United Kingdom

Tax System Overview

The UK presents a dichotomy: it has a relatively high tax burden for individuals and domestic trading companies, but it possesses one of the world's most favorable regimes for holding companies and foreign-domiciled individuals (though the latter is undergoing massive reform).

Corporate Taxation

The main rate of Corporation Tax increased to 25% in 2023 for companies with profits over £250,000. A small profits rate of 19% applies to profits under £50,000.

The UK is a top-tier holding company jurisdiction due to the Substantial Shareholding Exemption (SSE), which generally exempts capital gains on the disposal of a subsidiary, and the fact that the UK levies zero withholding tax on outgoing dividends to anywhere in the world.

The Non-Dom Regime

Historically, "non-doms" could elect to be taxed on the remittance basis, paying UK tax only on UK-sourced income and foreign income brought into the country. Recent political changes are phasing out this regime, replacing it with a much narrower, time-limited exemption for new arrivals, drastically reducing the UK's attractiveness for mobile HNWIs.