Telling HMRC you're leaving the UK: the P85 and what to sort before you go

Most people planning a move from the UK to the UAE spend their energy on the exciting end of it — the visa, the flights, the flat. The quieter task, and the one that tends to save you money, sits on the British side of the departure: telling HM Revenue and Customs that you're going. Do it properly and you may be owed a refund of Income Tax for the year you leave. Leave it undone and you can end up chasing paperwork from 5,000 miles away.

Here's the calm version of what to do, and when.

Tell HMRC you're leaving

HMRC asks you to notify them if you're leaving the UK to live abroad permanently, if you're going to work abroad full-time for at least one full tax year (this includes working abroad for a UK-based employer), or if you're a foreign national leaving the UK. You don't need to tell them anything for a holiday or a business trip — this is about an actual change in where you live and work. Confirm on gov.uk — tax if you leave the UK to live abroad (updated 9 September 2026).

There isn't a single "I'm emigrating" button. How you notify HMRC depends on whether you already file a Self Assessment tax return.

If you don't do Self Assessment: form P85

If you don't complete Self Assessment returns, the route is form P85. You can claim using it if you lived and worked in the UK, have left the UK and may not be coming back, or are working abroad full-time for at least one full tax year. You'll need Parts 2 and 3 of your P45 from your last employer if you have them — and if you don't, HMRC's guidance says to tell them why rather than simply leaving it blank.

You can submit the P85 online by signing in with a Government Gateway account. One practical catch: if you haven't actually left the UK yet, you can't file it online — you must print and post the claim. The postal address for a posted P85 is Pay As You Earn, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS. Detail: gov.uk — P85 if you're leaving the UK.

If you do Self Assessment: use the return instead

If you already file Self Assessment, you generally don't fill in a P85 for the year you leave. Instead you tell HMRC through your tax return by completing the residence section (form SA109) and sending it by post — HMRC's online service can't be used to tell them you're leaving, and the guidance notes a 31 October deadline for a posted return. The one exception worth knowing: if you'll be working full-time for a UK-based employer abroad for at least one tax year, you may need to complete the P85 in addition to your return.

What happens to a refund

If you're due Income Tax back for the year you leave, HMRC posts a payable order — either to your address or to a nominee's address — to be paid into a bank account held in your or your nominee's name. Worth planning for before you go: HMRC won't pay any fees to convert a repayment into another currency or to transfer it abroad, so a UK account you can still access from the UAE makes life easier.

National Insurance and your State Pension

Leaving the UK doesn't have to be the end of your National Insurance record. You may be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions while abroad, and people do so to protect their benefit entitlement and their State Pension — whether they later return to the UK or stay abroad. The rules changed on 6 April 2026 — Class 2 is no longer payable for time abroad and the Class 3 eligibility bar rose to 10 years — so read our dedicated guide to keeping your UK State Pension on track from the UAE before deciding. One thing voluntary NI does notdo is cover your health insurance in the country where you live, so don't treat it as a substitute for UAE medical cover. Whether it's worth paying, and at what rate, depends on your record and your plans; check your own position on gov.uk — National Insurance if you go abroad before committing.

A note on residence

When you actually become non-resident for tax — and how a "split year" is treated — is its own question with real consequences, and it isn't something to eyeball. HMRC notes you may be non-resident the day after you leave the UK, but the detail matters. If your affairs are anything beyond simple, this is the point to take proper advice.

This guide is practical relocation research, not tax advice. It points you at what HMRC asks for and where; the numbers and the judgement calls are yours (or your adviser's) to make against your own circumstances. The wider UK-side list (student loans, Child Benefit, voting, and letting a UK home) is in the UK leaving-admin checklist.

Sources

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-your-income-tax-right-if-youre-leaving-the-uk-p85
• https://www.gov.uk/tax-right-retire-abroad-return-to-uk
• https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-if-you-go-abroad

Sources linked; human verification in progress.