Guide summary: Moving to Saudi Arabia does not, by itself, make your Saudi salary exempt from UK tax. UK tax residence is determined for each UK tax year under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), using days, work patterns, homes and other UK ties. This guide provides general information, not tax advice. Use HMRC’s current guidance for the relevant tax year and obtain professional advice where the facts are uncertain or material sums are involved.
Start with the tax year, not your flight date
The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Record your departure date, every later arrival in and departure from the UK, where you were at midnight, and the days on which you did more than three hours’ work in the UK. Also retain calendars, boarding passes, passport records and employment evidence. A single day count is not the whole test, but inaccurate day or work records can undermine the result.
Nationality, an Iqama, a Saudi employment contract or salary paid into a Saudi account does not decide UK residence. HMRC applies the SRT separately to each tax year. A person can therefore be resident in one year and non-resident in the next even though the same overseas job continues.
Apply the Statutory Residence Test in order
The SRT is more than the familiar 183-day rule. Broadly, first consider the automatic overseas tests. One route may apply where a person works full-time overseas across the tax year, has no significant break from overseas work, spends fewer than 91 days in the UK and has fewer than 31 UK workdays. Other automatic overseas routes use lower UK-day limits and depend on residence in the preceding three tax years.
If no automatic overseas test is met, consider the automatic UK tests. Spending 183 or more days in the UK is one route, but tests involving a UK home or full-time UK work can also matter. If neither set of automatic tests settles the position, the sufficient-ties test combines UK days with connections such as family, accommodation and work. The permitted number of days changes with the number of ties and whether the person was UK-resident in previous years.
Do not select the most favourable test in isolation. Work through the official HMRC sequence and definitions. Special rules can affect deeming of days, exceptional circumstances, international transport workers and what counts as a home, workday or significant break.
Check whether split-year treatment applies
The SRT normally determines residence for the whole tax year. Split-year treatment can divide a qualifying year into a UK part and an overseas part, but it is not an election that every mover can make. Specific statutory cases and conditions must be met, and a person will not receive split-year treatment if they live abroad for less than a full tax year before returning to the UK.
Identify the relevant split-year case in HMRC’s RDR3 guidance and check its start date and continuing conditions. Do not assume that the day you board the flight is automatically the first day of an overseas part. A later change in working pattern, home availability or family location can alter the analysis.
P85 or Self Assessment?
HMRC’s P85 service is for telling HMRC that you have left or intend to leave the UK and claiming relief or repayment of tax from UK employment. HMRC says it may be used where you lived and worked in the UK, left and may not return, or will work abroad full-time for at least one full tax year. You will need information from your P45. If you have not yet left the UK, HMRC currently directs you to print and post the claim.
Do not submit P85 if you are sending a Self Assessment return for the tax year of departure. A non-resident Self Assessment return commonly requires the SA109 residence pages; HMRC’s ordinary online filing service does not support non-resident reporting, so the options are paper filing, compatible commercial software or a tax professional. Check the current filing route and deadlines rather than relying on an old departure checklist.
Continuing UK income and gains
Non-residence does not end every UK tax obligation. HMRC says non-residents usually pay UK tax on UK income, which can include rent, pensions, savings interest and wages. UK property or land gains can remain within Capital Gains Tax rules, and a return to the UK after temporary non-residence can bring certain income or gains received while away back into charge.
If you let a UK home, review HMRC’s non-resident landlord rules and Self Assessment requirements. Keep completion statements for property or investment disposals, dividend and interest statements, pension records, payslips and evidence of duties performed in each country. Do not assume that a double-taxation agreement produces a particular outcome without checking the current treaty and your facts.
National Insurance and pensions
Income Tax residence and National Insurance are separate questions. GOV.UK says a person working abroad may still have to pay UK National Insurance depending on the country, employer and duration. Voluntary contributions may protect benefit or State Pension entitlement, but they do not provide health insurance in Saudi Arabia. Rules for contributions while abroad changed from 6 April 2026, including the removal of voluntary Class 2 contributions for time abroad and new conditions for Class 3. Check the live rules and your State Pension forecast before paying; a contribution is not automatically good value for everyone.
Build a defensible departure file
- Keep a day-by-day travel and work log for each tax year.
- Save Saudi and UK employment contracts, payroll records and evidence of work location.
- Record when homes were available, let, sold or occupied and where close family lived.
- Keep P45, P85 reference, tax returns, HMRC correspondence and calculations.
- Review residence again after changes to work, family, homes or UK visits.
When to get help
Use a UK adviser experienced in cross-border residence before filing if no automatic test clearly applies; if you have a UK home, spouse or children in the UK; if you work during UK visits; if you are a director, contractor or internationally mobile employee; or if you have property sales, large investment gains, trusts, foreign income, a short absence or a planned return. Ask HMRC about its process, but obtain professional advice for applying the law to your circumstances. This guide cannot determine whether you are resident, qualify for split-year treatment or owe tax.