TRW & Co · Tax, Private Wealth & Family
Non-Dom Tax Lawyers in London
Non-dom tax lawyers in London now work under a residence-based regime. Since 6 April 2025 the remittance basis has gone, new arrivals can claim a four-year exemption for foreign income and gains, and inheritance tax on worldwide assets turns on long-term residence. Timing, trusts and departure plans now decide the outcome for international families.
Key pointInheritance tax exposure does not end on departure: a long-term resident remains within the tax on worldwide assets for between three and ten tax years after leaving, depending on how long they lived here.
At a glance
Remittance basis abolished
From 6 April 2025 domicile no longer decides UK income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax exposure; residence under the statutory residence test does.
Four-year FIG exemption
New residents after ten consecutive years abroad can claim relief on foreign income and gains for their first four tax years, at the cost of personal allowances.
Repatriation at 12% or 15%
Former remittance basis users can designate pre-April 2025 foreign income and gains at 12% in 2025-26 and 2026-27, and 15% in 2027-28.
Ten of twenty years
Inheritance tax applies to worldwide assets once a person has been UK resident for ten of the previous twenty tax years.
Trust charges can switch on
Charges on a trust's non-UK assets follow the settlor's long-term residence status, with a £5 million cap announced for former excluded property trusts.
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International private client work after the end of non-dom status
Non-dom tax lawyers in London now advise on a regime that no longer turns on domicile at all. From 6 April 2025 the remittance basis was abolished and replaced by a residence-based system for income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. For internationally mobile families, the question is no longer "where is my permanent home?" but "how many years have I been UK tax resident, and when did that run start?"
The change affects three broad groups. New arrivals can use a four-year exemption for foreign income and gains. Long-standing former non-doms are now taxed on worldwide income and gains as they arise and, after ten years of residence, face inheritance tax on worldwide assets. Families who have left, or are planning to leave, need to understand how long UK inheritance tax follows them.
The work is rarely tax alone. Arrival and departure planning touches immigration, employment contracts, property ownership, trusts, wills and family law, often across two or three countries. This page explains the current rules, the decisions that matter and how we help.
The legal framework: residence, not domicile
The reforms were enacted by the Finance Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in March 2025, and were refined by the Finance Act 2026, which made further changes to the temporary repatriation facility and the trust protection rules. HMRC administers the regime, and most claims and elections are made through the self assessment return.
The statutory residence test
Everything now starts with residence. Whether someone is UK resident in a tax year is decided by the statutory residence test introduced by the Finance Act 2013, which combines automatic overseas tests, automatic UK tests and a "sufficient ties" test that counts days against family, accommodation, work and prior-year connections. HMRC's RDR3 guidance on the statutory residence test is the starting point, but split-year treatment and the counting of midnights regularly need careful analysis.
The four-year foreign income and gains regime
According to HMRC's guidance on the 4-year FIG regime, an individual can claim relief on foreign income and gains in their first four tax years of UK residence, provided they were not UK resident for at least the ten preceding tax years. Qualifying foreign income includes overseas trading and property profits, dividends from non-UK companies and foreign interest; foreign capital gains are also covered. The claim is made on the return, and the claimant can choose which income and gains to claim on.
The relief is not free. A claimant loses the income tax personal allowance and the capital gains tax annual exempt amount for that year, and years cannot be carried forward: anyone whose four-year window started before 6 April 2025 can use only the years that remain. Foreign employment income is outside the regime altogether.
Overseas workday relief
Employment income for duties performed abroad is dealt with by overseas workday relief. For qualifying new residents it is available for up to four tax years, but it is now capped at the lower of 30% of the relevant employment income and £300,000 a year, and it requires a foreign employment election. Unlike the old rules, the earnings no longer need to be kept offshore to benefit.
The temporary repatriation facility
Former remittance basis users can designate foreign income and gains that arose before 6 April 2025 and pay a flat rate instead of the normal rates when the money is brought to, or used in, the UK. The rate is 12% for designations in 2025-26 and 2026-27, rising to 15% in 2027-28, after which the facility closes. Designation is made through the return, so the timing of each tax year matters.
Inheritance tax and long-term residence
HMRC's long-term UK resident guidance explains that a person is within inheritance tax on worldwide assets if they were UK resident for ten of the previous twenty tax years. After departure, the exposure continues for a "tail" of between three and ten tax years depending on how long the person was resident. Someone with ten to thirteen years of residence falls out after three years; the tail lengthens with each additional year of residence.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The residence, FIG and inheritance tax rules apply across the United Kingdom. Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands on non-savings income, so a Scottish taxpayer's liability on remitted or arising income can differ. Succession law also differs in Scotland, which matters when a will is drafted to sit alongside offshore structures.
The old and new rules compared
The table summarises how the main features changed on 6 April 2025. Transitional rules mean that history before that date still matters, especially for trusts and for anyone who claimed the remittance basis.
| Issue | Before 6 April 2025 | From 6 April 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Connecting factor | Domicile, with deemed domicile after 15 of 20 years | UK tax residence under the statutory residence test |
| Foreign income and gains | Remittance basis available, usually for a charge after seven years | Taxed as they arise, except in the first four years after ten years abroad |
| Overseas employment income | Overseas workday relief for three years, earnings kept offshore | Up to four years, capped at the lower of 30% and £300,000, no offshore requirement |
| Pre-2025 unremitted funds | Taxed when remitted at normal rates | Can be designated under the temporary repatriation facility at 12% or 15% |
| Inheritance tax on foreign assets | Out of scope until domiciled or deemed domiciled | In scope after ten of the previous twenty years of residence |
| Offshore trusts | Foreign assets generally excluded property if settled while non-dom | Exposure follows the settlor's long-term residence status, with transitional protection |
The table simplifies a complex set of rules. Each line has conditions and exceptions, and the right answer depends on the individual's full residence history, which is why non-dom tax lawyers in London begin every review with the facts rather than the structure.
How non-dom tax lawyers in London approach the key decisions
Most clients arrive with one question and leave with five. The decisions below are where non-dom tax lawyers in London add most value, because they are time-limited or irreversible.
Arrival planning
For a new arrival, the first job is to confirm whether the ten-year non-residence condition is met and to map the four-year window precisely. Gains are best realised, and income-producing assets restructured, while the exemption is available. The cost of the claim, especially the lost allowances, should be weighed for each year rather than assumed.
Using the temporary repatriation facility
Former remittance basis users have a closing window to clean up mixed offshore funds. A 12% charge on designated amounts may be far cheaper than the normal rates, but designation is irrevocable and requires a defensible analysis of what each account contains. Many clients designate in stages, using the lower rate before it rises.
Staying, leaving or restructuring
For long-term residents the central questions are whether to remain and accept worldwide taxation, whether to leave and sit out the inheritance tax tail, or whether to reorganise holdings in the meantime. Each option has consequences for family, business and immigration status, so the tax answer is only one input.
Count the years before you count the money. Arrival dates, split years and short absences determine whether the four-year exemption, overseas workday relief or the inheritance tax tail applies. A reliable residence history, year by year, is the single most valuable document in any non-dom review.
Offshore trusts and family structures after April 2025
Offshore trusts were the cornerstone of non-dom planning. Two protections have changed. For income tax and capital gains tax, the settlor-interested trust protections fell away from 6 April 2025 for anyone outside the four-year regime, so income and gains arising inside a trust from which the settlor can benefit may be taxed on the settlor as they arise.
For inheritance tax, whether a trust's non-UK assets are within the relevant property regime now depends on the settlor's long-term residence status, tested from time to time. Ten-year and exit charges can switch on and off as the settlor's status changes. HMRC also notes that trustees should be told when a settlor's status changes, because it can trigger separate charges.
At the Autumn Budget 2025 the government announced a cap of £5 million on relevant property charges for each ten-year cycle for trusts that held excluded property on 30 October 2024, with effect from 6 April 2025, as set out in its policy paper on capping trust charges. Trustees should confirm how the cap applies to their trust before relying on it.
UK property and reporting
Structures that hold UK land need separate attention. UK residential property held through offshore companies is within inheritance tax, companies owning UK dwellings valued above £500,000 may owe the annual tax on enveloped dwellings, and non-residents are taxed on gains from UK land, including some indirect disposals of property-rich entities, as HMRC's non-resident capital gains guidance explains. Most trusts with UK tax liabilities must also be on the Trust Registration Service.
The tax question for an international family is no longer where they belong. It is how many years they have spent here, and how many more they intend to stay.
How a non-dom review works, step by step
We run reviews in a fixed sequence so that facts are settled before advice is given and nothing is filed before the structure is agreed.
- Build the residence history. We reconstruct UK residence for at least the last twenty tax years using travel records, the statutory residence test and any split-year claims. This determines eligibility for every relief.
- Map assets and structures. We list personally held assets, offshore accounts, companies, trusts and UK property, with acquisition dates and the source of funds where mixed accounts exist.
- Identify deadlines. We set out the remaining years of the FIG regime, the temporary repatriation facility windows and any inheritance tax tail, and flag decisions that must be made in the current tax year.
- Model the options. With the client's accountants, we compare staying, leaving, designating and restructuring, including the non-tax consequences for family and business.
- Implement documents. We prepare trust deeds and variations, wills, letters of wishes, company documents and any property transfers, coordinating with overseas counsel.
- File and record. Claims, elections and designations are made on the return and supported by a contemporaneous record of the analysis, ready for any HMRC enquiry.
- Review annually. Residence status, the inheritance tax position and trust charges are revisited every year, because a single extra year in the UK can change the answer.
Documents and evidence to assemble
HMRC enquiries into international clients usually turn on evidence rather than law. A well-organised file makes claims defensible and shortens any enquiry.
- A day-count record and travel history for each tax year, with supporting evidence such as passport stamps, boarding passes and employer records.
- Details of homes available in the UK and abroad, and where family members lived and children attended school.
- Bank statements showing the composition of offshore accounts, particularly any mixing of pre-2025 income, gains and clean capital.
- Trust deeds, letters of wishes, trustee resolutions and distribution records, with the dates assets were added.
- Company registers and accounts for any holding or property company, including Register of Overseas Entities filings where UK land is held.
- Previous UK returns, remittance basis claims and correspondence with HMRC, plus foreign tax returns used to claim treaty relief.
Where the facts are uncertain, it is better to document the uncertainty and the reasoning than to file on assumptions. Non-dom tax lawyers in London are often instructed precisely because the paper trail needs rebuilding.
Risks and common mistakes
The new regime removes some old traps and creates new ones. These are the issues we see most often.
Assuming the ten-year non-residence test is met
The four-year FIG regime requires at least ten consecutive tax years of non-residence immediately before arrival. A single year in which the statutory residence test was met, perhaps through a period of UK work or a long family stay, can disqualify the claim entirely. Because residence is not always obvious, especially for people with homes in several countries, the history should be tested year by year before any income or gains are arranged around the exemption. A failed claim can leave the individual taxed on worldwide income and gains for the whole period, with interest and potentially penalties added.
Designating funds without tracing them first
The temporary repatriation facility applies only to foreign income and gains that arose before 6 April 2025 and were not taxed in the UK. Offshore accounts often contain a mixture of clean capital, income, gains and amounts that have already been taxed. Designating the wrong amount wastes money, and designating too little leaves later remittances taxed at full rates. A tracing exercise, supported by statements, should come first, and the designation should be recorded with the reasoning behind it. Because the rate rises in the final year and the facility then closes, deferral has a real cost.
Ignoring the inheritance tax tail after departure
Leaving the UK does not end inheritance tax exposure on worldwide assets immediately. Depending on how long the person was resident, the tail runs for three to ten tax years, and a return within that period can restart the analysis. Families who move abroad and then make gifts, restructure companies or settle trusts without checking the tail can trigger charges they did not expect. A death during the tail period can also bring foreign assets into the UK estate. Wills and lifetime gifts should be planned against the exit date, not the date the family last lived in London.
Leaving trustees uninformed
Under the new rules, a settlor's change of residence status can bring a trust's non-UK assets into or out of the relevant property regime, triggering exit or ten-year charges. Trustees, often offshore professionals, will not know about these changes unless the settlor or their advisers tell them. HMRC's guidance expressly says trustees should be informed when long-term residence status changes. A short annual status letter to the trustees, prepared with the client's advisers, avoids missed charges, late returns and the penalties that follow.
Treating the regime as purely a tax question
Residence decisions affect immigration status, employment and remuneration, children's schooling and family law outcomes. A move abroad to escape the inheritance tax tail may weaken a visa or settlement application, affect where a divorce would be heard or change which country's succession rules apply. Advice that optimises tax while ignoring these consequences often fails in practice. Integrated planning, across immigration, family, employment and estate planning, produces decisions that families can actually live with.
Cross-border angle: Bangladesh, the Gulf, Singapore and the EU
Many of our international private clients have family, business or property in Bangladesh. The UK and Bangladesh have a double taxation convention, which can relieve double taxation of income and gains but does not cover inheritance tax. Where a long-term UK resident owns land or shares in Bangladesh, both the UK inheritance tax position and Bangladeshi succession rules, including Muslim personal law where it applies, need to be addressed. Our article on UK inheritance tax on Bangladeshi assets explains the overlap, and our UK-Bangladesh succession team handles estates across both systems.
Families moving between London and the Gulf often have little or no personal income tax in their other home, which makes the UK residence analysis decisive. For clients with links to Singapore, Hong Kong or mainland China, treaty residence tie-breakers and local remittance or source rules may interact with the UK four-year regime. In the EU, forced heirship and the EU Succession Regulation can override what an English will says about assets located there. As non-dom tax lawyers in London with an international network, we work with local counsel in each jurisdiction and coordinate advice so that the UK position is not undermined abroad.
How TRW & Co helps
Our London office works alongside TRW & Co colleagues in Dhaka, Singapore and Dubai and with clients' existing tax advisers. As non-dom tax lawyers in London, we focus on the legal analysis, the documents and the decisions, and we do not promise outcomes on HMRC enquiries.
Residence and FIG analysis
We test the statutory residence test year by year, confirm eligibility for the four-year regime and overseas workday relief, and set out what each claim costs and saves.
Repatriation planning
We help trace mixed offshore funds and structure designations under the temporary repatriation facility, recording the analysis that supports each figure.
Trusts and structures
We review offshore trusts, family investment companies and holding companies against the new inheritance tax and settlor rules, and draft variations or new arrangements where needed.
Arrival and departure plans
We plan moves to and from the UK, including the inheritance tax tail, timing of gifts and disposals, and coordination with immigration advice.
Wills and succession
We prepare English wills that work with foreign wills and succession regimes, including Bangladesh, the Gulf and EU states.
HMRC enquiries
Where HMRC opens an enquiry into a claim or designation, we manage correspondence and, if a dispute follows, work with our tax disputes colleagues.
Related teams include private client, tax, trusts and tax disputes. Our article on the non-dom FIG regime gives a shorter overview. You can browse all of our practices or contact our London office at Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London WC1V 7QH, by email at info@trw.co or on +880 1779 127165.
Checklist for decision-makers
Use this list to decide whether you need advice now. Non-dom tax lawyers in London typically work through it in the first meeting.
- Have you mapped UK residence for each of the last twenty tax years, including split years?
- If you arrived recently, were you non-resident for the ten tax years before arrival, and how many years of the four-year window remain?
- Do you hold offshore funds from before 6 April 2025 that could be designated under the temporary repatriation facility before the rate rises?
- Are you, or will you soon be, a long-term UK resident for inheritance tax purposes?
- Do any trusts you settled or benefit from now face ten-year or exit charges, and have the trustees been told about your status?
- Do you hold UK property through an offshore company, and are ATED, Register of Overseas Entities and non-resident gains obligations up to date?
- If you plan to leave the UK, how long will the inheritance tax tail last, and do your wills and lifetime gifts reflect it?
- Do your English and foreign wills, including any Bangladeshi or Gulf arrangements, work together?
If more than one answer is uncertain, a structured review is likely to save money and risk. Experienced non-dom tax lawyers in London can usually identify the time-critical issues quickly.
Frequently asked questions
01Does domicile still matter for UK tax?
For income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax, domicile was replaced by residence-based tests from 6 April 2025. Residence is decided by the statutory residence test, and inheritance tax on worldwide assets depends on whether you are a long-term UK resident. Domicile has not disappeared entirely: it can still matter for which country's succession law governs movable property, for some foreign tax systems and for certain transitional rules that look back to a person's status on 30 October 2024. It should not, however, be the starting point for UK tax planning.
02Who qualifies for the four-year FIG regime?
An individual who becomes UK resident after at least ten consecutive tax years of non-residence can claim relief on foreign income and gains for their first four tax years of residence. The relief is claimed on the self assessment return, and you can choose which foreign income and gains to include. Claiming costs the income tax personal allowance and the capital gains tax annual exempt amount for that year. Foreign employment income is not covered, but overseas workday relief may apply to earnings for duties performed abroad.
03What is the temporary repatriation facility?
It allows individuals who previously claimed the remittance basis to designate foreign income and gains that arose before 6 April 2025 and pay a flat rate rather than normal rates. The rate is 12% for designations in 2025-26 and 2026-27 and 15% in 2027-28, after which the facility ends. Designation is made through the tax return. Because offshore accounts are often mixed, the funds should be traced first so the right amounts are designated and the analysis can be defended if HMRC asks.
04When does inheritance tax apply to my worldwide assets?
Once you are a long-term UK resident, which broadly means UK resident for at least ten of the previous twenty tax years. From that point, inheritance tax can apply to worldwide assets on death and to certain lifetime gifts and trust events. If you leave, the exposure continues for a tail period of three to ten tax years, depending on how many years you were resident. Transitional rules apply to people who were non-domiciled on 30 October 2024 and were not resident in 2025-26.
05What happens to my offshore trust?
Two things changed. For income tax and capital gains tax, the settlor-interested trust protections have fallen away for most settlors outside the four-year regime, so trust income and gains may be taxed on the settlor as they arise. For inheritance tax, whether non-UK trust assets face ten-year and exit charges depends on the settlor's long-term residence status. The government announced a £5 million cap per ten-year cycle on charges for trusts that held excluded property on 30 October 2024. Trustees need current information on the settlor's status.
06Can you help if my family also has assets in Bangladesh?
Yes. Many of our clients have property, businesses or family interests in Bangladesh. We review how UK inheritance tax and income tax apply to those assets, how the UK-Bangladesh double taxation convention may relieve income and gains, and how Bangladeshi succession rules interact with an English will. Through TRW & Co's Dhaka office we can coordinate local steps, such as title checks or transfers, so that UK planning is not undermined by local requirements.
07When should I take advice?
Ideally before arriving in or leaving the UK, and in any event before the end of the tax year in which a decision needs to be made. Arrival dates fix the four-year window, the temporary repatriation facility rate rises in its final year, and the inheritance tax tail starts running on departure. Many of the most valuable steps, such as realising gains during the exemption or designating funds at the lower rate, cannot be taken retrospectively.
Sources and official materials
- Check if you can claim the 4-year foreign income and gains regime — HMRC eligibility guidance for new residents
- Inheritance Tax if you're a long-term UK resident — Ten-of-twenty test, tail and trust rules
- Cap Inheritance Tax trust charges to £5m for former non-UK domiciles — Budget 2025 policy paper on trust charges
- Finance Act 2025 — Legislation enacting the residence-based regime
- RDR3: Statutory Residence Test — HMRC guidance on UK tax residence
- Capital Gains Tax for non-residents: UK property — Direct and indirect disposals of UK land
- Bangladesh: tax treaties — UK-Bangladesh double taxation convention
General information only, current as at 21 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. It reflects the law of England and Wales unless stated otherwise; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems, and the law changes frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.