UK Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF): the three-year 12% window

The three-year, 12% rate on the UK’s Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) is the most consequential concession in the April 2025 non-domicile rule changes, and its window closes on 6 April 2028. Advisors whose clients are still holding pre-6 April 2025 foreign income and gains (FIG) offshore face a binary choice: remit within the TRF window at a blended 12% rate, or lose the ability to bring those sums into the UK without triggering the full 45% additional-rate income tax plus 24% capital gains tax on the original gain. HMRC’s published guidance on the TRF, updated in December 2025, confirms that the facility applies only to FIG arising before 6 April 2025, and only if the individual was resident in the UK on or before 5 April 2025 and had not previously been within the scope of the remittance basis for that FIG. The rate is fixed at 12% regardless of the taxpayer’s marginal rate, and the charge is calculated on the amount remitted, not on the original gain. For a client holding, say, GBP 8 million in pre-2025 offshore gains, the TRF charge is GBP 960,000 — against a potential GBP 3.6 million if remitted outside the window. The arithmetic is stark, but the eligibility rules, the interaction with the new four-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime, and the anti-avoidance provisions require careful navigation. ## The statutory architecture of the TRF The Temporary Repatriation Facility is codified in Schedule 8 to the Finance Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 22 July 2025. The schedule creates a new Part 9B in the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, comprising sections 832A through 832L. The TRF is not a voluntary disclosure programme; it is a stand-alone election that sits outside the normal remittance basis rules. An individual must make a valid election on or before 5 April 2028, and the election must specify the amount of pre-6 April 2025 FIG to which it relates. The charge is 12% of the amount specified, and the resulting deemed remittance is treated as arising on the date of the election. HMRC’s TRF toolkit, published in November 2025, clarifies that the election can be made in respect of any amount up to the total of the individual’s pre-6 April 2025 FIG, but that any amount not elected by 5 April 2028 will be subject to the normal remittance basis rules if remitted thereafter. ### Eligibility conditions To qualify, the individual must have been UK resident for the tax year 2024-25 or an earlier year, and must have been within the remittance basis for that year. The FIG must have arisen before 6 April 2025, and must not have been previously remitted to the UK. The TRF is available regardless of whether the individual is still UK resident at the time of election, provided the individual was resident on or before 5 April 2025. This creates a planning opportunity for individuals who have since left the UK: they can elect the TRF while non-resident, remit the funds to the UK, and then return without the historic gains being trapped offshore. HMRC’s internal manual at TRF10020 confirms that the election can be made by a non-resident individual, but only if the individual was UK resident on 5 April 2025. ### Interaction with the four-year FIG regime The new four-year FIG regime, introduced by sections 809A-809H of ITTOIA 2005 (as amended by the Finance Act 2025), allows new arrivals to the UK to elect for FIG arising in the first four years of residence to be taxed only on remittance. The TRF does not apply to FIG arising after 5 April 2025, and the four-year regime is the only route for post-2025 FIG. For a client who arrived in the UK in 2023 and has both pre-2025 and post-2025 FIG, the two regimes run in parallel: the TRF covers the pre-2025 FIG, and the four-year regime covers post-2025 FIG. The TRF election does not affect the availability of the four-year regime, and vice versa. HMRC’s guidance at TRF20010 states that an individual can make a TRF election and also claim the four-year regime for post-2025 FIG, provided the conditions for each are met independently. ## The 12% rate in context The 12% rate is a concession, not a discount. The normal additional-rate income tax is 45% for 2025-26, and the residential property surcharge on gains is 28%. For a client with GBP 5 million in pre-2025 offshore gains, the TRF charge is GBP 600,000. If those gains were remitted outside the TRF and treated as income, the tax would be GBP 2.25 million at 45%, plus potential national insurance contributions if the gains are treated as employment-related. The TRF effectively reduces the tax burden by 73% on the remitted amount. However, the TRF charge is a one-off, and the remitted funds are then clean capital in the UK — no further tax is due on the remitted amount itself. The charge is calculated on the amount remitted, not on the original gain, so a client who remits GBP 1 million of a GBP 5 million gain pays GBP 120,000, not GBP 600,000. This allows partial remittances within the TRF, which can be useful for cash-flow planning. ### Comparison with the old remittance basis charge The pre-2025 remittance basis charge was GBP 30,000 per year for long-term residents and GBP 60,000 for those resident 12 of the previous 14 years. A client who had been resident for 15 years and paid the GBP 60,000 charge for five years would have spent GBP 300,000 in charges without remitting any FIG. The TRF, at 12% of the remitted amount, is a transaction-based charge rather than an annual levy. For a client with GBP 10 million in offshore gains who remits the full amount, the TRF charge is GBP 1.2 million — which is 20 times the annual GBP 60,000 charge, but the client gets clean capital in return. The old regime did not provide a clean capital route; remittances were taxed at the individual’s marginal rate. ## Worked example: the Patel scenario Consider a composite case study based on typical HNW structures. Mr Patel, a non-domiciled individual, arrived in the UK in 2018 and claimed the remittance basis each year. He holds a BVI company that accumulated GBP 12 million in capital gains from a 2021 technology exit. The gains were realised before 6 April 2025 and have never been remitted to the UK. Mr Patel is now considering a permanent move to the UK and wants to bring the GBP 12 million into the UK to fund a residential property purchase and a family office. Under the TRF, he can elect to remit the full GBP 12 million and pay a 12% charge of GBP 1.44 million. The remaining GBP 10.56 million is clean capital in the UK, and no further tax is due on the remitted amount. If he remits outside the TRF window, the GBP 12 million would be treated as income and taxed at 45%, yielding a GBP 5.4 million tax bill. The TRF saves GBP 3.96 million. ### Structuring the election Mr Patel must make a single election for the GBP 12 million, or multiple elections for tranches. HMRC’s TRF guidance at TRF30010 states that an election can be for any amount up to the total pre-2025 FIG, and that multiple elections are permitted provided each is made before 6 April 2028. Mr Patel could elect for GBP 6 million in 2026-27 and GBP 6 million in 2027-28, paying GBP 720,000 each year. This spreads the cash-flow impact but increases the risk of a change in government policy before the second election. The Finance Act 2025 does not contain a sunset clause for the TRF rate, but the window closes on 5 April 2028, after which no further elections are possible. ## Anti-avoidance and compliance risks The TRF is subject to the general anti-abuse rule (GAAR) and specific anti-avoidance provisions in Schedule 8. Paragraph 15 of the schedule provides that an election is void if the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, of the election is to avoid tax on FIG that arose after 5 April 2025. HMRC’s TRF toolkit at TRF40010 warns that arrangements designed to accelerate the realisation of gains before 6 April 2025 for the purpose of qualifying for the TRF may be challenged. For example, a client who sells an asset to a connected party on 4 April 2025 at an undervalue to create a pre-2025 gain may face a GAAR challenge. The TRF is not a general amnesty; it is a targeted relief for genuine pre-2025 FIG. ### Record-keeping requirements The election must be supported by a statement of the amount of pre-2025 FIG and the basis on which it is calculated. HMRC’s TRF guidance at TRF50010 requires that the individual retain records showing the nature, date and amount of the FIG, and the identity of the offshore structure through which it was held. For clients with complex structures, such as trusts or offshore companies, the records must demonstrate that the FIG arose before 6 April 2025 and that no remittance occurred before the election. Failure to maintain adequate records may result in the election being invalidated on enquiry. ## Planning implications for departing residents The TRF is available to individuals who were UK resident on 5 April 2025, regardless of their current residence status. A client who left the UK in 2024 but was resident on 5 April 2025 can elect the TRF while non-resident, remit the funds to the UK, and then return without the historic gains being trapped. This is a significant departure from the old regime, where leaving the UK generally meant that offshore gains remained offshore and could not be remitted tax-free on return. The TRF effectively allows a clean break: the client pays 12% on the remitted amount, and the funds are then available for use in the UK without further tax. For a client who plans to return to the UK in 2028 or later, the TRF election can be made before 6 April 2028, even if the funds are not physically remitted until after the election. HMRC’s guidance at TRF60010 confirms that the election itself constitutes a deemed remittance, so the funds do not need to be physically transferred to the UK on the date of the election. ### Interaction with the new FIG regime for returning residents A returning resident who made a TRF election and then re-establishes UK residence after 6 April 2028 will be subject to the new four-year FIG regime for post-2025 FIG. The TRF-cleaned funds are not FIG and are not subject to the four-year regime. However, any FIG arising after the TRF election but before the return to the UK will be subject to the normal rules for the year of return. The TRF does not provide a blanket exemption for future FIG; it only cleans the pre-2025 FIG. ## Five actionable planning steps 1. Identify and quantify all pre-6 April 2025 foreign income and gains held in offshore structures, including trusts, companies and personal accounts, and document the date of realisation for each item. 2. Calculate the TRF charge for the full amount and for tranches, and compare the 12% rate against the projected marginal rate for the year of intended remittance, factoring in the 45% additional rate and the 28% residential property surcharge. 3. Make a TRF election before 5 April 2028 for the amount that is most tax-efficient, considering cash-flow constraints and the risk of policy changes before the window closes. 4. Retain all supporting records for the pre-2025 FIG, including bank statements, sale contracts, trust accounts and corporate resolutions, and ensure they are available for HMRC enquiry within the normal six-year period. 5. Review the interaction with the four-year FIG regime for any post-2025 FIG, and consider whether a separate election under that regime is necessary for FIG arising after 5 April 2025. ## Sources - Finance Act 2025, Schedule 8 (Temporary Repatriation Facility) — https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/8/schedule/8 - HMRC TRF Toolkit (November 2025) — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-repatriation-facility-toolkit - HMRC Internal Manual TRF10020 (Eligibility) — https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/temporary-repatriation-facility/trf10020 - HMRC Internal Manual TRF20010 (Interaction with four-year FIG regime) — https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/temporary-repatriation-facility/trf20010 - HMRC Internal Manual TRF30010 (Multiple elections) — https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/temporary-repatriation-facility/trf30010 - HMRC Internal Manual TRF40010 (Anti-avoidance) — https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/temporary-repatriation-facility/trf40010 - HMRC Internal Manual TRF50010 (Record-keeping) — https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/temporary-repatriation-facility/trf50010 - HMRC Internal Manual TRF60010 (Deemed remittance) — https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/temporary-repatriation-facility/trf60010