Transferring personal money to UK

Hi, I am an UK citizen and a UK tax-payer.A couple of years ago I transferred some of UK savings for the medical treatment of my parents and now the remaining amount of that transfer i.e. around £ 50k I want to transfer back to the UK for my kids education. Tax has already been paid on the interest earned on that remaining amount in that country. I believe, as the amount I want to bring back originated from my UK savings on which tax was already paid, I can simply transfer that money to my UK bank account. Please confirm and or advise accordingly. Thanks.

Hi Deyah,
We cannot comment on customs matters in this forum, as we can only advise on tax matters.  
Please see Guidance at :
Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad: Tax and duty and Application for transfer of residence relief (ToR1)
Any income arising outside of the UK, in tax years in which you are not UK tax resident, is considered capital and is not taxable in the UK.  
There is no time limit for you to bring this capital to the UK.
Any non-UK property that you dispose of before becoming UK tax resident, is not subject to UK capital gains tax and is not taxable.  If you dispose of non-UK property after arriving in the UK, then you may have capital gains tax to pay on any disposals.
Thank you.

Hi Andre Eller Contarato,

You can see guidance here:

Remittance basis 2024 (HS264)

Thank you.

Hi Musab,

No, it does not.

Thank you.

Hi I have savings invested through an offshore account which I earned as income from employment while a resident in Dubai. I'm now a resident in the UK and would like to transfer said savings to the UK. As of now, the capital I invested (i.e., my saivings) has not increased and I have not earned any interest from it. What would be the UK tax treatment of my savings as I transfer them to the UK? My undersanding is that my savings would NOT be taxed in the UK because I've already paid all the tax due in Dubai, which is a jurisdiction with no income tax. Is this correct? When I put this same question to an HMRC tax tecnician, they asked me if I paid tax on my income in the jurisdiction where I earned it. I said that I didn't, given that Dubai is a income tax free jurisdiction. So, they said that I would have to pay tax when I brought my savings to the UK. My understanding is that this is NOT correct. If you could please confirm? Lastly, would I have to fill in a self-assessment tax return in relation to these savings? Thank you

Hi VJad,
Your savings would be treated as capital and would not be taxable.
Any interest arising from your savings is taxable in the UK and should be declared in a Self Assessment tax return, even if tax is paid in the other country.
Thank you. 

 

Hi ,
 

You wont pay tax on the transfer of any of the capital but you will need to declare any interest or dividends that this then generates . Thank you .

I own a house in Zimbabwe which I built from employment income earned and taxed in Zimbabwe while I lived in Zimbabwe before 2004. The house does not earn income. Since 2004 I have lived and worked in the UK initially on a Highly Skilled Migrant Visa and became a British citizen in 2024. I am considering to sell the house in Zimbabwe and to transfer the proceeds to my UK bank account after paying capital gains tax in Zimbabwe. I would like to use the proceeds to buy a house in the UK. What UK taxes would be payable on the proceeds that I transfer from Zimbabwe to the UK.

Hello, I am divorced for 3 years and my permanant home is in the UK, The final part of the divorce is to sell the house in Spain which my ex wife lives in and then take 50% each of the property value, of which I will have to pay 26% tax to the Spainish government. I want to transfer the remaining money back to the UK will this money be subect to any tax implications.

Hi vshambira,
You would need to follow the UK Capital Gains Tax rules on the disposal of property. To do that, you would need to convert all of the figures to GBP sterling, using a just and reasonable exchange rate in use at the time. Under the terms of Self Assessment, we do not provide an official exchange rate and the onus is on the individual to use a just and reasonable exchange rate for each acquisition and disposal. For your convenience, there are exchange rates here:
Exchange rates from HMRC in CSV and XML format
and for older rates here:
Foreign exchange rates and spot rates: 1 January 1989 to 31 March 2009
You are free to use any of the supplied rates or one of your own choosing.
You can find a Capital Gains Tax calculator here:
Work out your gain 
As the property was your main residence for a period of time, you will be able to claim Private Residence Relief for that period. Please have a look at the guidance here:
HS283 Private Residence Relief (2024)
Regardless whether there is a gain or a loss at the end of your calculation, you are required to report the property disposal in a Self Assessment tax return. 
Check how to register for Self Assessment
Thank you.

Hi Julian,
here are no tax implications for transferring savings to a UK bank account unless they generate interest or dividends. 
These would then potentially be subject to tax. 
Further guidance can be found here: 
Tax on savings interest
Tax on dividends
Thank you. 

Hello, In 2016-2017 I moved to the UK resident, worked for a UK-Belarus company In 2018-2019 I lived in Belarus and in 2018 I sold the company shares and the UK office of the company paid UK taxes on my behalf on vesting, which I reimbursed to the company later. I also paid Capital Gain tax in Belarus on this income In Nov, 2021 I moved back to the UK and became the UK resident Now I would like to transfer my savings from Belarus to my UK account, will this money be subject to any tax implications? Once the transfer is completed, shall I fill out a Self assessment form or any other form to justify my case? Thank you!

Hi,
There are no tax implications for transferring savings to a UK bank account unless they generate interest or dividends. 
These would then potentially be subject to tax. 
Further guidance can be found here: 
Tax on savings interest
Tax on dividends
Thank you. 

Dear Officer, My parents living in Hong Kong, and I am UK residents. They gift me cash to aid my house purchase, as they don''t have UK bank account, and we are all HSBC, so its easier for them to transfer the gift cash from their HSBC HK to my HSBC HK account, then I can effectively transfer from my HSBC HK to my HSBC UK account. Do I need to pay any tax on the gift cash from my parents in this case? Many thanks.

Dear HMRC, If I were to transfer my savings (already taxed in Thailand) over to my UK account (where I now am a permanent resident and paying tax in the UK), am I liable for tax over here for the amount I will be transferring? Kind regards, RW

Hi,
We can confirm that there are no Income Tax implications on the receipt of a cash gift unless the cash gift generates interest or dividends.
These would then potentially be subject to tax.
Thank you.

Hi, I am a UK resident and have some funds saved up in India (around £40000), that includes old savings and investments which started before I became a UK resident. I would like to transfer a part of this money (around £25000) to the UK and use as deposit to buy my first house in the UK. Can I transfer this money to the UK without any tax implications?

Hello, Contex: This is a complex one. I am about to finish my studies. I am from a European country. Through the studies I worked part-time, hence I became tax-resident. While waiting for final exams I also started a full-time role. Back in my home country I was gifted a property when I was a child (maybe 2 year old). This property was my home contry address where I am registered and my non-term address. The property was never rented and I did not receive any income on it. I am planning on selling the property, but I am unsure about taxes, bringing money to UK etc. By my home country law, no CGT applies on their side as this property was in my possession+10 years. In UK I always lived in rented properties. Thank you for the help.

Hi,
We can confirm that there are no Income Tax implications on the receipt of a cash gift unless the cash gift generates interest or dividends.
These would then potentially be subject to tax.
Thank you

Hi,

We can confirm that there are no Income Tax implications on the receipt of a cash gift unless the cash gift generates interest or dividends.

These would then potentially be subject to tax.

Thank you.