UK FIG regime 2026: how the 4-year foreign income and gains relief works for new residents

The UK’s four-year Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime can give qualifying new UK residents relief from UK tax on eligible foreign income and foreign gains during their first four tax years of UK residence. To qualify, a person must be UK tax resident under the Statutory Residence Test and be within their first four years of UK residence after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence.

The regime replaced the old remittance basis from 6 April 2025. It is potentially valuable for internationally mobile professionals, entrepreneurs, investors and families moving to Britain, but it is not automatic and a claim can involve important trade-offs.

Who can claim the UK’s 4-year FIG regime?

HM Revenue & Customs says a qualifying new resident must be in one of their first four UK-resident tax years following at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence. UK residence is determined under the Statutory Residence Test.

If your first UK-resident year was before 6 April 2025, you may still have some time left. HMRC’s 2026 guidance gives the example of someone who became UK resident in 2022-23: because the FIG regime started in 2025-26, that person can potentially use it only for 2025-26, the final year of their original four-year period.

The four-year window is not extendable. If you do not claim in one qualifying year, that unused year cannot be carried forward beyond the original period.

What foreign income and gains can qualify?

HMRC lists several types of foreign income that can qualify, including:

• profits of a trade carried on wholly outside the UK;
• profits of an overseas property business;
• dividends from non-UK resident companies;
• interest from foreign bank accounts; and
• qualifying foreign capital gains.

You do not have to claim relief on every source. HMRC says taxpayers can choose which qualifying foreign income and gains to include in a FIG claim.

Can FIG-relieved money be brought to the UK?

Yes. This is one of the biggest differences from the old remittance-basis system. HMRC’s 2026 helpsheet says that if qualifying foreign income or gains receive FIG relief, bringing those relieved funds to the UK does not itself create a UK tax liability.

That makes the new system particularly relevant to people relocating to Britain who expect to use overseas investment income or gains to fund property purchases, living costs or other spending in the UK.

What does not fall under the basic FIG relief?

Foreign employment earnings are not generally relieved through the basic FIG claim. HMRC says foreign earnings and foreign specific employment income may instead qualify for Overseas Workday Relief, which has its own rules and limits.

Inheritance Tax is also a separate issue. The FIG regime concerns eligible foreign income and gains. People moving with substantial overseas estates, trusts or family structures should not assume that a FIG claim determines their UK Inheritance Tax position.

What do you give up if you make a FIG claim?

This is the part many relocation decisions need to model carefully. HMRC says making a claim means losing certain UK tax-free allowances for the relevant tax year, including the Income Tax personal allowance and the Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount. Other allowances, including Marriage Allowance, Married Couple’s Allowance and Blind Person’s Allowance, can also be affected where relevant.

HMRC also says foreign income that is relieved under FIG is still taken into account when calculating adjusted net income. That figure can affect eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare and Free Childcare for Working Parents, and can affect liability under the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

For someone with modest foreign income, the allowances being surrendered could matter more than the relief. For someone with large overseas dividends, interest, property income or gains, the balance can look very different. The correct comparison depends on the individual’s figures.

Do you need to claim every year?

No. HMRC’s HS266 guidance says a claim is made separately for each tax year in which you want FIG relief. You might claim in year one, make no claim in year two and claim again in years three and four, provided those years still fall inside your original qualifying four-year window.

You also choose the foreign income or gains for which you are claiming. That flexibility means the decision should be revisited each year rather than assumed to be identical throughout the four-year period.

What if you leave the UK during the four-year window?

Temporarily becoming non-UK resident does not extend the four-year window. HMRC says you cannot claim FIG relief for a year in which you are non-UK resident, but you may claim again if you return while you still have qualifying years remaining inside the original period.

Why this matters for internationally mobile people

For a person deciding between London and another international hub, the FIG regime changes the UK tax calculation during the first years after arrival. Its commercial significance is greatest for people who have meaningful foreign investment income, overseas businesses or property income, or who may realise foreign gains after relocating.

It can also affect the timing of a move. Because eligibility is tied to the first four UK-resident tax years after a 10-year period of non-UK residence, the date on which UK tax residence begins can be materially important.

Questions to resolve before relying on FIG

• Are you definitely UK resident? Check the Statutory Residence Test rather than relying on immigration status or days in isolation.
• Have you really completed 10 consecutive non-UK-resident tax years? Earlier UK residence can change eligibility.
• Which income and gains are qualifying FIG? Different rules can apply to employment earnings, trusts and particular sources.
• What allowances will you lose? Compare the value of the relief with the allowances and family-related thresholds affected.
• Do you have overseas workdays? Overseas Workday Relief may be relevant separately.
• Are trusts or inheritance planning involved? Those areas have separate rules and merit specialist advice.

How to claim the FIG regime

HMRC says relief is claimed through Self Assessment. A person who is not already registered may need to register before submitting the return. Claims should identify the foreign income and/or gains for which relief is being requested.

Because the regime can interact with residence status, foreign employment, trusts, adjusted net income and other tax rules, higher-value cases are worth modelling before the relevant tax year ends rather than waiting until the return is due.

Official guidance

Start with HMRC’s eligibility guidance for the four-year FIG regime and the updated HS266 Foreign Income and Gains regime helpsheet for 2026.

If you are planning a move, Babylon also has practical guides to UK visa types and applications and UK work permits and employment.

Last verified: 18 September 2026. This is general information, not individual tax advice. Tax outcomes depend on personal circumstances and current HMRC rules.