Crossing a border does not end your relationship with HMRC. It changes the terms.
SRJ International advises UK business owners and individuals on residence, leaving or returning to the UK, foreign income, and double taxation. Led by Simon Jacobs, a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA · ACA) and PwC trained. Cross-border work is where a chartered tax qualification earns its keep, because the rules are statutory, intricate, and unforgiving of guesswork.
Whether you are UK resident for a tax year is decided by the statutory residence test, which weighs time spent in the UK against connecting factors such as family, accommodation and work. HMRC publishes the rules in RDR3, and its overview of residence and foreign income sets out the basics. It is mechanical, and it is genuinely intricate. Getting it wrong is costly in both directions: paying UK tax you did not owe, or discovering a liability years later.
Leaving the country does not automatically end a UK tax liability. HMRC sets out what can still apply when you live abroad or return to the UK. Where two countries both have a claim, the UK's double taxation agreements usually decide which one taxes what. Which treaty applies, and how, depends on the country and the type of income.
None of that is generic small-company admin, and none of it is reliably answered by a search engine or a chatbot. It is the part of tax where reading the actual rule against your actual facts is the whole job.
Your residence position, the timing of the move within the tax year, and what happens to UK income or property you keep behind. Going non-resident is a process with rules, not a switch you flip when the plane lands.
Tax when you move abroad ›Most guidance on this route is about setting a company up out there. The part that catches people is the UK side: what HMRC still expects, and how you take money out of a UK company once you are no longer resident here.
Moving abroad ›Arrival timing decides which tax year catches you, and how foreign income and gains are treated once you are here. We look at the UK position and what your departure country still expects, rather than only one side.
Talk it through ›The UK has agreements with many countries designed to stop the same income being taxed twice. Which one applies, and how, depends on the treaty and the type of income. We read the specific treaty rather than working from the general principle.
Check your position ›Overseas earnings, rental property, dividends and disposals all have to be reported correctly, and the rules differ by income type. We get the reporting right and plan around it rather than discovering it at the deadline.
Get it reported right ›A director moving abroad changes both their own position and how the UK company should pay them. We handle the personal and the corporate side together, because separating them is how the expensive mistakes happen.
Plan around your exit ›Agency founders, and business owners who came to Simon for the same reason: the tax was being filed, not planned.
“Simon helped me save thousands on my tax bill and prevented me from losing my Personal Allowance. He also gave me very good insights and advice into cryptocurrency, which will save me thousands of pounds in the future.”
“Simon helped me reclaim money I did not even realise I was entitled to, saved me a significant amount in tax through proper structuring, and ensured everything is compliant and future-proof.
What really separates him is how proactive and responsive he is. He advises, explains, and genuinely fights your corner with HMRC. You feel protected, informed, and strategically guided at all times.”
“Simon has always given the best he can for the customer. Understanding my situation has allowed him to advise and guide me in the right direction and be more tax efficient where possible.”
We also advise on tax planning and accounts for owner-managed businesses, and work with marketing and creative agencies. Read the tax notes.
It depends on your residence status, where your income comes from, and whether a double taxation agreement applies. Leaving the country does not automatically end a UK tax liability, and some UK-source income stays taxable here. We work out your position against the statutory residence test rather than assuming.
It is the set of rules HMRC uses to decide whether you are UK resident for a tax year. It weighs time spent in the UK against connecting factors such as family, accommodation, and work. It is mechanical but genuinely intricate, and getting it wrong is expensive in both directions.
Your UK residence position, the timing of the move within the tax year, what happens to any UK income or property you keep, and how you extract profit from a UK company once you are non-resident. Most advice online covers setting up out there; the UK side is the part that catches people.
The UK has double taxation agreements with many countries, designed to stop exactly that, usually by giving one country the taxing right or by allowing relief for tax paid elsewhere. Which applies depends on the treaty, the income type, and your residence. We read the specific treaty rather than generalising.
The same test decides when you become resident, and arrival timing matters. There are also rules on how foreign income and gains are treated for people arriving in the UK. We look at both the UK position and what your departure country still expects from you.
Yes. Cross-border questions rarely stay on one side of that line: a director moving abroad changes both their own position and how their UK company should pay them. We advise on the personal and the corporate together rather than treating them as separate jobs.
General information, not personal tax advice. Residence and treaty rules are detailed and change; we advise on your specific position on a call.
Book a short discovery call and we will tell you straight whether we can help.