Moving to the UK

What replaced the non-dom remittance basis?

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

The short answer

The 4-year Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime replaced the non-dom remittance basis on 6 April 2025. Anyone who becomes UK resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence can claim full UK tax relief on qualifying foreign income and gains for their first four years of residence, and can bring that money to the UK with no UK tax charge. Eligibility is based on residence history rather than domicile, and 2024/25 was the last tax year for which a remittance basis claim could be made.

The remittance basis was abolished from 6 April 2025; UK residents are now taxed on worldwide income and gains as they arise unless they qualify for and claim FIG relief.
The FIG regime gives complete relief on qualifying foreign income and gains for the first four tax years of UK residence, after at least 10 consecutive non-resident tax years.
Relieved money can be brought to the UK at any time with no UK tax, removing the old remittance trap entirely.
Because eligibility turns on residence history rather than domicile, returning British expats can qualify when they could never have used the remittance basis.
Claiming costs the £12,570 Personal Allowance and £3,000 CGT annual exempt amount for that year; the claim goes on the SA109 pages (boxes 28 and 29).
Untaxed pre-6 April 2025 offshore money is still taxable if remitted; the Temporary Repatriation Facility charges a flat 12% in 2025/26 or 2026/27, rising to 15% in 2027/28.

How the FIG regime differs from the old rules

The remittance basis let non-domiciled residents keep foreign income and gains outside UK tax indefinitely, provided the money stayed offshore and, for longer-term residents, a £30,000 or £60,000 annual charge was paid. The FIG regime works the other way round: relief is complete and the money can be spent in the UK immediately, but the window is fixed at your first four resident years, every relieved amount must be disclosed source by source on the return, and once the four years end you are on the arising basis. Our FIG regime vs remittance basis comparison sets the two systems side by side.

The trap: pre-2025 offshore money is still taxable

Abolition did not wipe the slate clean. Foreign income and gains kept offshore under the old remittance basis remain taxable if brought to the UK, at up to 45% for income. The bridge is the Temporary Repatriation Facility: former remittance-basis users can designate that pre-6 April 2025 money at a flat 12% in 2025/26 or 2026/27, or 15% in 2027/28, after which it can be remitted at any time with no further UK tax. The window closes on 5 April 2028.

What to do now

If you are moving to the UK, check each of the 10 tax years before arrival against the Statutory Residence Test, because a single resident year in that window breaks FIG eligibility. Run the arithmetic every year before claiming: on modest foreign income the lost £12,570 Personal Allowance can cost more than the relief saves. The SA109 cannot be filed through HMRC's free online service, so plan for commercial software or an agent. Former remittance-basis users should quantify their offshore pool now: 2026/27 is the last 12% TRF year.

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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