AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
From 6 April 2025 the UK replaced the remittance basis with the foreign income and gains (FIG) regime. If you become UK resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years of not being UK resident, you can claim relief from UK tax on foreign income and gains, such as Nigerian rent, interest and dividends, for up to your first four years of residence. Each claim is made on your Self Assessment return and costs you your personal allowance and capital gains annual exempt amount for that year.
Until April 2025, people who were not UK domiciled could use the remittance basis and pay UK tax on foreign income only when they brought it into the UK. HMRC's SA109 notes for 2025 to 2026 say that from 6 April 2025 it is no longer possible to use the remittance basis. In its place is a residence-based regime that does not depend on domicile at all. For Nigerians arriving now, this is the rule that matters. This is information, not tax advice.
Who qualifies
LITRG's guidance on the regime, updated 6 April 2026, sets out the conditions:
- You are UK resident for the tax year.
- You were not UK resident under the statutory residence test in at least 10 consecutive tax years immediately before your first year of UK residence.
- Relief is available for at most four consecutive tax years, starting with that first year of residence.
Two points catch Nigerians out. First, a split year counts as a year of UK residence, so your arrival year uses one of the four even if you arrived in February. Second, earlier time in the UK counts against you. Someone who studied in the UK for a degree and was UK resident during those years, then went home and returned within 10 years, will not have the 10-year gap. If you leave during the four years and come back, the years away are not added back on.
LITRG also says people who became UK resident before 6 April 2025 can claim for 2025/26 onwards if they meet the conditions, but only for what is left of their four-year window. Relief does not apply to foreign income or gains that arose before 6 April 2025.
What a claim covers
| Type of claim | Typical Nigerian examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign income claim | Rent from a Lagos flat, interest on a Nigerian bank deposit, NGX dividends | Amounts identified on your return are deducted when UK tax is worked out |
| Foreign employment claim with election | Pay for work done outside the UK in the period covered | Given through overseas workday relief, which has its own rules |
| Foreign gains claim | Gain on selling Nigerian land or shares | Gains are reported on the capital gains pages |
UK income stays fully taxable whatever you claim. If you work for a UK employer, your salary is taxed as normal.
What a claim costs you
Making any one of the three claims for a year means, according to LITRG, losing for that year:
- your income tax personal allowance;
- marriage allowance or married couple's allowance;
- the capital gains tax annual exempt amount;
- the ability to use foreign losses for UK purposes, and relief for finance costs on overseas property.
So the regime helps most when foreign income or gains are large compared with UK income. A nurse with a UK salary and a modest Lagos rent may find that losing the personal allowance costs more UK tax than the claim saves. A new arrival who has just sold land in Abuja at a large gain may find the opposite. Work out the tax both ways for each year; you can choose year by year.
Worked comparison
Example only, with assumed figures. Suppose claiming would remove £1,500 of UK tax on your Nigerian rent, but losing your personal allowance would add £2,500 of tax on your UK salary. The claim leaves you £1,000 worse off, so you would not make it that year. If the following year you also sold Nigerian shares and claiming would remove a further £4,000 of UK tax on the gain, the claim would save £3,000 overall.
How to claim
- File a Self Assessment return for the year; the claim cannot be made any other way.
- On the SA109 residence pages, tick box 28 to claim on foreign income and box 29 for foreign gains.
- On the SA106 foreign pages, enter the amounts you are claiming relief on in the matching boxes, such as 4.1 for interest, 6.1 for dividends and 30.1 for property; see filling in SA106.
- Make the claim by 31 January in the second tax year after the year of claim. LITRG's example: a 2025/26 claim by 31 January 2028.
You still have to report the income. LITRG notes that the old exemption for foreign income under £2,000 under the remittance basis does not apply here. The SA106 notes add that foreign tax credit relief cannot be claimed on income you also claim FIG relief on, so Nigerian withholding tax on that income is not credited. See foreign tax credit relief.
Transitional points
LITRG says the temporary repatriation facility, which allows a special low rate on designated amounts previously relieved under the remittance basis and brought into the UK, runs until 2027/28. It matters mainly to people who used the remittance basis before April 2025.
What to check first
- List each of the last ten or more tax years in which you might have been UK resident.
- Identify your first year of UK residence and count four years from it.
- Estimate tax with and without a claim for each year.
- Keep records of Nigerian income in naira and in pounds, using HMRC's rules on which exchange rate to use.
Questions people ask
Can I still use the remittance basis as a Nigerian in the UK?
No. HMRC's SA109 notes say that from 6 April 2025 it is no longer possible to use the remittance basis. The FIG regime replaced it.
Do I qualify for the FIG regime if I studied in the UK before?
Only if you were not UK resident in at least 10 consecutive tax years before your current period of residence. Years of UK residence as a student count.
Is Nigerian rent tax-free in the UK for four years?
It can be relieved if you qualify and claim, but the claim costs your personal allowance and CGT annual exempt amount for that year, so it is not always worth it.
How do I claim the FIG regime?
On your Self Assessment return: SA109 boxes 28 and 29, with the amounts on the SA106 pages, by 31 January in the second tax year after the year of claim.
Sources
- Foreign income and gains regime (tax years from 2025/26), LITRG (updated 6 April 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- SA109 Notes 2026: Residence and FIG regime pages, tax year 2025 to 2026, HMRC · accessed Oct 2026
- SA106 Notes 2026: Foreign, tax year 2025 to 2026, HMRC · 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.