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UK tax in your first year, when your salary started outside the UK

4 Aug 2026

The tax year runs 6 April to 5 April, but your first year as a UK resident almost never lines up with that. You arrived on some specific date, and a salary that started before that date, kept being paid after it, doesn't get taxed the same way on both sides of the line.

Your arrival year usually splits into two

If you weren't UK resident for the whole tax year, HMRC's split year treatment can divide it into an overseas part and a UK part instead of treating the entire year as UK-resident. Broadly, you're taxed as a UK resident only for the UK part — worldwide income and gains — while the overseas part before your residence started is generally only taxed on UK-source income. Two of HMRC's eight split year cases specifically cover starting to have a UK home, which is the usual route for a new arrival. The detail — which case applies, and exactly which SA109 boxes it changes — is covered in split year treatment for arrivals, box by box.

Split year treatment isn't the same as OWR

This is where it gets easy to conflate two separate reliefs:

Someone who moves to the UK for a role that still has them travelling overseas regularly can have both apply in the same year: split year treatment excludes the pre-arrival period entirely, and OWR then exempts part of the post-arrival salary too, for genuinely overseas workdays.

Your first year is also year one of a four-year clock

If you qualify as a new resident, your arrival year is also the first of up to four tax years of FIG regime and OWR relief — not just a one-off transitional adjustment. That window is measured from your actual residence-start date, which is why getting the arrival-year mechanics right matters beyond just that single return. If you arrived before the FIG regime existed (it started 6 April 2025), your four-year window may already be partway used up — worth checking against the qualifying new resident test specifically.

Where FIG Tracker fits in

FIG Tracker tracks workdays from your actual arrival date forward — not the tax year boundary — including sourcing for any salary, RSU tranches, or bonuses whose relevant period starts before or straddles your move. See how OWR is actually calculated for the detail behind the sourcing itself.

FIG Tracker is a calculation aid, not tax advice. Always confirm which split year case applies to you, your eligibility, and your figures with a qualified tax advisor before filing with HMRC.

Frequently asked questions

Am I taxed on my whole salary for the tax year I move to the UK, even the part earned before I arrived?
Usually not in full. If split year treatment applies, the tax year splits into an overseas part and a UK part — you're generally only taxed as a UK resident on the UK part, with the overseas part taxed only on UK-source income.
Does split year treatment mean my salary is automatically tax-free for days worked overseas after I arrive?
No — those are two separate things. Split year treatment sets which part of the tax year is taxed as UK-resident at all. Overseas Workday Relief is a separate, later relief that can exempt part of your post-arrival salary specifically for days duties were performed outside the UK, and requires its own qualifying test and election.
What if my salary kept being paid in foreign currency for a while after I moved?
The currency it's paid in doesn't change whether it's UK-taxable once you're a UK-resident employee — it changes how it gets converted to GBP for your return. Payslip figures are usually the right ones to use, since that's what will reconcile with what your employer already reported.