The non-resident landlord scheme: what UK tax rules apply if you live abroad
If you own a let property in the UK but live abroad for more than six months of the year, HMRC treats you as a non-resident landlord, and a specific scheme governs how tax on that rent gets collected regardless of whether you are still a UK taxpayer or hold a British passport. What decides it is where you usually live. The Non-Resident Landlords Scheme, or NRLS, builds tax collection into the rent itself rather than relying on you to file from abroad.
Who the scheme actually catches
The test HMRC applies is your usual place of abode, a narrower question than the statutory residence test used for UK tax residence generally - a separate, longer set of rules this guide will not attempt to untangle. HMRC treats an absence of six months or more as meaning your usual place of abode is outside the UK. You can remain UK resident under the statutory test and still be caught by the NRLS simply because of where you live.
What happens to your rent by default
Unless HMRC has told your agent or tenant otherwise, tax comes off before the rent reaches you. A letting agent must deduct basic rate tax, currently 20%, from the rental income after allowing for any allowable expenses paid on your behalf, then pass on the balance. Without an agent, the duty shifts to a tenant paying you rent directly, but only where it is more than £100 a week - below that, a tenant need not operate the scheme unless HMRC says so. Agents get no such exemption and must run it regardless of how little rent they collect.
Applying to get your rent paid in full: the NRL1
If you would rather receive the rent in full and deal with the tax yourself, apply to HMRC for approval using form NRL1, the version for individual landlords, online or by post, giving your Unique Taxpayer Reference if you have one, your National Insurance number, and your letting agent's details. HMRC will normally approve you if your UK tax affairs are up to date, you have never had any UK tax obligations, or you do not expect to owe tax for the year in question. Once approved, HMRC confirms the date rent can start being paid gross, usually the first day of the quarter your application arrived in. Companies use NRL2 and trustees NRL3; NRL1 is what applies to an individual landlord.
Gross approval is not the same as no tax
This is where people get caught out. Approval to receive rent gross changes who collects the tax, not whether any is owed. You still declare the income on a Self Assessment return every year, completing the property pages (SA105) alongside the residence pages (SA109), and pay what is due by the normal 31 January deadline. Non-resident landlords cannot use HMRC's free online filing, so a paper return or commercial software is needed instead. Depending on your gross rent you may also be drawn into quarterly Making Tax Digital reporting, since the same threshold applies wherever you live.
If you are not approved: what your agent or tenant owes HMRC
Letting agents and tenants running the scheme work to their own calendar. The NRLS year runs from 1 April to the following 31 March, and tax is calculated and paid to HMRC each quarter, for periods ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March. Once a year, whoever has deducted tax must give you a certificate, form NRL6, showing rent received and tax withheld for that NRLS year - keep it, since it feeds your own Self Assessment figures and is the paper trail HMRC expects if your return is queried.
A separate question: are you non-resident for tax generally
The NRLS only governs how tax is collected on UK rental income while you live abroad. Whether you count as resident or non-resident for the rest of your tax affairs comes down to the statutory residence test, a longer set of rules built around day counts and UK ties, and it can point a different way from your NRLS status. If you are weighing up selling eventually, non-residence carries its own capital gains tax deadline worth knowing before you list it.
Compliant paperwork matters even more from a distance
Managing a UK let from abroad means you cannot just pop round to sort a query, so the tenancy agreement, written statement and rent records need to be right from day one. Our Complete Landlord Pack builds all of it from your answers, instantly as PDF and Word.
See the Complete Pack →Frequently asked questions
What is the Non-Resident Landlords Scheme? HMRC's system for collecting tax on UK rental income when a landlord lives outside the UK for six months or more. Basic rate tax is deducted from the rent unless HMRC has approved otherwise.
Do I still pay UK tax once HMRC approves me to receive rent gross? Yes. NRL1 approval changes who deducts the tax, not whether it is owed. You still declare it via Self Assessment and pay by the normal deadlines.
What happens if I do not use a letting agent? If your tenant pays more than £100 a week directly, they must deduct basic rate tax unless HMRC says otherwise. Below that, only if HMRC instructs them.
Is the non-resident landlord scheme the same as being non-UK resident for tax? No. It applies based on your usual place of abode, roughly six months abroad, separate from the statutory residence test for wider UK tax residence. You can be UK resident and still be caught.
This guide is general information for landlords, not legal advice or tax advice for your specific circumstances. Check the current rules on GOV.UK or speak to an accountant before applying for approval or filing a return.