How long does Overseas Workday Relief now last?

The reformed relief runs for four tax years, aligned with the four-year foreign income and gains regime, so an eligible new arrival can claim across their first four years of UK residence.

What is the cap on the relief?

The annual cap is the lower of £300,000 or 30% of the employee's relevant employment income for the tax year. Earnings above that limit stay taxable even if they relate to overseas duties.

Does the relief cover investment income?

No. Overseas Workday Relief applies only to the earnings from the overseas duties of a UK employment. Foreign investment income and gains are dealt with under the separate foreign income and gains rules.

Overseas Workday Relief After the Reform

Written and reviewed by the Non-Dom Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 28 July 2026.

Overseas Workday Relief takes the earnings from the overseas part of a UK employment out of UK tax for qualifying new arrivals. The 2025 reform kept the relief but reshaped it, extending it to four years and adding an annual cap.

This guide explains who qualifies, how the four years work and how the cap is calculated. Eligibility tracks the same arrival profile as the 4-year FIG regime, and the split of duties is reported through our expat tax returns.

What the Relief Covers

Overseas Workday Relief applies to an employee with a single UK employment whose duties are performed partly abroad. The earnings attributable to the overseas duties can be relieved from UK tax, so only the earnings for UK duties remain taxable, subject to the new limits.

It is a relief on employment earnings specifically. It does not touch investment income or gains, which are dealt with under the separate foreign income and gains rules.

The Extension to Four Years

The relief was reformed and extended to four years, aligning its life with the four-year foreign income and gains regime. An eligible employee can claim across their first four tax years of UK residence rather than the shorter period that applied before. The background is set out in the government paper on reforming the taxation of non-UK domiciled individuals.

The alignment is deliberate. The two reliefs are designed to run over the same window for the same recent arrivals.

The Annual Cap on Relief

The reformed relief carries an annual cap. The amount relieved in a tax year cannot exceed the lower of £300,000 or 30% of the employee's relevant employment income for that year. Earnings above the cap remain taxable even where they relate to overseas duties.

For higher earners the 30% limb usually bites before the £300,000 figure, so the cap is best read as a proportion of pay rather than a flat ceiling.

Who Can Claim

The relief is aimed at recent arrivals who meet the qualifying residence conditions, the same broad group who can access the four-year foreign income and gains regime. HMRC's guidance to check if you can claim the four-year regime is the natural starting point for testing eligibility.

Whether the relief helps depends on how much of the employment is genuinely performed abroad. A role with few overseas workdays produces little relief even where the person qualifies.

Recording the Overseas Duties

The relief rests on evidence. The split between UK and overseas workdays has to be recorded and supported, because the relieved amount is the earnings attributable to the overseas duties within the cap.

A workday log kept through the year, rather than estimated afterwards, is what makes the claim defensible if HMRC ask to see the basis for the split.