Residence, remittance basis etc", belongs to 2024/25, the last year the remittance basis could be claimed. The 2026 form is the first to carry the new name, "Residence and foreign income and gains (FIG) regime etc", because the FIG regime replaced the remittance basis from 6 April 2025. If you are filing for 2025/26 in the autumn of 2026 or in January 2027, the 2026 form is the one you want. Our SA109 filing guide explains who needs the pages at all.
Where to download it, and what you can do with the PDF
The GOV.UK publication page for the SA109 lists the form and the notes for each year as separate PDFs, free to download and print. The PDF is for a paper return: you complete it by hand or on screen, print it, and post it with your SA100 and any other supplementary pages so that HMRC receives the whole return by 31 October 2026. What you cannot do is upload it. HMRC's free online service does not support the residence pages, and the SA109 notes are explicit that the pages must not be sent as an electronic attachment to an online return. If you want to file online, the notes point you to commercial software from a recognised supplier or to a professional agent, and either route keeps the 31 January 2027 deadline.
Choosing a route before October runs out
The choice between the PDF and software is really a choice of deadline. Paper buys you nothing except an earlier cut-off: the return must be in HMRC's hands, not just posted, by 31 October 2026, and a paper return that arrives in November is late even though online filers still have three months. Commercial software that includes the residence pages, or an agent filing through professional software, gives you until 31 January 2027 and an automatic tax calculation. Whichever route you take, the tax for 2025/26 is due by 31 January 2027. If you are reading this after 31 October with the 2026 PDF half filled in, do not post it; switch to software or an agent. Our expat Self Assessment guide covers what a non-resident return involves end to end.