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The short answer
An HMRC letter about overseas income or assets usually means HMRC has received information from another country and wants you to check your tax returns. If you owe nothing, reply as the letter asks and explain why. If you do owe tax, GOV.UK says you must use the Worldwide Disclosure Facility when HMRC has written about overseas assets: you notify first, then have 90 days to submit the disclosure and pay. Small errors in a recent return can sometimes be fixed by amending it online instead.
These letters cause real alarm in Nigerian households in the UK, often because they arrive years after a naira account was opened or a plot in Lekki was let. The letter is usually not an accusation. It is HMRC telling you that it has data and giving you a chance to put things right before it opens an enquiry. How you respond in the next few weeks shapes how the rest goes.
Why HMRC has written
A common reason is information about accounts that tax authorities exchange with each other; for how this works with Nigeria, see CRS information exchange between Nigeria and the UK. HMRC also runs 'one-to-many' campaigns, sending the same letter to many people who hold a particular kind of asset. An HMRC campaign letter of October 2026 on offshore funds, published by ICAEW, is an example: it explains the tax rules for those funds and tells recipients how to correct their returns.
Read the letter for three things
- What it is about: income, gains, assets, a particular year or a particular country.
- What it asks you to do, and by what date. Some letters ask for a reply or a signed form; others simply ask you to check and correct.
- Whether it comes from a named officer about an open enquiry or check. If so, you deal with that officer, not a general disclosure route.
If the letter encloses a form or certificate to sign about your tax position, read it with care and do not sign anything that is not true. Signing an incorrect statement makes matters worse.
If you have nothing to correct
You may have reported the Nigerian rent or interest correctly already, or the account may be dormant with no income, or you may not have been UK resident in the years concerned. Reply within the deadline, say which years you checked and why no tax is due, and keep copies of the evidence: SA106 workings, Nigerian bank statements, records of your residence. Not replying is the worst option even when you owe nothing.
If you have something to correct
Amending a recent return
The October 2026 campaign letter says returns can be amended through the online tax account within 12 months of the Self Assessment filing deadline for that year, and that for older years the digital disclosure service is the route. If the error is in the most recent year and you are inside that window, an amendment may be the simplest fix.
The Worldwide Disclosure Facility
GOV.UK's Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) page, updated 6 April 2026, sets out the main points:
| Point | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|
| Who must use it | Anyone who has had an HMRC letter about overseas assets and owes tax on offshore income or gains |
| How to start | Notify through the Digital Disclosure Service; you get a disclosure reference and a payment reference |
| Time to submit | 90 days from notification; you can ask the Offshore Disclosure Facility for more, up to 180 days in total |
| Years covered | Tax years up to 2024-25; outstanding returns for 2022-23 onwards are filed separately |
| What you include | The maximum value of your overseas assets in the last 5 years, in pounds, and the tax, interest and penalty |
| Behaviour | You choose one of seven behaviour descriptions, which sets how many years you go back |
| Payment | Pay when you submit; HMRC acknowledges within 15 days and aims to confirm within 90 days |
| Limit | Disclosures going back more than 20 years cannot use the service |
| Under enquiry | Talk to the investigating officer instead |
Penalties are worked out by you, using HMRC's factsheets, and the behaviour you choose affects both the years covered and the penalty. For a fuller guide, read the WDF for Nigerian income.
Working out what you owe: an example
Example (illustrative figures): Bisi let a flat in Yaba for three tax years and never declared it. Rent each year was ₦3,600,000, about £1,800 at the rates for those years, with £300 of agent fees and 10% Nigerian withholding tax of £180. Her UK taxable rent was £1,500 a year. At 20%, UK tax is £300, and credit for the £180 of Nigerian tax reduces it to £120 a year, or £360 over three years, before interest and any penalty. The point of the example is that Nigerian tax already paid, properly evidenced, often reduces the bill substantially. See declaring Nigerian income on Self Assessment and, on penalty ranges, penalties for late foreign income.
Gathering evidence from Nigeria
- Bank statements for every Nigerian account for the years in question.
- Tenancy agreements and rent receipts; WHT receipts from corporate tenants.
- Evidence of the exchange rate used for each figure.
- Purchase and sale documents for any property or shares sold.
Questions people ask
What should I do if HMRC writes about my Nigerian bank account?
Read what it asks and the deadline. If you owe nothing, reply and explain. If you owe tax, use the Worldwide Disclosure Facility or amend a recent return, as the letter directs.
How long do I have to make a WDF disclosure?
GOV.UK gives 90 days from notification, extendable on request to up to 180 days in total.
Can I ignore an HMRC letter if I don't owe anything?
No. Reply within the deadline and explain why no tax is due, keeping copies of your evidence.
Does Nigerian tax I paid reduce what I owe HMRC?
Usually yes, through foreign tax credit relief, up to the UK tax on the same income, if you can evidence the Nigerian tax.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Worldwide Disclosure Facility, make a disclosure (updated 6 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- ICAEW: HMRC one-to-many campaign letter on offshore funds (Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- HMRC HS263: Relief for foreign tax paid (2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- HMRC: SA106 Foreign notes 2026 · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.