Investing after returning to the UK

See how your savings could fit into a pension, an ISA and a general investment account. Check the cash you pay, the relief you receive and the allowances you have left.

Make a plan for the money you have saved

This tool is about investing after you return. It does not calculate tax on moving money to a UK bank account or settle the tax history of your savings. Keep money for emergencies and near-term spending outside this allocation.

The example uses 2026/27 rules and pounds throughout. It models a relief-at-source personal pension and England, Wales and Northern Ireland income-tax rates, with only the earnings entered below. Scottish income tax, other income and salary sacrifice need a separate calculation.

Rules checked against HMRC on . Sources and calculation assumptions.

Tax relief on your new personal pension payment
£0

Provider relief and any further claim are shown separately below.

Pension funding this year

£0

Existing personal payments + new gross payment + employer funding

New ISA payment

£0

Uses the annual allowance you have left

New general-account investment

£0

Future income and gains may be taxable

Your savings and earnings

After your regular workplace pension payments, emergency fund and other commitments. Tax refunds are not added to this cash.

Gross salary or self-employment profits chargeable to UK income tax, after any salary sacrifice but before relief-at-source pension payments. Workplace net-pay arrangements need a separate calculation. Exclude pensions, dividends, rent and any earnings relieved by FIG or Overseas Workday Relief.

This example is for adults. Personal contributions from age 75 receive no tax relief.

Use the statutory residence test, including any split-year treatment. Default values are an example, not a determination of your residence.

Choose an allocation order

Pension first uses pension headroom before the ISA. ISA first keeps more money accessible when your cash cannot fill both. Neither is a recommendation to use every allowance.

Allowances and existing pension payments

Open this if you have already used allowances, have workplace pension contributions, or have a reduced pension allowance.

Relief-at-source payments this year, including the provider’s 20% relief. These payments have already come out of your cash. Other income or net-pay contributions require separate tax modelling.

Include amounts already paid and confirmed future contributions, including any match you have arranged. The employer adds this separately; it is not taken from your cash. Matching conditions are not calculated here.

For example, defined-benefit pension growth. Do not repeat the personal or employer contributions entered above. Check your pension input statement.

Across all your ISAs, including any Lifetime ISA. This assumes standard subscriptions; flexible-ISA replacement rules are not modelled.

High income can taper the annual allowance. The money purchase annual allowance can apply after flexible pension access; carry-forward cannot increase it. The first year you trigger it needs a separate check of payments before and after access.

Choose a confirmed reduced allowance above to edit this amount. Check both threshold and adjusted income with HMRC; UK earnings alone cannot determine the taper.

Unused allowance from the previous three tax years, subject to scheme membership and HMRC’s rules. It increases annual headroom, not your earnings-based relief limit.

Check your FIG residence window

The ten tax years must immediately precede your first UK-resident tax year. Calendar years spent abroad are not the same test.

Include a split year. The clock runs for four consecutive tax years, whether or not you claim; a temporary non-resident year does not pause it.

A claim must be made through Self Assessment. Check that the foreign income or gains qualify and compare the saving with the allowances lost.

FIG window: check your answers

Confirm the residence conditions above.

The check covers the residence window for adults and assumes you are not a member of the House of Commons or House of Lords. It does not establish whether a particular income source or gain qualifies.

Where your available cash goes

Pension first
  1. 1
    Personal pension: your cash payment
    £0
  2. 2
    ISA: your cash payment
    £0
  3. 3
    General account: your cash payment
    £0

Employer contribution, outside your cash

£0

How pension relief adds up

Your new net payment
£0
Provider adds basic-rate relief
£0
New gross personal contribution
£0
Further income-tax relief to claim
£0
Net cost after a successful further claim
£0

Further relief may include restoring a tapered personal allowance. It is returned to you or reflected in your tax bill; it is not automatically added to the pension or reinvested in this allocation. Personal SIPP payments do not save National Insurance.

Pension relief: cash and gross contributions are different

A £4,000 net payment into a relief-at-source pension normally becomes £5,000 gross: the provider claims £1,000. A higher-rate taxpayer may be able to reclaim more separately. Employer contributions are separate funding and count towards annual-allowance use, but do not receive personal tax relief.

For an eligible UK resident under 75, the personal tax-relief limit is normally the greater of £3,600 gross or relevant UK earnings. With no earnings and no existing contributions, that means £2,880 cash plus £720 provider relief. Income relieved under FIG or Overseas Workday Relief cannot support pension relief to the extent it would otherwise be relevant earnings.

The standard annual allowance is £60,000 across pension inputs. Employer contributions and existing payments use it too. Confirmed carry-forward may increase annual headroom, but does not increase your earnings-based limit. The £10,000 money purchase annual allowance cannot be increased with carry-forward. Defined-benefit accrual alongside that allowance needs a separate check.

Pension money is normally locked until pension age. Up to 25% may be taken tax-free, subject to available lump-sum allowance, normally £268,275 across your pensions. The remaining withdrawals are usually taxable. For workplace contributions and salary sacrifice, use the salary sacrifice calculator.

FIG: a possible claim, not four automatic tax-free years

The foreign income and gains regime is available from 2025/26. You must be UK tax resident in the claim year, within the first four UK-resident tax years after at least ten consecutive non-UK-resident tax years immediately beforehand. A split year counts. A return in 2023/24 puts 2026/27 in year four; a return in 2022/23 puts it outside the window. The clock does not pause when you skip a claim or temporarily leave.

You choose which qualifying foreign income and gains to claim relief on through Self Assessment. Foreign employment earnings are outside FIG; Overseas Workday Relief has separate rules. A claim forfeits the personal allowance and capital gains annual exempt amount, plus certain other allowances where applicable. It can affect adjusted net income for childcare and child benefit too.

This calculator shows the personal-allowance tax cost on your entered UK earnings, using the same pension payment in both cases. It does not calculate relief on foreign investments, foreign tax credits, temporary non-residence charges or the net benefit of a FIG claim. Compare those separately before deciding. Read our FIG guide and HMRC’s full conditions.

ISA or pension first?

An adult UK resident can normally subscribe up to £20,000 across ISAs each tax year. Existing subscriptions reduce that amount. Growth and withdrawals are tax-free, and a standard cash or stocks and shares ISA can be accessed before pension age. Lifetime ISAs have additional age, contribution and withdrawal rules.

A pension may suit money you can leave until retirement, especially if your tax rate is higher now than when you withdraw it. An ISA may suit money you need sooner. The switches show what each order does to your available cash; they do not compare future returns or retirement taxes.

What about the money left over?

A general investment account has no pension or ISA contribution ceiling, but its income and gains may be taxable. The standard capital gains annual exempt amount is £3,000 and the dividend allowance is £500. They are allowances on gains and income, not limits on how much you can invest; a FIG claim removes the capital gains exemption.

This model does not compare offshore bonds with other investments. Their charges and tax treatment depend on the product, the gains and your circumstances. Check costs and withdrawal taxes rather than assuming either route always wins. Our offshore bond comparison explains a separate set of assumptions.

Frequently asked questions

How should I invest savings after returning to the UK?

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Check emergency savings, debts and workplace pension matching first. Then compare a personal pension with an ISA using the money you can afford to invest. The right split depends on access needs, available allowances and tax rates now and in retirement. This calculator illustrates two allocation orders; it does not decide which is best for you.

How does SIPP tax relief work?

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For a relief-at-source pension, a £4,000 net payment normally becomes £5,000 gross after the provider claims £1,000 basic-rate relief. Eligible higher-rate taxpayers may reclaim further relief separately. Employer contributions are separate money and do not receive personal tax relief.

Can I contribute to a pension with no UK earnings?

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An eligible UK resident under 75 can normally pay £2,880 net into a relief-at-source pension and receive £720 relief, making £3,600 gross. Existing personal contributions and annual-allowance use can reduce the amount available.

Can I use pension carry-forward when returning to the UK?

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Confirmed unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years may be available if you were a member of a registered pension scheme or a qualifying overseas scheme in those years. Carry-forward does not increase your earnings-based personal tax-relief limit and cannot increase the money purchase annual allowance.

Does ten years abroad make me eligible for FIG?

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Time abroad alone is not enough. You must be UK tax resident in the claim year and within the first four tax years of UK residence after at least ten consecutive non-UK-resident tax years immediately beforehand. A split year counts, and the window can start before April 2025. Claims are available from 2025/26 and must be made through Self Assessment.

Does a FIG claim always save tax?

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No. A claim relieves qualifying foreign income or gains, but forfeits the personal allowance and capital gains annual exempt amount, as well as certain other allowances if applicable. Compare the relief against those costs. This page checks the residence window and models the personal-allowance effect on the UK earnings entered; it does not calculate your foreign tax saving.

Sources and calculation assumptions

The relief estimate uses the UK earnings entered as the only taxable income. Existing personal pension contributions must be relief-at-source contributions. We extend the income-tax bands by gross personal contributions and use adjusted net income to calculate any personal-allowance taper. A modelled FIG claim sets the personal allowance to zero. Employer funding uses annual allowance but does not increase your personal earnings limit or receive provider relief.

We allocate only the cash you have now. Future tax refunds, investment returns and taxes on withdrawals are excluded. The annual-allowance field must reflect any confirmed taper or other reduction; tapering is not inferred from salary alone. Flexible-ISA replacements, Scottish income tax, mixed-income tax calculations and defined-benefit/MPAA combinations require separate modelling.

This is an educational example for 2026/27, not a personal tax recommendation. Confirm your residence, earnings, pension allowance and claim position before making payments. A suitably qualified adviser can check cases involving foreign income, pension access or several types of income.