P85: telling HMRC you're leaving the UK

Who needs it

• People who lived and worked in the UK and have left, or are leaving, and may not be coming back.
• People going to work abroad full time for at least one full tax year.
• Not for anyone sending a Self Assessment return for the tax year they leave: the return covers it.

What you need before you start

• The 'details of employee leaving work' section of your P45, or an explanation of why you don't have one, for example because you've retired or are a UK Crown servant employed abroad.
• Whether you'll keep a UK home, will work full time outside the UK or will still get UK salary.
• How much time you expect to spend in the UK over the next three years.
• Bank account details in your name, or your nominee's, for any refund.

How to file P85

1. 1Check whether you'll be filing a Self Assessment return for the year you leave. If you will, you don't need P85.
2. 2If you've already left, claim online by signing in to HMRC's service. You get a reference number to track the claim.
3. 3If you haven't left yet, or don't want to use the online service, complete the form on screen, print it and post it. Gather everything first: you can't save your progress.
4. 4Post it to Pay As You Earn, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS.
5. 5If you're due a repayment, HMRC sends a payable order to you or your nominee, to be paid into a bank account in that person's name.

What P85 does

P85 tells HMRC that you've left the UK, so it can stop treating you as a UK employee and refund any Income Tax overpaid through PAYE in the year you go. HMRC's criteria are that you lived and worked in the UK, left and may not be coming back, or will work abroad full time for at least one full tax year.

It isn't a residence decision. Whether you remain UK resident for tax is a separate question, covered in Countify's guide to tax when you leave the UK.

Online after you leave, post before

HMRC's online P85 needs you to sign in or create sign-in details, and it's for people who have already left. If you're still in the UK, or don't want to use the online service, fill in the form, print it and post it to Pay As You Earn, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS.

The form asks whether you'll keep a UK home, whether you'll work full time abroad, whether UK salary will continue, and how much time you expect to spend in the UK over the next three years. Have the answers ready before you start.

Getting the refund

If you're owed money, HMRC pays it to you or someone you nominate by payable order, sent to your address or your nominee's. It has to go into a bank account in your name or your nominee's. HMRC doesn't cover currency conversion or overseas transfer charges, so keep your UK account open until the money arrives.

If you'll still have UK income

Leaving doesn't end UK tax on UK income. If you'll rent out your UK home, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme applies, and NRL1 is the application to receive the rent without tax taken off. Rental income and other UK income are reported on a Self Assessment return unless HMRC tells you otherwise.

Common mistakes

• Trying to use the online service before you've left. HMRC's online P85 is for people who have already gone; before that, print and post it.
• Sending a P85 as well as a Self Assessment return for the same year. If you're filing a return, you don't need the form.
• Closing your UK bank account too soon. HMRC advises keeping it open until any repayment arrives.
• Sending it without the P45 section and without saying why it's missing.
• Expecting HMRC to cover currency conversion or overseas transfer charges on a refund. It doesn't.