Figures relate to tax year 2025-26 (UK) · 2025 (US)
Visiting academics move between countries more than almost any other profession. University HR departments are rarely equipped for it.
The advice that circulates in a common room usually comes from somebody whose home country has a treaty article Britain and America never agreed.
So a sabbatical a German colleague spent tax free is fully taxable for you. Nobody says so until the payslip lands.
Key takeaways
- The US-UK treaty has no teacher or researcher exemption.
- Many other American treaties do, which is why the myth persists.
- Sabbatical pay follows the ordinary employment rules.
- A fellowship may be a grant or pay, and the difference matters.
- A two year appointment usually makes you resident here.
- The exclusion and the credit are your actual reliefs.
- Research grants can escape tax where no services are required.
- University payroll often gets the first year wrong.
Do visiting academics get a teacher exemption?
Not between Britain and America. That is the single most useful thing on this page. Many American treaties exempt a visiting teacher or researcher for two or three years. But the British one does not, because, according to IRS guidance, each treaty is negotiated on its own.
Our guide to the US-UK tax treaty covers what it does contain.
Colleagues from China, India and Germany do have one.
Why do visiting academics believe otherwise?
Because the exemption is genuinely common and departments are international. Somebody who arrived from a country with the article tells a new colleague, in good faith, that the first two years are free of tax. The advice is correct for them and wrong for you.
Our guide to Form 8833 treaty positions covers claiming a position.
Never take a treaty claim from a colleague's experience.
How is pay taxed for visiting academics?
As ordinary pay, in the country where you do the work. So an American professor on sabbatical here is taxed here for that period. Then America taxes it too, because of citizenship. The usual reliefs apply.
Our guide to a US secondment and tax covers postings.
Who pays the salary matters less than where you work.
What if your home university keeps paying you?
The pay still relates to work done in Britain, so Britain can tax it. A short visit may escape under the employment article, where the employer is not British and no British body bears the cost. But a year-long sabbatical will not.
Our guide to working remotely for a US employer covers remote pay.
The short visit exemption has a day limit.
Grant or salary at a glance
| Payment | Nature | Usual treatment |
|---|---|---|
| University salary | Employment | Taxed where worked |
| Sabbatical pay | Employment | Taxed where worked |
| Research grant for costs | Reimbursement | Often not income |
| Fellowship requiring teaching | Employment | Taxed as pay |
| Fellowship with no duties | Grant | May escape tax |
| Conference honorarium | Services | Taxed where performed |
How are fellowships taxed?
It depends on what you must do to get one. If it requires teaching or research services, it is pay. If it carries no duty beyond study, it can be a grant, and both systems treat a grant far more kindly.
Our guide to study abroad tax rules covers students.
Read the award letter for the word services.
A worked example
Take an illustrative case. An American historian takes a two year post at a British university expecting a treaty exemption.
No such article exists, so British payroll deducts tax and national insurance from month one.
Her American return reports the same salary because she remains a citizen.
A foreign tax credit removes most of the American charge, and the exemption she was promised never existed at all.
Does a short visit escape tax?
It can, under the ordinary employment article rather than any academic one. Where you spend under a set number of days, your employer is not resident here, and no British entity bears the cost, the pay can stay outside British tax.
Our guide to the statutory residence test covers day counting.
A term-long visit usually fails one of the three conditions.
Do visiting academics become UK resident?
On a one or two year post, almost certainly. The test counts days and ties, and a full-time job here is a strong tie. Then your worldwide income comes into British tax, not just the British salary.
Our guide to split year treatment covers the year of arrival.
Arriving in September splits the first British year.
What about American investments?
Once you are British resident, dividends and gains from American holdings fall into British tax too. Academics who arrive with a retirement account and a brokerage portfolio often meet this for the first time. The treaty then splits the taxing rights.
Our guide to US retirement accounts in the UK covers pensions.
A 403(b) is protected by the pension article.
Do visiting academics pay national insurance?
Normally yes, unless a certificate of coverage keeps you in the American system. A posting of up to five years from an American employer can qualify. But somebody hired directly by a British university cannot. So it turns on who employs you.
Our guide to a certificate of coverage covers the certificate.
Apply before you arrive rather than afterwards.
What about a research grant?
A grant covering project costs rather than your time is usually not your income at all. But where part of it funds your salary, that part is pay. Universities often blend the two in one award, so read the terms.
Our guide to UK research and development relief covers commercial research.
Ask the research office for the breakdown.
Do visiting academics pay US tax too?
American citizens and green card holders do, wherever they teach. The exclusion or the credit then removes most of the double charge. A British academic visiting America faces the mirror position and files there instead.
Our guide to Form 1040NR for UK residents covers the British academic going the other way.
Neither country forgets you because you are temporary.
Which relief suits an academic salary?
Usually the foreign tax credit, because British rates on a professorial salary exceed American ones. The exclusion suits a lower paid postdoctoral post better. Running both calculations once at the start settles it for the whole appointment.
Our guide to Form 2555 and the exclusion covers the alternative.
Switching between them later is restricted.
What about conference fees and honoraria?
Payment for a lecture is taxed where you gave it. So a three day visit can create a filing duty. Small sums often fall below thresholds, though the principle still holds.
Our guide to royalty income across the two systems covers academic publishing.
Keep a record of where each engagement happened.
Do book royalties count?
They are usually royalties rather than pay, and the treaty gives them to your country of residence. So an academic publishing while abroad needs to know which country that is each year. Meanwhile the publisher may withhold first.
Our guide to a W9 form request covers certifying status to a publisher.
Certify your residence to the publisher early.
What do universities get wrong for visiting academics?
The first year, usually. Payroll applies an emergency code, and nobody raises the residence position. So people overpay through the autumn and can reclaim it. International staff offices advise on visas, not on tax.
Our guide to PAYE coding notices covers the code.
Check your first three payslips carefully.
What happens when the post ends?
You leave British residence on the usual rules, and you tell HMRC you have gone. That often produces a refund. Any British pension stays here, and the American filing carries on wherever you land next.
Our guide to leaving the UK for a third country covers moving on.
Academics frequently move to a third country next.
What records do visiting academics need?
Your contract or award letter, payslips from both countries, a travel diary, and any certificate of coverage. Those four settle the questions that actually arise, which are where you worked and who employed you.
Our guide to exchange rates on a US return covers conversion.
The award letter decides grant against pay.
What do visiting academics actually pay?
British rates, on a British salary, from the first payslip. A professorial salary sits in the 40% band and often the 45% one. For 2025-26 the higher rate starts at £50,270, which most senior academic posts clear easily.
Our guide to the personal allowance taper covers the upper bands.
Scotland sets its own rates above the allowance.
Do visiting academics get any relief at all?
The ordinary ones, which are not nothing. The foreign tax credit and the earnings exclusion both apply, and between them they usually stop a genuine double charge. What they do not do is make the salary tax free.
Our guide to Form 1116 income baskets covers the credit.
The reliefs reduce the American side, not the British.
What about a PhD stipend?
A British doctoral stipend is usually exempt from British tax, because it is a maintenance grant rather than pay. America may still see it as income, which catches American doctoral students here. The two views differ sharply.
Our guide to 529 plans for US citizens covers education funding.
Teaching duties attached to a stipend change the answer.
Does a visa type matter?
Not for British tax, which follows residence rather than immigration status. A Global Talent visa and a Skilled Worker visa produce the same tax position. Immigration status does affect what you may do, and not what you pay.
Our guide to British citizenship and US tax covers nationality.
Visa conditions and tax residence are separate questions.
Can the university help with the cost?
Some offer a relocation allowance, and a limited amount can be tax free here. Beyond that limit it is taxable pay. Tax equalisation, common in business postings, is rare in academia.
Our guide to benefits in kind and US tax covers employer provision.
Ask whether relocation support is grossed up.
What if you hold posts in both countries?
Then you apportion the pay by where the work happened, and both countries may tax you. A joint appointment split across the Atlantic is the hardest version of this. Keep a diary of working days from the start.
Our guide to apportioning UK employment income covers the split.
Joint appointments need a plan before they begin.
Who should you ask at the university?
Payroll for the deductions and the research office for the award terms. Neither gives tax advice, and both hold documents you need. The international staff office handles visas rather than returns.
Our guide to choosing a US-UK tax accountant covers getting advice.
Ask for the award letter in full, not a summary.
Do visiting academics file in both countries?
An American citizen does, every year, wherever they teach. A British academic visiting America files there for the period of the visit. So the answer depends on your passport rather than on your post.
Our guide to US filing thresholds for expats covers who must file.
Two returns is the normal state of affairs.
How early should you ask?
Before you sign, if you can. The certificate of coverage, the choice of relief and the timing of a move all have to be decided early. Afterwards you are reporting what happened rather than shaping it.
Our guide to a second opinion on an expat return covers checking past years.
An offer letter is the right moment to ask.
Does an emeritus post change anything?
An unpaid emeritus title creates no income and no filing. Where it comes with a stipend or expenses, those follow the ordinary rules. The title itself is irrelevant to both tax systems.
Our guide to retiring to the UK covers later life here.
Pension income is a separate question entirely.
Is the myth ever true?
Yes, for people from other countries. A Chinese or Indian colleague really may be exempt for a time. So the advice is not wrong, it is just not yours. Check your own treaty, not theirs.
Our guide to the treaty saving clause covers another limit.
Each treaty is its own document.
What if HR says otherwise?
Ask them to show you the article. A good payroll team will not find one, and that ends the discussion. If somebody insists, get it in writing before you rely on it.
Our guide to an HMRC enquiry covers what follows a wrong claim.
You carry the risk of a wrong treaty claim, not HR.
Does the length of the post matter?
A great deal. A few weeks may fall under the short visit rule, while a term is borderline. A year or more makes you resident and brings your whole income into British tax. So count the days before you agree dates.
Our guide to the FIG regime for arrivers covers new arrivals.
Start and end dates are worth negotiating.
How to handle a visiting appointment
- Assume no teacher exemption exists in this treaty.
- Read the award letter to see whether services are required.
- Work out whether the short visit exemption could apply.
- Expect to become British resident on a year or longer.
- Apply for a certificate of coverage before you travel.
- Choose between the exclusion and the credit at the start.
- Check your first payslips for an emergency code.
- Tell HMRC when the appointment ends.
Mistakes and penalties we see with visiting academics
The first is relying on a teacher exemption that exists in a colleague's treaty and not in this one.
The second is treating a fellowship requiring teaching as a tax free grant.
The third is leaving an emergency tax code running for a whole academic year.
The fourth is leaving Britain without telling HMRC and forfeiting a refund.
How US UK Tax Accountants helps
We settle the treaty question first, because almost every academic who contacts us has been told about an exemption that does not exist between these two countries.
Then we pick the relief that suits the salary. Our US federal returns service covers the American filing.
If an appointment here or there is on the table, get in touch before you accept it.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026. This article is general information and not personal tax advice, and award terms vary.
Not sure where you stand?
Tell us what you hold across the US and UK. We come back with the scope and a fixed fee in writing, at no cost.
Get in TouchPrimary sources
Official guidance from the IRS, FinCEN and GOV.UK. Thresholds and rates on those pages are updated annually — check the current tax year before relying on a figure.
