UK property tax for foreign owners

In England and Northern Ireland you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on purchase, banded up to 12% on the part above £1.5 million. If you already own a home anywhere in the world, you usually pay 5 percentage points more, and if you have not spent 183 days in the UK in the twelve months before the purchase, another 2 percentage points. How the purchase runs, from offer to completion, is in buying a home in England.

Scotland has a different system with the Home Report and offers over, and charges Land and Buildings Transaction Tax; Wales charges Land Transaction Tax. Both have their own rates and their own surcharges for second homes. For the purchase and the running costs you usually need a UK bank account; see a UK bank account as a non-resident.

Rental income from UK property stays taxable in the UK, even if you live in Amsterdam, Gothenburg or Lyon. Under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme the letting agent or tenant deducts tax at the basic rate, unless HMRC lets you receive the rent gross and declare it yourself. Budget 2026 announced higher rates on property income from April 2027, which still have to become law. When you sell as a non-resident, you report and pay within 60 days. If the home belongs to a company and is worth more than £500,000, the annual ATED charge applies too.

What your home country does with the rent and the gain is decided by its own law and its tax treaty with the UK. Under the UK's treaties the UK generally keeps the right to tax UK land and buildings first, and your country of residence then exempts the income or credits the UK tax. The principles are in our piece on the UK's tax treaties.