Form P85: leaving the UK

Form P85 tells HMRC you are leaving the UK and is normally what triggers a refund of PAYE overpaid in the year of departure, since your personal allowance was being spread across a full year you did not complete. It does not decide your residence status — that is the Statutory Residence Test — and it does not end Self Assessment if you keep UK income.

One short form, and it is worth filing on time for a simple reason: leaving part-way through a tax year usually means you have overpaid, and nobody sends the money back unprompted.

Where the refund comes from

PAYE assumes you will work the whole year and spreads your allowances accordingly. Leave in July and roughly a third of the year has been taxed as if the other two thirds were coming.

Nothing corrects that automatically. P85 is what tells HMRC the year ended early for you, and it is why the form is worth filing promptly rather than adding to the pile of things to do once you have landed.

What it does not settle

Filing P85 does not make you non-resident. Residence is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, applied across the whole tax year — days spent in the UK, ties retained, work done. People leave in November and remain UK resident for that year, with worldwide income still in scope.

Where the year genuinely splits, split-year treatment may apply — but like everything else here, it is claimed on a return rather than triggered by a form.

The four things that change at once

PAYE stops, and P85 reclaims what was overpaid.
Your residence position has to be worked out for the year of departure, and for the years after.
UK property income falls under the non-resident landlord scheme — 20% withheld unless approval is in place first.
Capital gains on UK residential property remain in UK scope, with the 60 days deadline.

None of these follow from each other and each has its own form. That is the honest difficulty with leaving: it is not one decision with one piece of paperwork, and the pieces surface months apart.

Leaving, or already gone?

Tell us when you left and what you kept — property, income, a company. We will tell you which filings are needed, what is likely to come back, and what to put in place before it becomes retrospective.

Ask on WhatsApp Or send an email

Free assessment first. If there is work to do, you get a fixed quote in writing before anything starts.

Coming the other way?

The mirror image is covered in your first UK tax year: residence, split-year treatment, and the FIG regime for foreign income and gains in your first four years. The same rules, read from the other direction.

Questions people ask

What is form P85 for?

P85 tells HMRC you have left or are leaving the UK, so your record can be updated and any overpaid PAYE for the year of departure refunded. It is not a tax return and it does not settle your residence position — it starts the process.

Why would I be owed a refund?

Because PAYE spreads your personal allowance evenly across the year. Leave in July and you have used roughly a third of it while paying tax as though you would earn all year. The unused portion is what comes back.

Do I still need to file a tax return?

Often yes — if you already file, or if you keep UK income such as rent. Leaving does not end Self Assessment by itself, and the 31 January deadline continues to apply while you are in it.

What if I keep my UK flat and let it out?

Then the non-resident landlord scheme applies from the day you go: 20% withheld by your agent — or by your tenant where there is no agent — unless you have approval on form NRL1. Apply before you leave; approval is not retrospective.

Does leaving make me non-resident straight away?

Not automatically. Residence is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, which looks at days and ties across the whole tax year. People leave the UK and remain UK resident for that year, which surprises them when the return arrives.

What about capital gains after I leave?

Gains on UK residential property stay within UK tax for non-residents, and the 60 days reporting deadline applies. Selling the flat you left behind is the case people most often miss.

Figures are for the tax year shown and change every April. They are general information, not advice — we check the current position for your circumstances before anything is filed.

Reviewed 19 October 2026.

Part of our work on uk residence and foreign income — if you want someone to take it off your hands, start with our your first UK tax year page.