Destinations · United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Four tax-free years on foreign income for new arrivals, then full 45% worldwide.
Tax regime
Australia treaty
Flight from Sydney
Timezone
How United Kingdom taxes youindicative
The UK taxes residents on worldwide income: 20/40/45% bands, with the personal allowance clawed back between £100k and £125k (a notorious 60% effective zone). The centuries-old non-dom remittance basis was abolished from 6 April 2025, replaced by the FIG regime: new arrivals who were non-UK-resident for the prior 10 years pay NO UK tax on foreign income and gains for their first 4 years, even if remitted. For Australians who have never lived there, that is 4 years of keeping Australian investment income out of UK tax entirely. CGT runs at 18/24%, dividends up to 39.35%, and the statutory residence test decides your status with actual rules rather than vibes. Full Australia treaty.
- Salary
- Progressive 20/40/45% plus employee NI (8% then 2%). The £100k, £125k allowance taper creates a 60% effective band. A £120k salary pays roughly 36% effective with NI.
- Capital gains
- 18% basic / 24% higher rate on shares and crypto, £3,000 annual exemption. FIG-regime arrivals: foreign gains tax-free for 4 years.
- Dividends & interest
- 8.75/33.75/39.35% above a £500 allowance. Australian franking credits are not recognised, but for FIG-regime arrivals, Australian dividends are simply outside UK tax for 4 years.
- Crypto
- Crypto disposals are CGT events at 18/24% with a small annual exempt amount (£3,000). Swaps and spending count. HMRC receives exchange data; FIG-regime arrivals can realise foreign crypto gains UK-tax-free in years 1, 4.
- Social security
- Employee National Insurance (8% to ~£50k, 2% above) is excluded from the calculation above, add it for employment income.
Australia has a tax treaty with United Kingdom
A treaty gives you two things that matter. First, a tie-breaker: if both countries claim you as a resident, the treaty cascade (permanent home → vital interests → habitual abode → nationality) decides who wins. You can’t simply be fully taxed twice on the same income. Second, reduced withholding on Australian-source income you keep: unfranked dividends at 15% and interest at 10% instead of the default non-treaty rates.
Walk your own facts through the cascade with the Treaty Tie-Breaker tool.
Visa pathways
Every pathway carries a tax-residency consequence, the row most visa guides leave out. A visa gets you in; it doesn’t decide who taxes you.
Skilled Worker visa
workindicativeSponsored role with a licensed employer at £38,700+ (or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher). 5 years to settlement.
- Income $77,000+ / year
- Skilled occupation required
- Employer sponsor required
- Family can come
Timeline: ~3 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
The workhorse route. Watch the immigration health surcharge (£1,035/person/year), a family of four pays ~£20k over five years on top of visa fees.
Youth Mobility Scheme
workindicativeAustralians aged 18, 35: two years (extendable to three) of open work rights, no sponsor needed.
- Age 18+
- Under 35
- No family inclusion
Timeline: ~2 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
The classic London working holiday, now extended to 35 and three years. Does not count toward settlement, but converts to Skilled Worker in-country once an employer bites.
Global Talent visa
skilledindicativeFor leaders (or promising ones) in tech, science, arts and academia, endorsed by a designated body, no employer or salary requirement.
- Skilled occupation required
- Family can come
Timeline: ~4 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
Complete work flexibility (employed, self-employed, founder), settlement in 3, 5 years. The endorsement (e.g. Tech Nation successor) is the real hurdle.
UK Ancestry visa
familyindicativeA UK-born grandparent gives Commonwealth citizens 5 years of open work rights and a settlement path.
- Family can come
Timeline: ~3 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
Enormously underused by eligible Australians, no sponsor, no salary test, any work including self-employment. Check your grandparents' birthplaces before paying for anything else.
Innovator Founder visa
businessindicativeFor founders with an innovative, endorsed business plan; no minimum investment since 2023.
- Family can come
Timeline: ~4 months from application to arrival
Tax residency: Meeting its conditions makes you tax resident there, usually what you want, because a genuine new tax home is your strongest fact against Australia.
Endorsement bodies test innovation, viability, scalability. Settlement possible in 3 years, fast by UK standards.
What London costsindicative
Typical expat defaults in AUD, the same figures the Break-Even Calculator pre-fills for United Kingdom. Treat them as comparison-grade, not budget-grade.
| Rent, family home in London (per month) | est. $6,500indicative |
| Rent, 1, 2br couple/single (per month) | est. $4,200indicative |
| International school (per child, per year) | Free / not applicableindicative |
| Private health, family (per year) | est. $4,000indicative |
| Private health, single (per year) | est. $1,500indicative |
| One-off relocation (movers, flights, deposits) | est. $25,000indicative |
| Return flight home (per person) | est. $2,400indicative |
| Day-to-day cost index vs Sydney (ex-rent) | 105%indicative |
Honest downsides
- This is a higher-tax country than Australia for most: 40% starts around A$100k equivalent, NI stacks on top, and the £100k, £125k taper creates a 60% zone with childcare cliff-edges.
- London costs Sydney money without Sydney weather, and the FIG honeymoon is exactly 4 years, after which worldwide taxation lands in full.
- Visa costs are the world's highest: fees plus the health surcharge can run £15, 20k for a family before anyone earns a pound.
- Winter darkness (8-hour days, weeks of grey) is the quiet reason many Australians go home.
What most people miss about United Kingdom
- The 4-year FIG clock starts from your first year of UK residence and does not pause, arrive before your affairs are structured and you burn exemption years on nothing.
- FIG relief must be claimed on a return, and claiming it costs you your personal allowance and CGT exemption for that year, a genuine trade-off at modest incomes.
- After year 4, Australian rent, dividends and gains fall into full UK tax at up to 45%/39.35%, plan the transition in year 3, not year 5.
- The statutory residence test can capture you with as few as 16 days in the UK (if you were recently resident), leavers and returners must count ties, not just days.
- From 2025 the UK also taxes long-stayers' worldwide estates to inheritance tax at 40% after 10 years of residence, a death-tax exposure Australia simply does not have.
Run your numbers for United Kingdom
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