P85 form for an Argentina move: when to file and what it does

Leaving a UK job for Argentina midway through a tax year can leave too much income tax sitting with HMRC. P85 tells HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that you have left to live or work abroad and asks it to review the PAYE deducted. Send it after departure if you do not normally file Self Assessment. If you normally send a return, report your move in that return instead. Filing P85 is free as at September 2026; the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), rather than the form, decides UK tax residence.

Which HMRC route fits your income

A UK tax year begins on 6 April and ends on 5 April. P85 deals with departure information and any overpayment from employment, rather than acting as tax clearance or an Argentine residence application. A continuing source of UK income may require its own filing even after you have moved.

HMRC's leaving-the-UK guidance distinguishes P85 from a departure-year return. If HMRC already expects a return, your Self Assessment account or notice to file shows which route applies. A tax agent can handle the return; the agent's involvement does not change the role of P85.

Preparing the form and sending it from Argentina

The useful records are your National Insurance number, your UK and Argentine contact addresses, your actual departure date, employer and payroll details, and UK bank details if a repayment is due. Government Gateway access is helpful for the online route. Payslips and a travel itinerary preserve the figures and dates behind the form. An employer issues a P45 when employment ends; moving overseas does not automatically end a continuing contract.

After leaving, HMRC's official ‘Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad’ service links to the online P85; a paper form is also available from HMRC's publication page. The form asks about work and income as well as the date you left. If a P45 has arrived, it gives HMRC your pay and deductions. If it has not, HMRC's service explains how to proceed without inventing payroll figures. A temporary Argentine address can be used if it reliably reaches you, then updated when you settle; original documents belong in the post only if the form requests them.

Keep the acknowledgement or a copy of the posted form alongside the P45 and payslips. HMRC's calculation is the figure to compare with those records, and there is no universal refund amount or fixed processing time. If UK employment continues or UK rent begins, those income records need updating beyond the original departure notification.

How a PAYE refund might arise

Take an employee in Manchester earning £4,000 a month who ends their only job on 30 September 2026 and moves to Buenos Aires on 1 October. Six pay months, April through September, produce £24,000 in earnings. Assume a standard 1257L tax code, no other taxable income or reliefs, and basic-rate tax throughout. Monthly PAYE income tax is approximately £590.50: (£4,000 minus £1,047.50 monthly personal allowance) × 20%. Six months of deductions add up to £3,543.

With a full-year personal allowance of £12,570 under those assumptions, income tax on £24,000 is (£24,000 minus £12,570) × 20% = £2,286. That leaves a potential £1,257 repayment. The P45 and P85 allow HMRC to assess it, but later taxable income, another tax code or another tax liability changes the result. National Insurance follows different rules; this arithmetic concerns income tax alone. Even a person who remains UK tax resident for the year can recover PAYE after leaving a job, so a repayment says nothing conclusive about residence.

Where the residence decision is made

The SRT considers the whole tax year, including UK days, homes, family and work ties, and overseas work. Specific departure cases can qualify for split-year treatment, but the flight date alone does not establish a split. Christmas visits, an available UK home and work done on return visits can alter the outcome. Records of nights, UK workdays, accommodation and when an Argentine home or job began help establish the facts. The Statutory Residence Test guide explains the rules behind those records.

Argentina makes its own tax-residence determination, distinct from immigration residence and from HMRC's P85 process. A residence permit or tourist status alone cannot settle whether Argentina taxes worldwide income. The Argentina tax residence guide deals with that question; the UK–Argentina tax convention may allocate taxing rights or relieve double taxation where both systems apply.

Income that still needs attention after departure

If the former UK home is let, UK property income can remain taxable. The non-resident landlord and NRL1 guide explains withholding: NRL1 approval permits rent to be paid without deduction at source, while taxable rental profit is still dealt with under UK rules. A UK residential property sale by a non-resident has a separate report, normally due within 60 days of completion, even in cases with no tax payable. Argentine returns follow Argentine rules.

The 6 April–5 April year also matters when a January bonus or March final payment lands after the move. Continuing UK salary or a pension may reduce or eliminate an anticipated repayment. For the wider filing position, including which UK income stays taxable and whether SA109 is needed, the UK tax and HMRC moving guide covers the departure-year return. P85 is useful when a PAYE employee has finished UK work and needs HMRC to reconcile the deductions already made; the rest of the move is accounted for through the relevant tax returns.