This is one of the biggest misconceptions I see.

Leaving the UK does not automatically mean you are outside the UK tax system. Your position is usually determined by the Statutory Residence Test, and in some cases the tax year can be split if you move abroad or return part way through it.

In simple terms, if you are non-UK resident, your foreign income may sit outside the scope of UK tax. But that does not necessarily mean all income escapes UK tax. If you still receive income from a UK source, such as rental income from a UK property, that can still remain taxable in the UK.

The mistake is making broad assumptions instead of properly checking your position.

Each tax year needs to be looked at in its own context. If you moved during the 2025/26 tax year, this is exactly the sort of thing worth reviewing now before any misunderstandings become expensive.

If you earn, invest, or receive income across more than one country, this becomes especially important.

The UK has double taxation agreements with many jurisdictions, which are designed to help prevent the same income from being taxed twice. But relief is not always automatic. Just because it may be available does not mean it will be applied correctly unless everything has been reported properly and the right records are in place.

This is where expats can lose money without even realising it.

I often find that people either overpay tax unnecessarily or create avoidable admin because the tax position has not been joined up properly across jurisdictions. It is not always a case of doing anything wrong. Often, it is simply a case of not reviewing the structure carefully enough.

As tax year end approaches, it is worth checking:

Taking a coordinated view across countries can make a big difference.

Living overseas does not automatically remove the need to file a UK tax return.

You may still need to complete a Self Assessment return if you receive UK income that is not taxed at source, if you have UK rental income, or if there are other reporting obligations linked to your circumstances.

This is something that can easily be overlooked, especially if life has moved on and the UK no longer feels like your financial home base.

The key point is timing. The current UK tax year ends on 5 April 2027, and the filing deadline for that tax year will be 31 January 2028.

That may feel a long way off, but in reality the best time to get organised is before the tax year ends, while everything is still fresh and easier to piece together.

Now is a good time to ask yourself:

A proactive approach here usually saves a lot of stress later.

This might not be the most exciting part of financial planning, but it is one of the most important.

When your finances span multiple countries, currencies, accounts, and tax systems, record keeping becomes essential. Without clear records, it becomes much harder to track what has been reported, where tax has been paid, and what relief may be available.

That is often when mistakes start creeping in.

Disorganised records can lead to:

A good system does not need to be overly complicated, but it does need to be consistent.

That usually means keeping clear records of income, retaining statements and tax certificates, tracking transactions, and noting where tax has been paid in each jurisdiction. With the tax year end approaching, this is a practical time to bring everything up to date while the information is still easy to access.

Inheritance tax is often overlooked by British expats, and that can be a mistake.

Many people still rely on old assumptions around domicile and believe that once they have lived abroad for long enough, their overseas assets are automatically outside the scope of UK inheritance tax. The rules are no longer quite that straightforward.

From 6 April 2025, the UK moved away from the old deemed domicile framework for inheritance tax and introduced a system based on long-term UK residence. That means your inheritance tax position may now depend more on your residency history over time, rather than older domicile concepts alone.

For some expats, that means previous planning may no longer reflect their actual exposure.

In some cases, overseas assets may still be within the scope of UK inheritance tax depending on how long you have been UK resident over the years.

This is why inheritance tax planning should not be left based on outdated assumptions or old advice.

It is worth reviewing: