Year-End UK Tax Planning Checklist for Taxpayers Abroad

The UK tax year ends on 5 April, and many of the most valuable tax planning opportunities cannot be carried forward — they expire the moment the clock turns. For UK taxpayers living abroad, the end of the tax year is often treated with less urgency than it deserves, because the practical reminders (bank statements, PAYE coding notices) that a UK-based person receives are largely absent for those overseas.

This checklist covers the key year-end actions for UK taxpayers with overseas connections. The items are not all equally applicable to every individual — priorities depend on residency, income level, and investment structure — but all are worth considering in the weeks before 5 April.

Note: this checklist assumes familiarity with basic UK tax concepts. The rules and limits described reflect the position for the 2026-27 tax year as known at June 2026 and are subject to change. Always verify current year thresholds and seek professional advice.

1. ISA Subscription (Deadline: 5 April)

Annual ISA allowance: £20,000 per adult, per tax year. Any unused allowance is lost permanently at midnight on 5 April. There is no carry-forward.

For UK residents, this is a routine annual action. For UK expats:

• You cannot open a new ISA or subscribe to an existing ISA while non-UK resident
• Existing ISAs remain open and continue to enjoy tax-free growth while you are abroad
• If you return to UK residency during the tax year, you may subscribe for the year of return (subject to normal rules)

For UK-resident family members (spouse, adult children) who remain in the UK, ensure they have used their own ISA allowances. Transfers between spouses are possible; gifting to adult children (who then subscribe) is a common way to accelerate wealth into ISA wrappers across a family.

Stocks and shares ISA vs cash ISA: in a higher-rate tax environment, the stocks and shares ISA is generally preferable as the compounding over time in a fully invested portfolio is more significant than the interest shelter from a cash ISA.

2. Pension Annual Allowance and Carry-Forward (Deadline: Varies)

Pension annual allowance: £60,000 for 2026-27 (gross, including employer contributions). Tapered for high earners with adjusted income above £260,000 — the allowance reduces to a minimum of £10,000.

Carry-forward: unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years can be carried forward and used in the current year, provided you had a registered pension scheme in the carry-forward years and have sufficient relevant UK earnings.

Key year-end actions:

• If you have unused carry-forward allowance available, the final tax year you can use 2023-24 carry-forward is 2026-27. After 5 April 2027, the 2023-24 allowance is lost
• For high earners approaching the taper, consider whether to accelerate contributions before the taper kicks in
• For business owners, ensure employer pension contributions are paid before 5 April if they are to be treated as a business expense in this year's accounts

Expat consideration: UK pension contributions require relevant UK earnings in the year of contribution. For non-UK residents with no UK earnings, pension contributions are limited to £3,600 gross per year under the "no earnings limit" rule. This is a small amount but worth using for years of non-UK residency.

3. Capital Gains Tax Annual Exemption (Deadline: 5 April)

Annual CGT exemption for 2025-26: £3,000 (this was reduced from £12,300 in 2022-23 in stages, and the current low level makes it less significant than in previous years). Any unused exemption is lost at year-end.

If you have gains crystallised in the year that are less than £3,000, no CGT is payable. If you have unrealised losses, consider whether to crystallise them before 5 April to offset against gains.

Bed and spouse / bed and ISA: a common year-end technique is to sell an asset standing at a gain (crystallising the exemption), then re-purchase the same asset (either in a spouse's name, or inside an ISA the following day). The 30-day rule prevents immediate repurchase in the same name from resetting the base cost, but purchase by a spouse or inside an ISA (the following tax year) achieves a stepped-up cost base.

Non-UK residents: capital gains tax applies to UK residents. Non-UK residents generally do not pay UK CGT on most assets, with the exception of UK residential property (subject to NRCGT since 2015) and UK commercial property (since 2019). Check your residency position carefully before crystallising gains that may or may not be within UK CGT.

4. Dividend Allowance (Deadline: 5 April)

Dividend allowance for 2025-26: the first £500 of dividend income is tax-free. Any unused allowance cannot be carried forward.

For investors in business, there may be scope to time dividend payments to use this allowance each year. For investors receiving dividends from a portfolio, the allowance is small but worth ensuring it is fully utilised if dividends are being managed.

5. EIS and SEIS Investments (Deadline: 5 April or Carry-Back)

EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) and SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) investments can be made before 5 April and the income tax relief claimed in the current year. Alternatively, there is a one-year carry-back option: an EIS/SEIS investment made in 2025-26 can be elected to relate to 2024-25, allowing relief to be claimed in the earlier year.

Year-end considerations:

• EIS income tax relief: 30 per cent of investment, up to £1 million per year (£2 million for knowledge-intensive companies)
• SEIS income tax relief: 50 per cent of investment, up to £200,000 per year
• Both require qualifying investments in eligible companies — not all EIS/SEIS investments qualify; careful due diligence is essential

These are high-risk investments. Relief is valuable but does not reduce the fundamental risk of loss. See our dedicated guide to EIS/SEIS for more detail.

6. IHT Gifting (Annual Exemption, PETs, Regular Gifts)

Several IHT gifting reliefs reset each 5 April:

Annual exemption: £3,000 per individual per tax year. Can be carried forward one year (so unused 2024-25 allowance of £3,000 can be added to 2025-26, allowing a £6,000 gift this year). Any prior year allowance not used by 5 April 2026 is permanently lost.

Small gift exemption: £250 per recipient per year. Any number of recipients; cannot be combined with the annual exemption for the same recipient.

Potentially exempt transfers (PETs): any gift above the annual exemptions is a PET. If you survive seven years from the date of the gift, the gift falls outside the estate for IHT. The clock on any PET starts from the date of gift — making early gifting more valuable than late.

Regular gifts out of income: gifts made as part of normal expenditure out of income (not capital), on a regular basis, and without reducing the donor's standard of living, are immediately exempt from IHT with no cap. This is one of the most valuable IHT exemptions for higher earners but requires proper documentation. Make a formal record of each payment and ensure the pattern of regular gifting is established.

7. Non-Dom TRF and Transitional Elections

For former non-doms using the Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF), the designation of FIG to be remitted at the 12 per cent rate must be made on the Self Assessment tax return for the relevant year. The 2025-26 tax year (to 5 April 2026) is the last year in which the 12 per cent rate applies — 2026-27 also has the 12 per cent rate, but 2027-28 rises to 15 per cent.

If you have significant stockpiled offshore income and gains from the remittance basis era and have not yet designated, this is an urgent year-end priority. See our dedicated TRF guide for details.

8. Pension Death Benefit Planning

The inclusion of pensions within the IHT regime from April 2027 (confirmed in Finance Act 2026) changes the IHT calculus for pension planning significantly. If your estate will be subject to IHT, the previous advantage of leaving pension funds undrawn (to pass outside the estate) is being eroded.

Before 5 April, it is worth reviewing pension nomination of beneficiaries to ensure they reflect current intentions, and modelling the impact of the April 2027 changes on your overall IHT position. Adjusting the strategy now (for example, drawing down pension funds to fund IHT-exempt gifts or trust contributions) may be more efficient than acting after the rules change.

9. Review Tax Compliance Position

Year-end is a good time to confirm:

• Self Assessment return for the previous year has been submitted (or will be by 31 January following the tax year-end)
• All offshore accounts are properly reported
• HMRC notified of any changes to your residency status during the year
• Any HMRC disclosures needed are in progress

Penalties for late filing and late payment of UK taxes apply regardless of where the taxpayer lives.

Tax rules change frequently and the limits, rates, and reliefs described here are for the 2025-26 tax year as understood at June 2026. These may have changed by the time you read this. Investments can fall as well as rise in value. This checklist is for general guidance only; professional tax advice tailored to your specific circumstances is essential.

How Global Investments Can Help

Global Investments works with UK taxpayers abroad to ensure that year-end tax planning opportunities are identified and acted upon before 5 April deadlines pass. We coordinate with your tax advisers to ensure investment decisions, pension contributions, and gifting programmes are aligned with your tax planning, and we provide proactive reminders in the weeks before each year-end.

If you are approaching 5 April without having reviewed your year-end position, contact us as soon as possible. Many year-end actions cannot be completed at the last minute.