Form P85 when leaving the UK is not a declaration that you have become non-UK resident. It is the HMRC route for telling it about a departure and, where appropriate, claiming relief or a repayment of PAYE tax. Choosing it when your departure needs a Self Assessment return can create an avoidable filing problem.
This checklist is for people leaving the UK to live abroad or work abroad. It separates the notification route from the separate questions of UK tax residence, split-year treatment and tax on income that continues after the move.
1. Decide whether Form P85 is your HMRC route
Start with the question HMRC asks: do you normally complete a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year in which you leave?
If the answer is no, GOV.UK says you need to complete P85 when you are leaving the UK permanently, going to work abroad full time for at least one full tax year, or are a foreign national leaving the UK. The P85 guidance is aimed at someone who lived and worked in the UK, has left and may not return, or will work abroad full time for at least a full tax year.
If you normally complete Self Assessment, report the departure through the residence pages, SA109, with the return. HMRC's standard online service cannot be used to report this non-resident position; use a paper return, compatible commercial software or a professional who can submit the relevant pages.
There is an important exception. If you will work abroad full time for a UK-based employer for at least one full tax year, GOV.UK says to complete P85 as well as the Self Assessment return and SA109. Do not assume that staying on a UK payroll makes the P85 route unnecessary.
Use the quick UK residency check before choosing a narrative for HMRC. Enter the planned UK-day total and recent residence history to screen a straightforward position. It only applies simplified automatic tests, so it cannot determine sufficient ties, split-year treatment or the correct filing route. A result is a prompt to collect facts, not an HMRC decision.
2. Keep the notification separate from your residence result
Submitting P85 does not decide the Statutory Residence Test (SRT). HMRC considers each tax year separately, using UK days, work and UK connections. A person can be abroad after a move yet remain UK resident for a tax year, or qualify for split-year treatment only if the detailed conditions are met.
Before completing the form, create a dated move file with:
- departure and arrival travel records;
- expected UK visits and any UK workdays;
- the end date of a UK tenancy, sale or change in availability of a UK home;
- overseas employment contract or self-employment records;
- dates a partner and minor children move, where relevant;
- P45, recent payslips and P60; and
- UK income expected after departure, including rent, pension and work income.
Keep the UK days counter updated as visits are booked or changed. It totals trips and displays day-count thresholds after you enter your ties, but its own guidance warns that the detailed SRT rules contain exceptions. If a home, family, UK work or borderline day count is involved, use the Full Statutory Residence Test to organise the automatic tests, residence history and ties. It remains a planning tool, not professional advice or an HMRC determination.
3. Gather the P85 records before starting
HMRC's P85 guidance says you will need the employee-leaving details from your P45. If you do not have one because you will continue working abroad for a UK company, you can still complete P85.
Have your National Insurance number, leaving date, overseas address, UK home details, anticipated UK visits and details of any continuing UK salary ready too. The information is not mere administration: it helps HMRC assess a PAYE position and understand whether a repayment or further reporting may be needed.
Do not treat an expected tax repayment as evidence that all UK tax issues are complete. A P85 can deal with an employment-tax position while rent, pension income, a property sale, a business or other income produces a separate UK reporting or payment obligation.
4. Use the right submission method and payment plan
If you have already left the UK, HMRC offers an online P85 claim. If you have not left, its guidance says you must print and post the claim; the postal route is also available if you do not want to use the online service. Save the submission reference, a copy of the completed form and the P45 or explanation for its absence.
HMRC may work out that a repayment is due for the departure year. Its guidance explains that payments can be made to you or a nominee, but its wider leaving-the-UK guidance notes that cheques are sent only within the UK. Decide how you will receive a repayment before closing a UK bank account, and keep the repayment record for your destination-country tax file.
If you have UK rental income, ongoing UK employment, pension income, a large disposal or a claim for split-year treatment, identify the continuing compliance route before relying on P85. The Non-Resident Self Assessment Guide helps you list rental, employment, pension, property-sale, split-year and interest facts. It is a checklist, not confirmation that no return is required; confirm the current HMRC requirements for your facts.
5. Model dates only after the filing route is clear
Once the records are in one place, use the Split-Year & Departure Planner if your move date, UK home, employment arrangement, partner's date and post-departure UK income interact. It puts those inputs into possible split-year cases and a timeline, but cannot establish that a case applies or calculate a final liability.
For a move involving a bonus, a gain, a retained home, self-employment, UK rental property, shares or an uncertain work pattern, get cross-border tax advice before submitting a return or changing payment timing. Ask the adviser to consider residence, split-year treatment, continuing UK income and the destination-country filing position together.
Guidance, not advice: ExpatCompass tools organise facts and scenarios. They do not decide UK residence, split-year treatment, a tax repayment or the required HMRC filing.
A clean Form P85 leaving-UK order
- Confirm whether you normally file Self Assessment and whether the UK-employer full-time-abroad exception applies.
- Record travel, UK-home, work and family facts before plans change.
- Run the quick residence check; escalate to the full SRT tool or advice if the result is not straightforward.
- Gather the P45, employment details, National Insurance number and expected UK-income list.
- Submit P85 online only after leaving, or use the postal route before departure.
- Preserve the submission reference and make a workable repayment arrangement before closing UK banking.
- Complete SA109 and any other return or report required by your continuing UK income and actual residence result.
The useful outcome is not simply a submitted P85. It is a coherent record showing why you used that route, what you told HMRC and which tax questions still need a return or specialist advice.