Moving to the UK

What is the Temporary Repatriation Facility?

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

The short answer

The Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) is a three-year window, covering the 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28 tax years, that lets former remittance-basis users bring their pre-6 April 2025 foreign income and gains to the UK at a reduced flat rate. The charge is 12% of the amount designated in 2025/26 or 2026/27, rising to 15% for 2027/28. Once an amount is designated and the charge paid, it can be remitted to the UK at any future date with no further UK tax; without the TRF, remitting historic foreign income can be taxed at up to 45%.

The TRF is open for three tax years only, 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28, closing after 5 April 2028 with no indication of an extension.
The charge is 12% for designations in 2025/26 or 2026/27 and 15% for 2027/28, against up to 45% on a normal remittance of foreign income.
It covers old money: pre-6 April 2025 foreign income and gains that arose while you were subject to the remittance basis and remain unremitted.
You must be UK resident in the year of designation and have previously used the remittance basis; designation is made on the SA109 residence pages of your Self Assessment return.
You do not have to move the money during the window: designate, pay the charge, and remit at any future date, even after 5 April 2028.
It is distinct from the 4-year FIG regime, which exempts the new foreign income and gains of recent arrivals rather than historic offshore money.

How the TRF works

You must be UK resident in the tax year of designation and have previously used the remittance basis; HMRC confirms that for 2008/09 onwards you count as a past user even without a formal claim. You designate an amount of qualifying overseas capital on the SA109 residence pages of your Self Assessment return and pay the flat charge as part of that year's tax. The arithmetic rewards acting early: designating £100,000 in 2026/27 costs £12,000, waiting until 2027/28 costs £15,000, and missing the window altogether can mean up to 45% on a later remittance of foreign income. Our full Temporary Repatriation Facility guide works through the numbers.

The common trap: paying the charge from the wrong money

There is no exemption for funds brought to the UK to pay the TRF charge itself. Paying it from undesignated pre-April 2025 foreign income or gains is an ordinary taxable remittance at up to 45%, which can wipe out the benefit of the facility in the very act of using it. Designate the funds you will use to pay the charge, or pay from clean capital, and plan the funding route before any money moves.

TRF or the 4-year FIG regime?

The TRF deals with old money, while the 4-year FIG regime exempts the new foreign income and gains of qualifying recent arrivals in their first four years of UK residence. A brand-new arrival uses the FIG regime; a former remittance-basis user with a legacy offshore pot uses the TRF, and some people are relevant to both. If you hold unremitted pre-2025 income or gains, quantify the pool, untangle any mixed funds and decide before the rate rises: 2026/27, which ends on 5 April 2027, is the last tax year that qualifies for the 12% rate.

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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