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Non-resident employers and liability to PAYE in the UK

Produced by Tolley in association with
Employment Tax
Guidance

Non-resident employers and liability to PAYE in the UK

Produced by Tolley in association with
Employment Tax
Guidance
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Introduction

In some situations, an employee of a non-UK employer may be subject to UK Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax and / or national insurance contributions (NIC) withholding while they spend time working in the UK. Simply having a non-UK contractual employer does not automatically mean that PAYE does not need to be operated.

Liability to withhold UK income tax

UK-based businesses are legally bound to pay their UK employees via PAYE if any of their employees earn more than the lower earnings limit (LEL) (see the Overview of NIC Classes, rates and thresholds guidance note for rates), if the employee receives benefits in kind, has another job or receives a pension (see the Setting up a payroll guidance note). As part of PAYE being operated correctly, the employer or his payroll agent must withhold income tax and NIC from each employee’s salary or wages in accordance with the operation of a ‘tax code’ assigned to the individual by the employer by following HMRC’s instructions, and pay these amounts

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Gill Salmons
Gill Salmons

Director at Global Eyes Tax Services Limited


I am a member of both the CIOT and ATT and have over 15 years' experience of working with expatriate populations, working inside and outside the Big 4 but mainly in the mid-tier.My clients have included household names as well as much smaller businesses, with expatriate populations as small as 1 or as large as 650+. Each size of business has its own challenges, which is what makes this work interesting; the cultural aspect to working with individuals from around the world cannot be overlooked! I have experience in general employment tax work, including elements of UK and international payroll as well as expatriate tax issues, and have also spent considerable amounts of time dealing with National Insurance matters for inbound and outbound assignees.

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  • 12 Jun 2025 10:12

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