Dubai and the UAE
A Chartered Tax Adviser for Dubai and the UAE, there and back
UK tax returns, residence planning and treaty claims for people moving to Dubai and the UAE, living there with UK income, or coming home. Fixed fees, agreed upfront.
The Short Answer
Horizon UK Tax Solutions is a Chartered Tax Adviser practice that handles the UK side of a move to Dubai or the UAE, the UK returns you still owe while you live there, and the planning when you come back. The UAE charges no personal income tax, but that outcome is only yours once you have genuinely broken UK residence under the Statutory Residence Test. UK rent, UK property gains and UK government service pensions generally stay taxable after you leave. If you were UK resident in at least four of the seven tax years before you left, returning within five years can pull gains realised in Dubai back into UK tax. Those three questions decide whether the move actually saves what you expect.
The traps are specific. Split-year treatment is claimed on the SA109 residence pages, which HMRC's free online service cannot file. The P85 does not grant it. A golden visa is an immigration status, not tax residency. A Tax Residency Certificate for treaty use generally needs 183 days in the UAE. Sell UK property and the report is due within 60 days of completion even where no tax is owed. Coming home, an end-of-service gratuity is taxed mainly according to your UK residence in the tax year it is treated as received, so entitlement and payment dates matter. We handle each trap and set the dates before you book flights.
Everything is handled remotely, wherever you are. You work directly with the founder, a Chartered Tax Adviser with over 10 years of experience including 7 at a Big Four firm, with year-round support rather than a January scramble. Fees are fixed and agreed in writing before any work starts: non-resident and expat returns are £550, and advisory work is quoted as a fixed fee upfront. Horizon leads on the UK and cross-border position and coordinates vetted local specialists in the UAE where filing or advice has to happen in-country. The practice is rated 5.0 on Google from 19 reviews. Start with the free 30-minute clarity call.
What We Do
Handled for you, end to end
- The departure-year Self Assessment return with SA109 residence pages and split-year claim, so your Dubai salary after the split date sits outside UK tax.
- Statutory Residence Test planning for the move: which automatic overseas test you are targeting and the UK day budget that goes with it.
- NRL1 application and the non-resident landlord return for a UK property you keep, so HMRC can approve the rent to reach you gross.
- The 60-day Capital Gains Tax report when you sell UK property from the UAE, due even where no tax is payable.
- UK pension planning under the UK-UAE treaty, including the NT code route that lets a private pension be paid gross to a UAE resident.
- Arrival planning for the move back: end-of-service gratuity timing, the split-year position for your year of return, and the five-year temporary non-residence check.
Free In-Depth Guides
Guides for Dubai and the UAE, if you want the detail first
Country Guides
Moving to Dubai from the UK: the 2026/27 tax guide
Dubai's headline is famously simple: 0% personal income tax. The UK side of the move is where the planning lives, from the Statutory Residence Test to what happens to UK property and pensions.
10 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Country Guides
Moving to the UAE from the UK: tax, Golden Visa and free zones
The UAE charges individuals no personal income tax on salaries, investment income or capital gains, so the move can genuinely cut your bill. The UK side decides whether it actually does.
10 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Foreign Income
UAE End-of-Service Gratuity: UK Tax Treatment
End of service gratuity UK tax explained: how residence at receipt, the £30,000 threshold and foreign service relief decide what HMRC takes.
7 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Tax Decisions Compared
Portugal vs Dubai vs Thailand: tax for UK leavers 2026/27
Three favourite escape routes, three very different tax systems. We compare Portugal's IFICI regime, Dubai's zero personal tax and Thailand's remittance basis, plus the UK exit rules that follow you to all three.
9 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Residency & the SRT
UK Statutory Residence Test (SRT) Explained
The Statutory Residence Test decides, tax year by tax year, whether you are UK resident. Days, ties and work patterns all count, and the answer drives everything else in your cross-border position.
13 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Residency & the SRT
Split-Year Treatment Explained: UK Tax in the Year You Move
Split-year treatment divides the tax year you move into a resident part and a non-resident part, so you are not taxed as a UK resident for the whole year of your move.
11 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Non-Resident Landlords
NRL1 Form, NRL2 and Non-Resident Landlord Tax on UK Rent
UK rental income stays taxable in the UK however far away you live. What changes when you move abroad is how the tax is collected: the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, form NRL1, your allowances and your filing route.
16 min read · Reviewed September 2026
Leaving the UK
Leaving the UK: a tax guide for people moving abroad
Leaving the UK does not automatically end your UK tax obligations. Getting the timing and the paperwork right is the difference between a clean break with a refund and an unexpected bill years later.
15 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Self Assessment
Expat Self Assessment: UK Tax Returns from Abroad
Living abroad does not switch off your UK tax return. This guide explains who still files, which pages non-residents need and the deadlines that apply from overseas.
13 min read · Reviewed July 2026
Free Tax Tools
Run your own numbers, before we speak
UK Statutory Residence Test Calculator
Free UK Statutory Residence Test calculator. Enter your UK days, work pattern and ties for an instant indication of whether you are UK resident, with the deciding test and full reasoning.
Try it freeRelocation Comparison
Dubai vs Portugal vs stay: compare what changes when you leave the UK, income, CGT, wealth and inheritance tax, residency basis and treaty position, side by side. Indicative guidance.
Try it freeGlobal Tax Atlas
Compare the UK tax system with anywhere you might move. Pick a destination for an instant, plain-English read on income tax, capital gains, wealth and inheritance taxes, the basis of taxation, special regimes and the UK treaty position.
Try it freeOur Promise
Fixed fees, agreed in advance
We confirm your fee in writing before any work begins. You always know exactly what you are paying, billed as a fixed amount, never in arrears by the hour.
What this work costs
Non-resident and expat tax returns are £550 fixed. Personal tax returns start from £350 and complex returns from £750. Advisory and project work, such as residency planning and capital gains strategies, is quoted as a fixed fee agreed upfront, scoped to your situation. All fees are agreed before work begins.
See full fixed-fee pricingCommon Questions
Honest answers, before you book
More questions? Read our full FAQ.
Other Countries
UK tax advice, wherever you are moving
- UK Tax Adviser for Saudi Arabia
- UK Tax Adviser for Qatar
- UK Tax Adviser for Bahrain
- UK Tax Adviser for Oman
- UK Tax Adviser for the USA
- UK Tax Adviser for Canada
- UK Tax Adviser for Australia
- UK Tax Adviser for New Zealand
- UK Tax Adviser for Spain
- UK Tax Adviser for Portugal
- UK Tax Adviser for Germany
- UK Tax Adviser for France
- UK Tax Adviser for Italy
- UK Tax Adviser for the Netherlands
- UK Tax Adviser for Switzerland
- UK Tax Adviser for Ireland
- UK Tax Adviser for Poland
- UK Tax Adviser for Cyprus
- UK Tax Adviser for Singapore
- UK Tax Adviser for Thailand
- UK Tax Adviser for Malaysia
- UK Tax Adviser for Japan
- UK Tax Adviser for South Africa
Ready When You Are
Start with a free clarity call
Book a free clarity call and we will talk through your situation and confirm a fixed price in writing: no obligation, no pressure, and no surprises.
Prefer email? Reach us at jordanonraet-wells@horizonukts.com