Claiming UK Personal Allowance: a guide for non-UK residents

In many countries, people on low wages do not pay any income tax. In the UK, tax residents are entitled to what is called personal allowance – a certain amount of money you are allowed to earn in a given tax year before you begin to pay Income Tax. Currently, the standard personal allowance for anyone in the UK is £12,500. But what if you have UK income while living abroad – say, you work remotely for a UK employer or own a bank account in the UK that accrues interest / interest-bearing UK bank account? (Or you have got the bank account in UK where bank automatically deducts the interest from)

As an EEA national or a British citizen residing outside the UK, you are entitled to the same Personal Allowance as UK residents. Unlike UK residents, however, you will not receive it automatically – instead, you will have to claim a tax refund by submitting the R43 form at the end of each tax year. The latest version of the form is always available to download from the relevant GOV.UK webpage. The form is accompanied by an official HMRC Guidance, but if you’d rather not spend your time filling out every little detail, you can always contact our professional team who will get this job done for you in a matter of hours/day. Once your application is processed by the HMRC, you can either receive your tax refund in the form of a cheque sent to your overseas home address or have it transferred to your UK bank account.

You are entitled to Personal Allowance and claim a tax refund if:

• You are a resident of the Channel Islands or Isle of Man
• You have previously resided in the UK before moving abroad due to health issues – either your own or that of your family members living with you
• You are or have been an employee of the British Crown
• You are employed in the service of any territory under Her Majesty’s protection
• You are employed in the service of a missionary society
• You are a widow, widower or surviving civil partner whose late husband, wife or civil partner was employed in the service of the British Crown