A UK-resident landlord who owns a flat in Lisbon, Marbella, Nice or anywhere else outside the UK is assessed to UK income tax on that rental on the arising basis. From 6 April 2025, the remittance basis is gone; the Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime gives a 4-year window for qualifying new arrivers, after which arising-basis taxation resumes in full. The same rental is taxed in the situs country under that country's domestic non-resident landlord regime and under Article 6 of the bilateral treaty. Two states tax the same income. Double taxation is eliminated through the UK's foreign tax credit (FTC) framework: TIOPA 2010 Part 2, section 18 for treaty credit, section 9 for unilateral credit, and sections 36 and 40 to 42 for the credit limit. The credit is the lesser of (i) the foreign tax paid and (ii) the UK tax on the doubly taxed income. The claim sits on SA106 (Foreign pages) with HS304 as the helpsheet. This page walks the statutory framework, HMRC's six basic principles from INTM161100, the credit-limit calculation, the source rule, the SA106 mechanics, and the FIG regime overlay. The worked example resolves Helen, a UK-resident higher-rate taxpayer with a short-let Lisbon flat: €13,500 net rental, €3,375 Portuguese IRS, UK tax cap of £4,576 on the UK measure, credit of £2,860, UK net liability £1,716. For the wider treaty framework, see our [UK tax treaties framework guide](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/tax-treaties-property-investors-treaty-framework-guide). For the SA105 (UK rental) sibling, see our [landlord self-assessment filing step-by-step guide](/blog/landlord-tax-essentials/how-to-complete-landlord-self-assessment-filing-step-by-step-guide). ## The FTC question for UK-resident landlords The FTC question is structurally inverted from the bilateral country pages on this site. Those pages cover non-UK residents with UK property; the source state (UK) taxes and the residence state credits. This page covers UK residents with overseas property; the source state (overseas) taxes and the residence state (UK) credits. The mechanics are mirror-image but the operational rules differ because the credit framework here is the UK's domestic credit framework (TIOPA 2010 Part 2), not the foreign state's. Three conditions trigger the FTC question: 1. **UK residence in the tax year.** Per TIOPA 2010 s.18(1) (treaty) and s.9 (unilateral), the claimant must be UK resident. Residence is determined by the Statutory Residence Test under FA 2013 Sch 45. 2. **Foreign-source rental income on the UK return.** From 6 April 2025, this is automatic for arising-basis UK residents (post-FIG-window, or never on FIG). For the 4-year FIG window, foreign rental income is excluded from UK tax altogether and the FTC question does not arise. 3. **The same rental has been taxed in the situs country.** Typically through that country's non-resident landlord regime (Portugal 25% flat, France barème scale plus social charges, Spain 19% EU residents pre-Brexit or 24% non-EU post-Brexit, Italy IRES or IRPEF depending on landlord status). Where all three are satisfied, double taxation is on the table and FTC is the relief route. ## TIOPA 2010 Part 2: the statutory framework The Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010 Part 2 (sections 2 to 134) is the modern statutory framework for double taxation relief. Earlier provisions in ICTA 1988 (notably s.788 and s.790) were rewritten into TIOPA in 2010 without changing the underlying rules. The four key sections for property landlords: - **Section 18 (Entitlement to credit under DTA).** Where a bilateral treaty between the UK and the source country provides for credit relief in respect of foreign tax on the income concerned, credit is available against UK tax on the same income. Section 18 is the route for any treaty country, which means virtually every major property-owning destination for UK landlords. - **Section 9 (Unilateral relief).** Where there is no treaty, or where the treaty does not cover the income or tax involved, unilateral credit may be available. HMRC INTM161030 cites the US state-tax example: the UK-US treaty covers federal income tax only, so US state income tax is relievable via s.9 unilateral credit rather than s.18 treaty credit. For property landlords, the relevant unilateral cases are typically state and local property taxes that fall outside the treaty's covered taxes. - **Sections 36 and 40 to 42 (Limit of credit).** Credit is limited to the lesser of (a) the foreign tax paid and (b) the UK tax on the doubly taxed income computed under UK rules. The limit applies per item of income, not in aggregate. Excess foreign tax over the UK cap is not creditable in the current year; limited carry-forward applies in specific circumstances under sections 73 to 76. - **Section 27 (Deduction instead of credit).** A UK resident may elect to deduct the foreign tax from the foreign-source income rather than claim credit against UK tax. Election is made on SA106. The interaction of these sections is the operational core of FTC. Sections 18 and 9 establish entitlement; sections 36 and 40 to 42 cap the credit; section 27 provides the deduction alternative. ## HMRC's six basic principles for FTC HMRC INTM161100 sets six principles that apply to every FTC claim, treaty or unilateral. Each is worth walking individually because each can torpedo a claim if missed. **Principle 1: source rule.** The source of the income or gain must be in the country that has charged the tax. For rental, the source is the country where the property is situated; this is the same allocation that Article 6 of the bilateral treaty makes. The source rule has limited exceptions: notably, INTM161120 confirms the Crown Dependency carve-out (Isle of Man and Channel Islands), and INTM161130 lists treaty-specific concessions. For UK landlords with overseas property, the source rule is satisfied automatically where the foreign tax is the source-country's domestic property tax on the rental. **Principle 2: basis of allowance.** Credit is allowed against UK tax on the same item of income. The UK tax and the foreign tax must be on the same income; partial overlap (e.g. foreign tax also covering a portion of business income that is not on the UK rental) does not produce credit on that portion. For straightforward property scenarios, the item-of-income matching is clean. **Principle 3: residence of claimant.** The claimant must be UK resident for the tax year. Split-year treatment under FA 2013 Sch 45 Part 3 apportions the year for arrivers and leavers; FTC is available only for the UK-resident portion. See our [SRT landlord decision tree](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/srt-statutory-residence-test-landlord-decision-tree) for the residence determination. **Principle 4: limit of credit.** The credit cannot exceed the lesser of the foreign tax and the UK tax on the UK measure of the doubly taxed income. This is the most operationally important principle and the one most often misapplied. The UK measure is computed under UK rules, not under foreign rules. **Principle 5: minimum foreign tax rule.** Per HMRC INTM161250, credit is allowed only for the minimum foreign tax chargeable under the laws of the foreign country AND the provisions of the relevant treaty. Where the treaty reduces the foreign tax rate below the foreign domestic rate, the treaty-reduced rate is the creditable amount. UK landlords occasionally pay foreign tax at the foreign domestic rate because they fail to invoke the treaty-reduced rate at the foreign withholding stage; the unclaimed excess is not creditable against UK tax and must be recovered from the foreign authority directly. **Principle 6: qualifying foreign taxes.** The foreign tax must be a tax of a character similar to UK income tax or capital gains tax. INTM161300 and INTM161310 list qualifying taxes country by country. Rental income taxes are universally qualifying; municipal property occupation taxes (council tax equivalents) generally are not. ## The credit-limit calculation in detail The credit limit is the operational core of every FTC claim. The mechanic, per TIOPA 2010 s.36 and HMRC INTM161210: **Step 1: identify the doubly-taxed item of income.** For rental, this is the rental from the specific overseas property. Each property is a separate item of income. **Step 2: compute the UK measure of that item.** UK rules apply. For UK-resident individual landlords with overseas residential property, this means: gross rental income, less UK-eligible expenses (letting fees, repairs and maintenance, accountancy, insurance, agent fees, ground rent), less capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery, after applying the s.24 ITA 2007 finance cost restriction on mortgage interest (basic-rate tax reducer rather than full deduction). The result is the UK-measure rental income. **Step 3: compute the UK tax on that item.** UK marginal rate applied to the UK measure. For a higher-rate taxpayer, this is 40% on the UK measure (less the s.24 basic-rate reducer on mortgage interest). For an additional-rate taxpayer, 45%. **Step 4: identify the foreign tax paid on the same item.** The foreign tax actually paid in the foreign country on the same rental, in the same tax period. Currency-convert to GBP using a HMRC-recognised exchange rate (typically the average rate for the year, available at HMRC's monthly exchange rates table). **Step 5: take the lesser of foreign tax and UK tax.** This is the credit amount. The UK tax liability on that item is reduced by the credit. **Step 6: where foreign tax exceeds the UK tax cap, the excess is not creditable.** The excess is lost; there is no general carry-forward for excess foreign tax (limited exceptions in TIOPA ss.73 to 76 apply primarily to corporate cases). Consider the deduction alternative under s.27 only in the rare cases where credit is fully unusable. ## The source rule and the Crown Dependency exception The source rule (Principle 1) is straightforward for rental: the source state is the situs state. The mechanic, per INTM161110, is that the foreign tax must be charged by the same country in which the income is sourced. For rental income, the property's geographical location IS the source; the foreign tax charged by that country on the rental is the creditable foreign tax. The exceptions matter for portfolio-scale landlords: - **Crown Dependencies.** Per INTM161120, the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey are treated as if their tax is a foreign tax even though they share UK statutory provenance. Rental from a Jersey or Manx property held by a UK-resident individual landlord triggers FTC on the Jersey or Manx tax paid, under the UK's modern bilateral treaties with each Crown Dependency. The 2018 onwards CD treaties contain Article 23-equivalent elimination provisions; pre-2018 cases sat under the historic concessional regime. - **Treaty-specific concessions.** INTM161130 covers narrow treaty-specific exceptions where the source rule is varied (typically older treaties or specific income categories). - **US state taxes.** Per INTM161030 and the brief reference above, US state income tax is unilateral credit under TIOPA s.9 (not treaty credit under s.18) because the UK-US treaty's covered taxes article does not include state taxes. For pure overseas property cases (Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, UAE, Germany, Australia), the source rule is satisfied automatically and the credit is via s.18 treaty credit. ## SA106 mechanics for the UK-resident landlord The Self Assessment foreign-property workflow runs through SA106 (Foreign), with supporting analysis on HS304 (Non-residents claiming relief under DTAs) for the technical detail and HS302 (Dual residents) where the landlord is also dual-resident under a treaty tie-breaker. The relevant SA106 boxes for 2026 tax year: - **Boxes 14 to 17: foreign property income.** Gross rental per property, with currency conversion to GBP. Multiple properties are itemised by country. - **Boxes 18 to 22: allowable expenses on the UK measure.** UK-rule expenses against the foreign rental: letting agent fees, repairs and maintenance, accountancy, insurance, ground rent, capital allowances on plant and machinery. - **Box 23: finance costs on the UK measure.** Mortgage interest and other finance costs, restricted per s.24 ITA 2007 to a basic-rate tax reducer for residential property. - **Box 24: foreign tax for which credit is claimed.** GBP equivalent of the foreign tax actually paid in the source country on the same rental, in the same period. - **Box 25: credit (or deduction) election.** The election under s.18 (credit) or s.27 (deduction). Default is credit. HS304 walks the analytical detail behind the SA106 entries: the source-rule confirmation, the UK-measure vs foreign-measure reconciliation, the limit calculation, and the unclaimed-foreign-tax position where the cap bites. ## The FIG regime overlay The Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime, in force from 6 April 2025 under Finance Act 2025, materially changes when FTC matters. The regime replaced the historic remittance basis with a 4-year window for qualifying new UK residents. The mechanics: - **Qualifying new arriver.** An individual who has not been UK resident in any of the prior 10 tax years AND becomes UK resident on or after 6 April 2025. - **FIG election.** During the 4-year window starting from the year of UK arrival, the individual may elect to have foreign income and gains excluded from UK tax. Election is made on SA109 / SA106 alongside the residence pages. - **FIG-elected foreign rental.** Excluded from UK tax; no UK assessment to credit against; FTC mechanics do not apply. The foreign tax paid in the source country is the only tax on the rental. - **Post-FIG-window.** From year 5 onwards, the individual is on the arising basis. Foreign rental is fully UK-assessed; FTC mechanics apply in full. - **Non-electors.** Qualifying new arrivers who do not elect FIG (because their facts make FIG net-negative, typically because their foreign income is low and the election cost outweighs the relief) are on arising basis from year 1; FTC applies in full from arrival. - **Pre-existing remittance-basis users.** Transitional rules under FA 2025 protect pre-April-2025 income and gains for individuals who were on remittance basis under the old regime. New post-April-2025 foreign income is on arising basis (with optional FIG election if qualifying). - **Always-UK residents.** Pure UK-domiciled individuals who have always been UK resident were always on arising basis; FIG does not affect them; FTC mechanics apply for any foreign rental as they always did. For UK landlords with overseas property who have always been UK resident, FIG changes nothing. For new arrivers with overseas property, FIG potentially defers FTC mechanics by up to 4 years (the FIG window absorbs the rental entirely). For non-doms reformed by April 2025, the transitional rules are individually consequential. ## Worked example: Helen UK-resident with a Lisbon flat Helen, 47, UK-domiciled and UK-resident throughout, lives in Reading. UK marketing director on £95,000 salary (higher-rate taxpayer). Inherited a one-bedroom flat in Lisbon (Bairro Alto, walking distance to tourist core) from her aunt in 2022; the flat is mortgage-free, valued at €380,000. Helen lets the flat through a short-stay platform during high season (May to October) and reserves it for personal use the rest of the year. 2025/26 figures: **Portuguese position.** - Gross rental: €18,000 (180 nights at €100 average net of platform commission). - Portuguese deductible expenses (utilities, cleaning, agent fees, IMI municipal tax, condominium fees): €4,500. - Portuguese net rental: €13,500. - Portuguese non-resident landlord IRS rate: 25% flat. - Portuguese tax: €13,500 × 25% = €3,375. - Helen pays the €3,375 to Autoridade Tributária through her Portuguese fiscal representative. **UK position (UK measure of the same rental).** - Gross rental converted at 2025/26 average rate (£1 = €1.18): €18,000 ÷ 1.18 = £15,254. - UK-rule expenses (same items, GBP-converted): €4,500 ÷ 1.18 = £3,814. - No mortgage on the property (Helen inherited free of mortgage), so s.24 has no effect. - UK-measure net rental: £15,254 - £3,814 = £11,440. - Helen's UK marginal rate (higher-rate, 40% on rental above the basic-rate band): £11,440 × 40% = £4,576. This is the UK tax cap on the same item of income. **FTC calculation under TIOPA s.18.** - Foreign tax paid (GBP-converted): €3,375 ÷ 1.18 = £2,860. - UK tax cap on UK measure: £4,576. - Lesser of foreign tax and UK cap: £2,860. - Credit allowed: £2,860. - UK net liability on the rental: £4,576 - £2,860 = £1,716. **SA106 entries.** - Box 14 to 17: foreign rental €18,000 = £15,254. - Box 18 to 22: UK-eligible expenses £3,814. - Box 23: no finance costs (no mortgage). - Box 24: foreign tax £2,860. - Box 25: credit election (default). **Helen's overall 2025/26 UK tax on the rental: £1,716 (£4,576 gross UK liability minus £2,860 credit).** Plus £2,860 already paid in Portugal. Total tax on the €13,500 net rental (£11,440 UK measure): £4,576 (£1,716 UK + £2,860 Portuguese). Effective tax rate on the rental: 40% (Helen's UK marginal rate). The credit has eliminated the double taxation; the UK has absorbed all the rental into its system at Helen's UK marginal rate. **Counterfactual: if Helen had a mortgage.** Suppose Helen had a £200,000 buy-to-let mortgage on the Lisbon flat at 5% (€236 per month, £200 per month after currency conversion). Annual interest: £2,400. Under s.24 ITA 2007, the £2,400 is restricted to a basic-rate (20%) tax reducer of £480 against Helen's UK tax bill. The UK-measure rental remains £11,440 (interest is NOT a deduction against the UK measure for s.24 purposes); UK tax on the rental is still £4,576 gross, minus £480 finance-cost reducer, minus £2,860 FTC credit = £1,236 net UK liability. The mortgage reduces Helen's economic return but only marginally reduces her UK tax bill because s.24 caps the relief at basic rate. Portuguese tax position is unchanged because Portugal allows full interest deduction (different foreign-measure produces a lower €13,500 - €2,832 = €10,668 net, IRS at 25% = €2,667 = £2,260). FTC then drops to £2,260 (the new lower foreign tax), and the UK net liability rises to £1,836. Net cost of having a mortgage on the Portuguese flat: £600 a year of additional UK-side cost on top of the £2,400 of interest. UK landlords with mortgages on overseas property routinely under-model this s.24 / FTC interaction. ## Deduction instead of credit: when it works TIOPA 2010 s.27 permits a UK resident to elect for deduction of the foreign tax against the foreign income, rather than credit against UK tax. The deduction route reduces the UK-measure rental by the foreign tax paid; the credit route reduces the UK tax bill. The arithmetic typically favours credit. Helen's worked example: - **Credit route:** UK tax on £11,440 = £4,576; less credit £2,860; net UK = £1,716. Combined tax: £4,576. - **Deduction route:** UK measure £11,440 - foreign tax £2,860 = adjusted UK measure £8,580. UK tax at 40% = £3,432. Combined tax: £3,432 (UK) + £2,860 (Portuguese already paid) = £6,292. Credit is £1,716 better than deduction in Helen's case. The deduction route is preferable only where: - **UK tax on the doubly-taxed item is zero or negative.** If Helen had UK losses elsewhere that wiped out UK tax on the rental, the credit would be zero (cap of nil) and deduction would at least reduce the loss. - **The foreign tax exceeds the UK tax cap materially.** Where the foreign rate is high and the UK measure is low (e.g. Portuguese non-resident IRS at 25% applied to a rental that gives only a small UK tax bill after expenses and s.24), the lost-credit excess can be substantial; deduction may give better aggregate relief. In ordinary higher-rate UK landlord cases with positive UK tax on the rental, credit beats deduction. Election should be modelled, not assumed. ## Common traps for UK-resident landlords with overseas property Five traps catch UK-resident landlords with overseas property most often: 1. **Treating the foreign-measure as the UK measure.** Foreign-country expense rules are typically more generous (Portugal's 25% non-resident deduction, France's micro-foncier 30%, Spain's deductible-actual regime). The UK measure uses UK rules and is typically higher than the foreign measure. The credit cap is on the UK measure, not the foreign. 2. **Forgetting s.24 on overseas residential property.** Section 24 ITA 2007 applies to overseas residential rental owned by UK-resident individual landlords, not just UK residential rental. Mortgage interest is restricted to a basic-rate tax reducer; the UK measure of the rental is the gross-less-non-finance-expenses figure, which can be substantially higher than the foreign-rule net figure. 3. **Missing the FIG election window.** For qualifying new UK residents, the 4-year FIG window may exclude foreign rental from UK tax entirely. Election is annual; missing the deadline costs the FTC-defrayed UK tax for that year. 4. **Not running the credit cap per item.** Each overseas property is a separate item of income with its own credit cap. Landlords with a portfolio across multiple jurisdictions (Lisbon + Madrid + Paris, say) must run three separate cap calculations, not one aggregate. 5. **Failing to invoke the treaty-reduced rate at foreign withholding.** Where the bilateral treaty reduces the foreign withholding rate below the foreign domestic rate (rare for rental but real for some structures), the foreign withholding agent must be told to apply the treaty rate. Otherwise the landlord pays foreign tax at the domestic rate and the excess over the treaty-reduced rate is not creditable in the UK; recovery is from the foreign authority, not via UK FTC. ## What to do next UK-resident landlords with overseas property carry a structurally double-taxable income line that the UK's foreign tax credit framework eliminates. The mechanics are TIOPA 2010 Part 2 (s.18 treaty credit or s.9 unilateral credit), the limit is the lesser of foreign tax and UK tax on the UK measure (s.36, ss.40-42), and the claim sits on SA106 with HS304 support. - **Confirm UK residence first.** SRT under FA 2013 Sch 45. Split-year apportionment under Part 3 if relevant. - **Check FIG eligibility if a new arriver.** From 6 April 2025, the 4-year FIG window may exclude foreign rental entirely; election is annual and must be made on SA109 / SA106. - **Compute the UK measure under UK rules.** Apply s.24 to mortgage interest on residential overseas property. Capital allowances on qualifying plant. UK-eligible letting expenses only. - **Cap the credit at the lesser of foreign tax and UK tax on the UK measure.** Per item of income. Excess foreign tax is generally lost; carry-forward is narrow. - **Choose credit over deduction unless UK tax is exhausted by other relief.** Model both routes annually. - **Record the foreign tax paid in GBP** using HMRC monthly exchange rates or annual averages. - **File SA106 with foreign rental and FTC** alongside SA105 for any UK rental, SA108 for any disposals, and SA100 for the master return. For the wider treaty framework, see our [UK tax treaties framework guide](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/tax-treaties-property-investors-treaty-framework-guide). For the bilateral country pages that apply this framework to specific situs states, see our [UK-France DTA page](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/uk-france-dta-property-rental-income-cgt), [UK-Spain DTA page](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/uk-spain-dta-property-uk-resident-spanish-holiday-home), and [UK-Italy DTA page](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/uk-italy-dta-tie-breaker-property-residence-disputes). For the SA105 (UK rental) side that runs alongside SA106 for landlords with both UK and overseas property, see our [landlord self-assessment filing guide](/blog/landlord-tax-essentials/how-to-complete-landlord-self-assessment-filing-step-by-step-guide). For the cascade mechanics behind the residence determination that anchors FTC eligibility, see our [Article 4 tie-breaker page](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/dta-tie-breaker-test-dual-residence-property-owners) and [SRT landlord decision tree](/blog/non-resident-landlord-tax/srt-statutory-residence-test-landlord-decision-tree). FTC is a precise mechanic with a small number of moving parts. The UK measure, the cap, the source rule, the principles. Run them in order, document the per-item arithmetic, and the credit lands where it should. Trying to short-cut the UK-measure step or the per-item discipline is where most landlord FTC claims fail or under-claim.