International Crypto Tax Advisers | Non-Resident

Panoramic view of the London skyline across the River Thames — Cryptoassets are borderless. Tax is not.

HMRC’s situs rule, and why it matters so much

Cryptoassets sit on distributed ledgers with no physical home, so the law has to decide where they are. HMRC’s answer at CRYPTO22600 has two limbs. Where a token represents an underlying asset, its location follows that asset. For exchange tokens with no underlying asset, “the location of the cryptoasset will be determined by the residency of the beneficial owner”. HMRC defends this as a clear, logical, predictable and objective rule.

Follow that through and the consequences are significant:

A UK-resident holder’s exchange tokens are always UK-situs, no matter which exchange holds them or where the servers are.
Because the 4-year foreign income and gains regime is about foreign income and gains, HMRC’s situs view means a UK resident’s exchange-token gains are UK gains that FIG cannot shelter.
A long-term UK resident’s cryptoassets are within the scope of Inheritance Tax wherever the wallet or exchange sits.

An important caveat we would rather give you than not. This is HMRC’s stated view in a non-statutory internal manual. There is no statutory situs rule for exchange tokens, the point has never been tested in a UK court, and a number of practitioners dispute it — arguing instead for the location of the private key or of the exchange. We will advise you on HMRC’s position and on the risk of taking a different one. We will not present it to you as settled law, because it is not.

HMRC’s view, in a non-statutory manual — not settled law, and disputed by practitioners.

The regime that replaced the non-dom rules

The remittance basis was abolished with effect from 6 April 2025 and replaced by the 4-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime. To qualify you must be UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test and within your first four years of UK tax residence, following at least a ten-year period of non-UK residence. Claiming FIG forfeits your personal allowance and your capital gains annual exempt amount, and is claimed on your Self Assessment return, source by source.

For Inheritance Tax, domicile was replaced from the same date by a long-term UK resident test: resident for the previous ten consecutive years, or for ten or more of the previous twenty tax years. Non-UK assets then come into charge, with a tail of between three and ten years after departure depending on how long you were resident, and a reset after ten consecutive non-resident years.

London financial district skyline with modern towers — We advise on the UK analysis to the highest standard, and say plainly when a question belongs elsewhere.

Common international situations

Situation	The key issues
Moving to the UK holding crypto	Whether the FIG regime is available and whether it helps — on HMRC’s situs view it may not for exchange tokens. Establishing your base cost at arrival, in sterling, before the first disposal.
Leaving the UK	Split-year treatment, and the temporary non-residence rules, which can pull gains realised during a short absence back into charge on your return. Timing a disposal around a departure without advice is a common and expensive error.
Non-resident with UK connections	Non-residents are generally outside UK CGT on cryptoassets, but UK-source income, UK property and the residence test itself all need checking rather than assuming.
Dual and multi-jurisdiction positions	Treaty residence, relief for foreign tax, and the fact that other jurisdictions locate cryptoassets differently from HMRC — which can produce both double taxation and unexpected gaps.
Crypto in an estate	Cryptoassets are property for Inheritance Tax. Valuation at death, and the practical problem of an executor who cannot access the keys — an asset that is chargeable but unreachable. HMRC wrote to IHT400 agents in January 2026 specifically to press this point.
Overseas exchanges	Under CARF, non-UK providers report too. Holding on an offshore exchange does not put you outside HMRC’s line of sight from 2027.

Working with clients worldwide

TaxDigit is a firm of chartered certified accountants and international tax advisors based in Guildford, Surrey, acting for individuals and businesses across the UK and internationally. We already publish in a dozen languages and act for clients across Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia. For cryptoasset work that touches more than one country, our position is straightforward: we advise on the UK analysis to the highest standard, and where the decisive question sits in another jurisdiction we say so and work alongside an adviser there, rather than pretending the UK answer settles it.

Frequently asked questions

If I move abroad, can I sell my crypto tax-free?

Sometimes, but far less often and far less simply than internet advice suggests. You need to actually break UK residence under the Statutory Residence Test, and you need to stay non-resident long enough to clear the temporary non-residence rules — otherwise gains realised while away are taxed on your return. The country you move to will also have its own view. Take advice before you sell, not after.

I am not UK resident. Do I owe UK tax on my crypto?

Generally no for cryptoasset gains, but residence is a technical test rather than a matter of where you feel you live, and UK-source income and UK property are separate questions. If you spend meaningful time in the UK or have UK ties, this is worth confirming rather than assuming.

Does the FIG regime protect my crypto gains?

Quite possibly not. The regime relieves foreign income and gains, and on HMRC’s situs view a UK resident’s exchange tokens are UK-situs — so the gains are UK gains. That is HMRC’s analysis rather than statute, and it is contestable, but it is the position you would be arguing against.

Is my crypto subject to UK Inheritance Tax?

If you are a long-term UK resident, yes — cryptoassets are property for IHT and, on HMRC’s situs rule, located where you are. Beyond the tax, there is a practical problem worth solving now: an executor who cannot access your keys still faces a chargeable asset they cannot realise.

Can you act for me if I live outside the UK?

Yes. We work with clients internationally and everything can be handled remotely. What we will not do is advise on another country’s domestic tax law — we will tell you when you need local advice and work with whoever provides it.

This page is general guidance on UK tax law as at 9 August 2026 and is not advice for any particular person or situation. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. Where we quote HMRC’s internal manuals, note that those manuals are guidance prepared for HMRC staff, are not law, and do not bind HMRC in an individual case. Please take advice before acting. Reviewed by the TaxDigit crypto tax team · Last reviewed 9 August 2026. Updated August 2026.

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TaxDigit is an international crypto tax accountant practice based in the UK. Chartered certified accountants advising non-residents, new arrivers and cross-border cryptocurrency holders worldwide.

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