- NRL1: application to receive rent gross, follow-up with HMRC
- Sale: the gain worked out from the 2015 or 2019 value
- Return through HMRC's UK property account
- Payment reference and payment instructions
UK TAX RETURN · SINCE 2006
UK tax return 2026/27 from abroad
Your UK rent and your property sale, declared correctly from abroad. Prepared, filed, and you understand every line before it goes in.
AT A GLANCE · AS OF NOVEMBER 2026
| Non-resident landlord | you live outside the UK for 6 months or more a year |
| Without approval | your agent or tenant deducts basic rate tax, today 20 percent of the net rent |
| With NRL1 approval | rent paid in full, tax once a year through the return |
| 2025/26 return | paper deadline 31 October 2026 has passed; by software until 31 January 2027 |
| Selling | report and pay within 60 days, even with no gain |
| From 6 April 2027 | 24, 44 and 49 percent on property income (announced) |
Do you need to file a UK tax return?
If you let property in the UK and live abroad for 6 months or more a year, HMRC treats you as a non-resident landlord. You declare the rent in a Self Assessment return unless HMRC tells you that you do not need to. That holds even when your letting agent has already deducted tax: the deduction is a payment on account, not the end of the matter.
Then there is the sale. If you are not UK resident and dispose of UK property or land, you must report it within 60 days of completion, even when there is no gain or you made a loss. How the scheme works in detail is in our article on the non-resident landlord scheme; the rules on a sale are in selling UK property.
If you have never been in Self Assessment, you must tell HMRC by 5 October after the end of the tax year. The Unique Taxpayer Reference arrives by post around 15 days after you register, and it takes longer when you live overseas. If you are late, start now.
Three parts, one point of contact
The return is the core. Add the application and the sale return when you need them.
Every year: the return
- Self Assessment with SA109 and SA105
- Personal Allowance claimed where possible
- Costs, interest and deducted tax set off correctly
- Payment plan including payments on account
When needed: NRL1 and the sale
The return: once a year, on the real profit
As a non-resident landlord you cannot use HMRC's own online service for the return. That leaves paper, commercial software or an agent. For 2025/26 the paper deadline passed on 31 October 2026; by software you have until 31 January 2027, and the tax is due the same day. Your return is filed by software.
The return carries the residence pages (SA109) and the UK property pages (SA105). Citizens of the European Economic Area get the Personal Allowance of £12,570, but must claim it every year; for others it depends on the tax treaty. You can deduct running costs such as repairs, insurance, letting agent fees and council tax, but not improvements. Mortgage interest only reduces the tax at the basic rate, currently 20 percent.
If last year's tax was £1,000 or more, HMRC usually asks for payments on account: two instalments on 31 January and 31 July, each half of the previous year's tax. That catches many people out in year two, so you get a payment plan that shows both.
No more 20 percent every quarter: the NRL1 application
Without approval your letting agent deducts tax, whatever the rent. With no agent, the tenant must deduct if the rent is more than £100 a week. The deduction is the basic rate on the rent after the costs the agent or tenant paid for you, and the money sits with HMRC until your return claims it back.
With form NRL1i you receive the rent in full and pay the tax once a year through your return. If HMRC approves, it tells your agent or tenant to stop deducting. The condition: your UK tax affairs are up to date. That is why we prefer to file the application together with a clean first return.
Selling: 60 days, even without a gain
When you sell UK property, a 60-day clock for reporting and paying starts at completion. You report through HMRC's online Capital Gains Tax on UK property account, and HMRC then sends a 14-digit payment reference to pay with. If you are in Self Assessment, the sale also goes into that year's return.
The gain is not always measured from the price you paid. For residential property you owned before 6 April 2015, you normally use the market value at 5 April 2015; for other property and indirect disposals, the value at 5 April 2019. Gains above the £3,000 annual exempt amount are taxed at 18 or 24 percent, depending on how much of the basic rate band is left.
Good news from the Budget of 28 October 2026: if you miss the 60-day return, late filing penalties stop running once the sale is reported on your Self Assessment return. That applies to returns delivered from 28 October 2026. The 60 days remain the rule.
BUDGET 2026
From 6 April 2027 rent costs more tax
The Budget of 28 October 2026 announces separate rates for property income from 2027/28 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 24, 44 and 49 percent. They will be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27, which has not passed yet. The withholding rate under the non-resident landlord scheme is to follow. Without NRL1 approval you would then pay more up front every quarter.
How it works
You send the documents, the return is prepared and filed, and we keep you informed in plain English.
- 1
1. Filing check
Which years, which properties, which pages, whether NRL1 makes sense and whether a sale is coming. You get a short written answer.
- 2
2. Documents and authorisation
Your agent's rent statements, receipts for costs, the bank's interest statement, the NRL6 certificate of tax deducted, ID, your UTR if you have one. You sign the agent authorisation.
- 3
3. Draft and explanation
The return is prepared. We walk you through the draft before it is filed.
- 4
4. Filing and payment
The return is filed. You get the payment plan and the handover sheet for your return at home.
And at home?
Under the UK's tax treaties, rent and gains from UK property may be taxed first in the UK, where the property is. Your country of residence then either exempts that income or taxes it and credits the UK tax. Which method applies, and whether it counts the income for your rate, depends on your own treaty and your home rules.
Your return at home stays with your adviser there. So that they know what happened in the UK, you get our handover sheet with every amount. The principles are in our article on UK tax treaties.
FAQ
Questions we hear
I live in Amsterdam and let a flat in Manchester. Isn't my agent's deduction enough?
No. The deduction is a payment on an estimate. The return works with your actual costs, the Personal Allowance and interest, and money often comes back. If your rent is below the Personal Allowance, you can reclaim deducted tax with form R43.
We own the flat together. How many returns do we need?
Each owner declares their own share of the rent, so each needs their own return. Each is its own order.
Do I have to use Making Tax Digital?
Landlords in Self Assessment with qualifying income over £50,000 joined on 6 April 2026. The Budget 2026, however, announces that expected non-resident customers will be exempt until further notice, with secondary legislation before April 2027. We check where you stand in the filing check.
I have not filed for years. What now?
Start with a conversation, not the cart. In the UK Tax Consult we establish which years are missing and how to bring them up to date. That becomes its own quote.
Does this cover my company that lets property in London?
No. Companies pay Corporation Tax on UK rent since 6 April 2020 and apply on form NRL2i. That is outside this product; ask us for a quote.