Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Following Sunak’s tax evasion scandal: What is non-domicile status and who qualifies?

Following Sunak’s tax evasion scandal: What is non-domicile status and who qualifies?

How being registered as such with HMRC works and affects tax
What is non-domicile status?


A person who is registered as non-domiciled with HM Revenue and Customs is tax resident in the UK but does not have to pay UK tax on income and capital gains earned overseas – including on company stocks or cash made from selling a second home – unless they bring their money into the UK or deposit it into a UK bank account. However, non-doms do still have to pay tax on money earned within the UK.

Who qualifies as a non-dom resident?


A person with non-dom status is someone who lives in the UK and is tax resident here, but who has their permanent home outside the country. They must demonstrate to HMRC that their domicile – at least for tax purposes – is in another country. Usually their domicile will be the country that their father considered their permanent home when they were born, and to which they intend to eventually return, perhaps when they retire.

Because they are tax resident in the UK, non-doms will typically not be tax resident in their country of domicile, and therefore not liable for tax in either country on their worldwide income.

Non-doms have to specifically apply for a tax exemption on foreign income of more than £2,000, meaning it is not an automatic designation for foreign-born residents or non-citizens.

How long does the non-dom tax break last?


After a certain amount of time, non-doms must pay a hefty charge in order to continue sheltering their foreign income from UK tax. Those who have been living in the UK for at least seven of the previous nine tax years must pay £30,000 a year to the government. Those who have lived in the UK for 12 of the previous 14 tax years must pay £60,000 a year. UK residents must pay tax on their worldwide earnings once they have been in the country for 15 of the previous 20 years.

Foreign nationals who are resident in the UK can choose to pay British taxes at any point on their worldwide income and capital gains. They do not have to hold a UK passport to be taxed here.

Why is it controversial?


The rule primarily benefits the very rich, and has allowed those claiming it to avoid paying significant sums to HMRC.

A study by the London School of Economics and the University of Warwick found that more than two-fifths of people who earned £5m or more in 2018 had claimed non-dom status at some point since 1997.

Some of the highest earning non-doms work in the film industry and sport, including famous actors, directors, producers and Premier League football players, according to the report, which also found that 22% of top-earning bankers have benefited from the scheme.

Some of the highest earning non-doms work in the film industry and sport.


Which big names have claimed UK non-dom status?


Some of the most well-known people who have reportedly claimed non-dom status include Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea football club now under sanctions, the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and the media baron and Daily Mail owner, Lord Rothermere.

Lord Ashcroft, the multimillionaire and former deputy chairman of the Conservative party, and the former HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver were also reported to have used the non-dom scheme. The same applied to Sir James Goldsmith and his children, including the Conservative minister and longtime friend of Boris Johnson, Zac Goldsmith.

What about the chancellor’s wife?


It emerged on Wednesday that Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, claims non-dom status, allowing her to potentially save millions of pounds in tax on dividends collected from her family’s IT business empire.

Murty’s father is the billionaire founder of the Indian-headquartered company Infosys, in which she holds a 0.9% stake. Her non-dom status means she is not liable to pay the 39.35% tax applied to dividend payouts for UK-resident taxpayers in the highest income band.

A spokesperson for Murty confirmed she has opted to pay the £30,000 annual levy so that she is not taxed in the UK on her foreign income.

The Guardian estimates Murty has collected £54.5m (5.4bn Indian rupees) in dividends from Infosys since 2015, the earliest date for which the relevant information is available. Had she been paying UK tax on that income, she would have been liable for as much as £20m. She may not avoid UK tax indefinitely.

Under current law, Murty will automatically be deemed domiciled after living in the UK for a total of 15 years. Murty, who married Sunak in 2009, soon after they met while she was studying for a master’s in business administration at Stanford University in Silicon Valley, is understood to have moved to the UK in 2015.

Her tax arrangement is legal and it is understood the chancellor declared his wife’s status to the Cabinet Office when he took office in 2018. A spokesperson for Murty has said she “has always and will continue to pay UK taxes on all her UK income”.

However, Labour has criticised Sunak for imposing tax increases on working households while his wife benefits from a scheme that has tended to help the wealthiest in the UK avoid national levies.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×