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Keep or Let Your UK Home

Letting your home while you live in the UAE can cover the mortgage, or cost you each month once UK tax is paid. Enter your figures to see what letting leaves you, against leaving the home empty.

Sources: UK tax on rent: property rates, mortgage interest relief and bands[1], Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and the personal allowance for people abroad[2]. All sources

The 2027/28 rates of 24%, 44% and 49% were announced at Budget 2026 and are due to be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27. They are not law yet.[3] They apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland and Wales can set their own property rates. From 2027/28 mortgage interest relief and the tax your agent deducts both use the property basic rate, which is 24%.[4][3]

If you let it

£ a month
% of rent

From your agent's quote. Put 0 if you let it yourself.

£ a year

Landlord insurance, repairs, service charge, ground rent and safety certificates.

Your mortgage

£ a month

Your lender's annual statement splits interest from capital.

£ a month

Paid either way, and never deductible. Put 0 on an interest-only mortgage.

Your tax

Are you a British or EEA citizen?

If so you can claim the £12,570 personal allowance while living abroad, on form R43.

Has HMRC approved you to receive rent in full?

Approval on form NRL1i. Without it your agent, or a tenant paying over £100 a week, deducts tax.

If you leave it empty

£ a year

Ask your council what it charges on an empty home.

£ a year

Insurance for an unoccupied home, standing charges and someone to check on it.

Letting against leaving it empty

£2,401

a month better off letting

Rent£2,600
Agent and other costsless £385
Mortgage paymentless £1,400
UK tax (24% property basic rate)less £64
Left each month if let£751
Cost each month if empty£1,650

UK tax a year: £770, on £14,010 of profit after the £12,570 personal allowance, less £2,592 of mortgage interest relief.

Assumes the rent is your only UK income and one owner. Rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The 2027/28 rates were announced at Budget 2026 and are due to become law in Finance Bill 2026-27; they are not law yet. Scotland and Wales can set their own property rates.

Key rules to know

  • Rent stays taxable in the UK after you leave
  • From 6 April 2027 rent is taxed at 24%, 44% and 49% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, once Finance Bill 2026-27 becomes law
  • Mortgage interest is not deducted: you get a tax reduction at the property basic rate (24% from 2027/28) instead
  • British and EEA citizens abroad can claim the personal allowance
  • Without HMRC approval your agent deducts tax from the rent at the property basic rate (24% from 2027/28)
What Budget 2026 changes

Rent, savings and National Insurance from April 2027

How do I stop the agent deducting tax?

Apply to HMRC on form NRL1i to receive the rent in full. You still declare the rent on a Self Assessment return each year and pay any tax due then.

Why does my mortgage interest not reduce my profit?

For residential lettings, finance costs give a tax reduction at the basic rate instead of a deduction. Interest that does not fit this year carries forward to later years.

Does letting the home affect my UK residence?

A home let on a full lease is usually not available to you, which matters for the accommodation tie. The UK Day Counter and the Keeping Your Options Open guide explain the ties.

What about selling instead?

Selling can bring Capital Gains Tax, depending on how long the home was your main home. The UK Tax guide covers the rules before you decide.

Is the move worth it overall?

The Landing Check compares your UK take-home with a UAE package after rent and school fees. If letting leaves you paying in each month, add that as an extra cost.

Run the Landing Check

Did this answer your question?

What this covers

  • UK tax on rent at the 2026/27 rates or the property rates from April 2027.
  • Mortgage interest relief at the basic rate, with the part carried forward.
  • The personal allowance for British and EEA citizens abroad.
  • What the agent withholds without HMRC approval, and what comes back.

What it does not cover

  • Other UK income, which moves the tax bands. It assumes rent is your only UK income.
  • Joint owners, companies, or Scottish and Welsh rates if they differ.
  • Selling: Capital Gains Tax on UK property is in the UK Tax guide.
  • Any tax in the UAE on the rent. Ask a tax adviser if your situation is unusual.

Worked example

Worked example: letting a London flat at £2,600 a month from April 2027

A British citizen moves to the UAE and lets their London flat at £2,600 a month. The agent charges 10% of the rent; insurance, repairs and service charge come to £1,500 a year. The mortgage payment is £900 interest and £500 capital a month. HMRC has approved the owner to receive rent without deduction. The rent is their only UK income.

The worked example, step by step, with how each figure is worked out
StepFigureHow it is worked out, and source
Rent a year£31,200£2,600 times 12.
Property profit£26,580Rent less the agent's £3,120 and other costs of £1,500. Mortgage interest is not deducted here.
Taxable after the personal allowance£14,010Profit less the £12,570 personal allowance, which British citizens abroad can claim.[2]
Tax before mortgage relief£3,36224% property basic rate from 6 April 2027, announced at Budget 2026 and due to be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27 (not law yet).[1]
Mortgage interest reliefless £2,592The 24% property basic rate on £10,800 of interest, the lowest of the interest, the profit and the income above the allowance.[1]
UK tax a year£770Tax before relief, less the relief.
Cash left each month when let£751Rent less the agent, other costs, the whole mortgage payment and the tax, divided by 12.
Cost each month if left empty£1,650The mortgage payment, council tax of £2,000 a year and £1,000 a year of running costs, divided by 12.

Letting leaves about £751 a month after UK tax; leaving the flat empty costs about £1,650 a month. Letting is about £2,401 a month better.

Without HMRC approval the agent would withhold the 24% property basic rate on £26,580 of rent less costs, £6,379 a year, and the £5,609 over the tax due would come back only through a Self Assessment return.

Scotland and Wales can set their own property rates; this uses the rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland announced at Budget 2026, which are not law until Finance Bill 2026-27 passes.

Last updated 3 November 2026. How Landed checks its sources.

Sources

  1. HMRC and HM Treasury, Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation and rates, section 1.2 and Annex A (property basic, higher and additional rates of 24%, 44% and 49% from 6 April 2027; personal allowance £12,570, tapering above £100,000, and the bands for 2027/28); HMRC technical note, Change to tax rates for property, savings and dividend income, 26 November 2025 (mortgage interest relief and non-resident landlord withholding both at the property basic rate from 2027/28); HMRC guidance, Tax relief for residential landlords: how it's worked out (relief on the lowest of the finance costs, the property profits and the income above the personal allowance; no refund; the rest carried forward); HMRC policy paper, 26 November 2025 (personal allowance £12,570 and basic rate limit £37,700 kept until 5 April 2031). UK tax on rent: property rates, mortgage interest relief and bands. Checked 3 November 2026. The 2027/28 property rates were announced at Budget 2026 and are due to be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27, so they are not law yet; they apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scotland and Wales can set their own property rates.
  2. GOV.UK guidance, Paying tax on rent to landlords abroad (a letting agent, or a tenant paying over £100 a week, deducts tax at the basic rate from the rent less the deductible expenses paid; loan repayments are not deducted; none when HMRC has said in writing the rent can be paid in full), GOV.UK, Tax on your UK income if you live abroad: rental income (approval to get the rent in full on form NRL1i) and Personal Allowance (British and EEA citizens; claimed each year on form R43). Non-Resident Landlord Scheme and the personal allowance for people abroad. Checked 3 November 2026.
  3. HMRC and HM Treasury, Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation and rates, Annex A: rates and allowances (28 October 2026). property basic rate 24%, higher 44%, additional 49% for 2027/28; due to be legislated in Finance Bill 2026-27 (section 1.2). Checked 3 November 2026.
  4. HMRC technical note, Change to tax rates for property, savings and dividend income (26 November 2025). from 2027/28 mortgage interest relief and non-resident landlord withholding are at the property basic rate. Checked 3 November 2026.

How Landed checks its sources.

Next step

Get a verdict on your move

The free Landing Check compares your UK take-home with a UAE package after rent, the housing fee and school fees, then adds your visa route and a 90-day plan. No sign-up.

Run the free Landing Check

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