Inheritance Tax After the Domicile Rules
Written and reviewed by the Non-Dom Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 28 July 2026.
Inheritance tax stopped turning on domicile on 6 April 2025. What matters now is long-term residence: a person who has been UK resident for 10 of the last 20 tax years is a long-term resident, and their worldwide estate falls within UK inheritance tax. The old idea of a foreign domicile sheltering overseas assets has gone, as the abolition of the non-dom rules sets out.
We assess where the long-term-resident test leaves your estate, and how long the exposure runs if you leave, replacing the concept of UK domicile with a day-counting one. This is a tax review, not a product sale. If you are planning a departure, leaving the UK covers the exit return alongside it.
Your Worldwide Estate Under the New Test
We work out whether you meet the long-term-resident test, being UK resident for 10 of the last 20 tax years, and therefore whether your non-UK assets are within the charge. Where you are within it, the standard framework applies: a nil-rate band of £325,000 and a 40% rate above it on the taxable estate. We set out which assets are caught and which are not.
For people who have moved to the UK more recently, we identify the point at which the 10-year threshold is crossed, so the change in exposure is not a surprise.
Where the Long-Term-Resident Test Bites
The tail is the hard part. Once you are a long-term resident, leaving the UK does not end the exposure at once: your worldwide estate stays within UK inheritance tax for between 3 and 10 years after departure, the length depending on how many years you were resident. Someone who leaves after long residence carries the longest tail.
The test is mechanical and counts tax years, so a single extra year of residence can move you across the threshold or lengthen the tail. We count from your actual residence record rather than a rounded figure.
How We Assess Your Exposure
We review your residence history, apply the long-term-resident test, identify which assets are within the charge, and model how long the tail runs if you leave. We give you the tax position in writing.
We do not recommend trusts, offshore bonds or life insurance, and we do not sell estate-planning structures. Where a structure is under consideration we tell you to take separate regulated advice.
Pricing for Estate Reviews
We agree a fixed fee before we start, set against the size of your residence history and the number of overseas assets to review. The figure is fixed in advance and does not depend on the value of the estate.