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Tax Credits If You Leave The UK

What happens to tax credits if you go abroad? This section explains tax credit procedures if you live overseas or go travelling abroad.

There is extra tax credit information for Crown servants who get posted overseas and what it means to be ordinarily resident.


Tax Credits If Your Family Lives Abroad

Suppose your partner is not living in the United Kingdom and you do not have any children. Do you still qualify for tax credits?

In some cases you might still get Working Tax Credit as a single person. You would need to be living and working in the United Kingdom if your partner stayed in their own country.

You must inform the Tax Credit Office within one month if your partner then comes to join you in the UK. The reason for this notification is because it could affect your tax credits payments.

What If Your Child Lives Abroad?

In this case you may also qualify for Child Tax Credit if you have a child and:

  • You are working in the United Kingdom.
  • You have the legal right to live in the United Kingdom.
  • You pay your National Insurance contributions in the UK.
  • Your child lives in a country in the EEA (or Switzerland) with your partner or someone else (and the child depends on you for support).

As a general rule you cannot claim for a child who lives outside of the EEA or Switzerland. The exception would be if your partner is a Crown servant posted overseas from the UK.

You must inform the Tax Credit Office within one month if your partner and child come to join you in the UK. The reason for this notification is because it could affect your tax credits payments.

If Your Partner Gets Benefits Abroad

Having children when your partner gets benefits paid by another EEA country (or Switzerland) can affect your tax credits. The tax office counts some benefits as income such as those paid because of unemployment. Whereas, others such as family benefits are not.


Tax Credits If You Go Abroad

Going abroad can affect your tax credits. They stop if you expect to be outside the UK for one year or more. Spending a short time overseas does not usually affect your claim. An example of a short period would be for a holiday or to receive medical treatment.

Reason for Leaving UK Period of Tax Credits
Medical treatment for yourself, your partner or your child 12 weeks (maximum)
Death of your partner, a child or close relative of either you or your partner 12 weeks (maximum)
Any other reason (e.g. holiday or business trip) 8 weeks (maximum)

You should contact the Tax Credit Office within one month if your trip is expected to last more than 8 or 12 weeks. In this case your tax credits will stop unless:


Tax Credits If You Live Outside the UK

There are exceptions where you can get tax credits if you live outside the UK. An example could be for a Crown servant posted overseas or if you live abroad with your child (conditions below).

Crown Servant Posted Overseas

In most cases, a Crown servant may get tax credits as if they were living in the United Kingdom. The Tax Credit Office treat you as living in the UK if any of these apply to your situation:

  • You are (or were prior to your posting abroad) considered ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK.
  • You had a series of repeated postings abroad with no breaks in between (and ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK before the first posting).
  • You were living in the UK before you got posted abroad (the reason you were in the UK was connected to your posting); this situation can apply to a single posting or to a series of repeated postings abroad.

Partner is a Crown Servant Posted Overseas

You may claim tax credits if your partner gets posted outside the UK as a Crown servant and:

  • You live together with your partner while they work overseas.
  • You live in the United Kingdom while your partner is working abroad.

In this case you do not need to be classed ordinarily resident in the UK while you are overseas with your Crown servant partner.

Ordinarily Resident Definition

The definition of ‘ordinarily resident’ means you usually live in the United Kingdom. You also plan to stay in the UK for the foreseeable future. The Tax Credit Office decides if you are ordinarily resident by looking at:

  • The location of your settled home and where your close family live.
  • Why you came into the United Kingdom and if you plan to leave the UK permanently in the next 2 or 3 years.

You Have a Child (and get UK benefits or State Pension)

What happens if none of these situations apply to you? You might claim Child Tax Credit if you and your child live in a European Union (EU) member state and you get State Pension or one of these benefits:

You will not qualify for Child Tax Credit unless you live in an EU member state. The exception could be if you (or your partner) are a Crown servant posted overseas of the United Kingdom.


Tax Credits If You Leave United Kingdom or Travel Abroad