Inheritance tax for British expats
How UK inheritance tax reaches British expats: the residence rules that replaced domicile, the thresholds, pensions from April 2027 and the assets that never leave the UK net.
Guides on this subject
What happens to your offshore bond, QROPS and SIPP when you die
The document that decides where your pension goes is not your will. It is an expression of wishes form you may have signed years and two countries ago, read by a trustee with discretion to decide. Your offshore bond works the other way round: it usually does follow your will, but it can end on your death and hand your executors a tax event. From 6 April 2027, unused pensions join your inheritance tax estate, with your executors responsible for reporting them. And on the current wording of the new rules, the map inverts for long-departed expats: the overseas scheme sold on a tax promise is often the sheltered asset, while the UK SIPP left behind is the exposed one.
Making a will as a British expat in Japan
Japan starts from your national law when it looks at your estate, and an English will is formally valid there, so the will itself is the easy part. The hard parts are what no will can fix: a bank freeze your family meets in the first week, an estate process with no probate and no family register entry for you, and an inheritance tax that Japan charges your heirs, on worldwide assets, based on their visa status and yours. And the longer you stay, the more of your estate Japanese law can quietly claim back.
Domicile of origin: what it means and why you probably can't shake it
English law assigned you a legal home at birth, usually your father's, and it follows you for life unless you deliberately and convincingly replace it. Since April 2025 domicile no longer decides your inheritance tax, which now runs on residence. It still decides something at least as personal: which country's law governs who inherits your movable estate. Here's what the concept is, why decades abroad usually don't dislodge it, and why for most British expats that's quietly good news.
Making a will as a British expat in Switzerland
By default Swiss law governs a British expat's estate and reserves fixed shares for spouse and children. One clause choosing English law restores full freedom, unless you have also taken Swiss citizenship. Since the 2023 reform even the default leaves half the estate free.
Domicile or residence: which one decides your UK inheritance tax
Since April 2025, UK inheritance tax stopped caring where you're "from" and started counting where you've been. For long-settled expats that's mostly good news: ten full tax years abroad and your foreign assets are out of HMRC's reach, whatever your domicile says. Here's how to count your own years, the assets that never leave the net, and why your will can't change any of it.
Mirror wills for couples living abroad, explained
Mirror wills let a couple leave everything to each other, then to the children. What they don't do, why they're not binding on the survivor, and the traps for expat couples.
British expats in Saudi Arabia: what applies to your estate and your UK assets
Saudi inheritance follows sharia, even for non-Muslims' local assets, and bank accounts freeze on death. What British expats need to plan for, and why a UK will still matters.
UK inheritance tax for expats: the rules that still catch you abroad
Leaving the UK doesn't end your inheritance tax. The thresholds, the residence rules, what's always caught, gifts, the 2027 pension change and treaties, explained for British expats.
Wills for British expats in Malaysia: sharia, the Distribution Act and non-Muslims
Sharia doesn't apply to non-Muslims in Malaysia, but the Distribution Act, your EPF nomination and foreign-ownership rules all shape your estate. What British expats need to know.
The end of non-dom status: what the 2025 reform means for expats abroad
The UK scrapped domicile-based tax on 6 April 2025 and moved to residence. Leaving the UK no longer cleanly ends your inheritance tax tie, and how long you lived there decides how long it lasts.
Making a will as a British expat in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has no inheritance tax and broad freedom to choose your heirs, but your MPF, joint assets and intestacy rules all behave differently from what you'd expect. What British expats need to know.
Wills for British expats in Thailand: foreign ownership and why you need a Thai will too
Foreigners can't own land in Thailand, estates run through the Thai courts, and your spouse may not inherit everything. Here's what British expats in Thailand need from a will, and why a Thai will usually sits alongside a UK one.
British expats in Spain: do you need a UK will, a Spanish will, or both?
Spanish law can reserve a fixed share of your estate for your children, whatever your will says. Here's how British expats in Spain keep control, when you need a Spanish will as well as a UK one, and the tax that catches families out.
Do I need a UK will if I live abroad?
Living abroad doesn't switch off the UK rules. If you still own a UK home, bank account or investments, here's why a UK will usually still matters, and the revocation trap that catches people who sign a local will later.
Pensions and inheritance tax from April 2027: what British expats need to do now
From 6 April 2027 most unused UK pension money counts towards inheritance tax. Living abroad doesn't get you out of it — here's who's caught and what to do before the deadline.