Keeping a UK limited company after moving abroad

You can usually keep a UK limited company after you move abroad: directors do not have to live in the UK, and a company incorporated in the UK is UK resident for corporation tax. The risks are that your new country treats the company as resident there or as having a permanent establishment there, and that dividends taken while you are away come back into UK tax if you return within five years.

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This page looks at the company itself. Your own residence, National Insurance and VAT are covered in the guide for IT consultants working abroad.

Can I keep my UK company if I live abroad?

Company law allows it. GOV.UK says directors do not have to live in the UK, but the company must have a UK registered office address. That address must be a physical address in the UK, in the same UK country where the company was registered, and it must be an appropriate address, which means the company must be made aware of post delivered there. One option is to use your accountant’s address or a registered office service.

The company still files accounts with Companies House and a corporation tax return with HMRC, and still runs payroll if it pays you a salary. The PAYE points for a director who has left are covered in PAYE for non resident directors.

Where is my company resident for tax?

HMRC’s International Manual gives two UK tests. A company is UK resident if it is incorporated in the UK, and also if the central management and control of its business is in the UK. A UK company you run from abroad therefore stays UK resident under UK law.

The difficulty comes from the other side. If you, as sole director, take every decision from your new home, that country may also treat the company as resident under its own rules. Where a company is resident in both countries, the treaty tie breaker decides. HMRC says the UK uses place of effective management as a tie breaker in many treaties, and under some treaties, including those with the Netherlands, the US and Canada, the question can only be answered after discussions between the competent authorities. If the treaty gives residence to the other country, the company is treaty non resident and, under CTA 2009 section 18, not UK resident for tax. More detail is in company residence.

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Could my company have a permanent establishment where I live?

Even if residence stays in the UK, your home office can create a taxable presence abroad. HMRC describes a permanent establishment in double taxation agreements as a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on, with branches and offices as examples. Under the business profits article, the other country can only tax the company’s profits if it carries on business there through a permanent establishment. A sole director working full time from a flat abroad, with no other staff, can look very like that. See permanent establishment risk from overseas staff and take advice in the country concerned.

What corporation tax does the company still pay?

While it is UK resident, the company pays UK corporation tax on its profits. GOV.UK gives a small profits rate of 19% for profits of £50,000 or less and a main rate of 25% for profits above £250,000, with marginal relief in between. Those limits are reduced for short accounting periods and for associated companies. If a permanent establishment abroad is also taxed, relief for the foreign tax is covered in double tax relief for companies.

How are my dividends taxed once I am non resident?

For UK tax, HMRC’s helpsheet HS300 lists dividends from UK companies as disregarded income for non residents. The UK tax charge on that income is restricted to the tax, if any, deducted at source, but where the restriction is used, personal allowances are not given against other income. You compare the two calculations and pay the lower. Your new country will normally tax the dividends as a resident shareholder, subject to the treaty. See disregarded income for non residents and dividends to overseas shareholders.

What if I come back within five years?

This is where many contractors are caught. HMRC’s manual says you are temporarily non resident if you had sole UK residence in 4 or more of the 7 years before the year you left and your period of non residence is 5 years or less. Distributions from a close company in which you are a material participator, received during that period, are charged to UK tax as if received in the period you return. Foreign tax paid on them can be set against the UK tax.

The rule has tightened. For people who become UK resident on or after 6 April 2026 after temporary non residence, HMRC says the charge applies to the full dividend, including any part relating to trade profits that arose while you were away. Before that date, dividends relating to those later profits were not charged. See temporary non residence.

Should I close the company instead?

If the company will not trade again, closing it before you leave can be simpler. Under section 1030A of the Corporation Tax Act 2010, a distribution made in anticipation of striking off is not a distribution for the Corporation Tax Acts if the company has dealt with its debts and the total distributed does not exceed £25,000. Above that, a members’ voluntary liquidation is the usual route. The choice is set out in liquidation or strike off. Moving the company itself overseas raises separate issues, covered in moving a registered office abroad.

Question	UK position	What to check abroad
Can a non UK resident be a director?	Yes, with a physical UK registered office	Local rules on running a foreign company
Company residence	UK resident if incorporated in the UK	Local residence rules and the treaty tie breaker
Permanent establishment	Fixed place of business through which the business is carried on	Whether your home office is treated as one
Corporation tax	19% up to £50,000 profit, 25% above £250,000	Local tax on any permanent establishment
Dividends while away	Disregarded income; UK charge limited to tax deducted at source	Local tax on dividends and treaty rate
Return within 5 years	Close company dividends charged in the year of return	Credit for any foreign tax paid
Closing down	Strike off distributions up to £25,000 outside the distribution rules	Not applicable

Illustration only. Dan is the sole director and shareholder of a UK IT consultancy with £120,000 of retained profits. He moves abroad in May 2026 to work for the same UK client remotely, planning to stay three years. The company stays UK resident because it is incorporated in the UK, but his new country could argue that decisions are taken there and that his home office is a permanent establishment, so he takes local advice before he starts. He takes £60,000 in dividends while away. If he returns to the UK within five years, having been solely UK resident for at least 4 of the 7 years before he left, those dividends are charged to UK tax as if received in his year of return, with credit for any foreign tax he paid on them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my overseas home as the company’s registered office?

No. GOV.UK says the registered office must be a physical address in the UK, in the same UK country where the company was registered.

Does HMRC need to know I have moved if the company carries on as before?

Yes. Your own move goes on your Self Assessment return through the residence pages, and the company’s records should show where its board decisions are taken. If HMRC opens a check into your return after the move, the accountant’s fees can be insured through tax investigation insurance.

Is it safer to wait more than five years before coming back?

It removes the temporary non residence charge on close company dividends, because the rule only applies where non residence lasts 5 years or less. Your plans should still reflect where you actually want to live, and the tax in your new country.

If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 6 November 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.