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Moving between the US and UK: plan the tax before the flight

A transatlantic move is the single best moment to get cross-border tax right — and the easiest to get wrong, because the decisive choices sit before departure. Residence start dates, what to sell, what to keep, when income lands: options that are open in the planning month are closed by the time the boxes are unpacked.

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Moving Across the Atlantic

At a Glance.

Figures relate to tax year 2025 (US) · 2025-26 (UK)

Profile
Relocating in either direction
Timing
Planning before the flight
Scope
Residence & split-year rules
Focus
Pre-move structuring
Outcome
A clean arrival position

  1. Residence starts earlier than people think

    Each country decides for itself when you became its tax resident — the UK through the statutory residence test and split-year rules, the US through substantial presence or a Green Card. Get the dates wrong and a bonus, a vesting or a completion can fall into the wrong system's net.

    We fix the dates first, in writing, and then sequence everything else around them. It is unglamorous work that quietly controls every later outcome.

  2. Sell, keep or restructure — before you go

    Gains realised before a residence change are taxed under the old rules; the same sale a month later can be taxed under the new ones, or both. Investment wrappers that are efficient where you live now — ISAs one way, certain US funds the other — may turn hostile on arrival.

    The pre-move review walks through each holding: realise, hold, or restructure. Not everything needs action; everything needs a decision made on purpose.

  3. Arrival year returns are the messy ones

    The first year involves part-year or dual-status filings, income split across two systems mid-stream, and relocation packages with components taxed differently on each side. It is the year most worth professional preparation, because it sets positions the following years inherit.

    We prepare both countries' arrival-year filings together, and the second year becomes routine — which is the goal.

Services this usually involves
US federal returnsUK Self AssessmentProperty & capital gainsPensions & retirement

Primary 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.

Questions, Answered.

Common questions

When should I start tax planning for the move?
As soon as the move is likely — ideally a few months before departure. The highest-value decisions (sale timing, wrapper restructuring, residence dates, when awards vest or bonuses pay) mostly close on the day residence changes.
What happens in the year I move?
You typically file in both countries for that year, each covering its part. The UK side may involve split-year treatment; the US side part-year or dual-status filing. Prepared together, the two halves meet cleanly at the boundary instead of overlapping.
Should I close my investment accounts before moving?
Not automatically — but every account needs a decision. Some wrappers lose their benefit across the border, some funds become actively hostile, and some holdings are best realised under the departing country's rules. A pre-move review makes those calls holding by holding.

Next Step.

Tell us what you hold — the scope and a fixed fee follow in writing.

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Other situations
American in the UKBritish in the USAccidental AmericanDual CitizenBusiness Owner