Guidance

Apply for a trust to receive UK rental income without UK tax deducted

Use form NRL3 if you are a trustee of a non-resident trust that wants to apply to receive UK rental income with no UK tax deducted.

A letting agent or tenant normally deducts tax when they pay rent for a UK property to a landlord who lives outside the UK. A trust whose trustees are all resident outside of the UK is a non-resident trust for UK tax purposes.

Before you start

There are notes on the application form that explain how to fill it in. You should also read the following information to help you fill in the form.

Address

When completing the form, you should provide the principal residential address of one of the trustees. If you are a: 

  • corporate trustee, you should also provide the address of your registered office or principal place of business 
  • professional trustee, you should also provide the address of your employment or principal place of business

HMRC will accept a correspondence address instead of a principal residential address if you can only provide a ‘care of’ or ‘PO Box’ address. You should attach an explanation of why you’ve not given a principal residential address to the form.

If you have a principal residential address but it is not a postal address, you should provide both the:

  • principal residential address
  • correspondence address

Reference numbers

You should provide your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) when completing the form, if you have one.

You should also provide the reference number for the letting agent that handles your UK rental income, if applicable.

How to apply

Do not use the online service if you want to authorise a tax agent to act on your behalf. Fill in the Authorising your agent (64-8) form and send it to HMRC with your print and post form.

Apply online

If you use the online form, you’ll get a reference number that you can use to track the progress of your form. To apply, you’ll need to add your Unique Taxpayer Reference number or VAT registration number to your tax account from your account homepage. You can only add a VAT registration number to a Business Tax Account.

You’ll need to sign in with your Government Gateway user ID and password (if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you first try to sign in).

Apply now

If you cannot use the online service

  1. Get all of your information together before you start. You will fill this form in on-screen and you cannot save your progress.

  2. Fill in form NRL3.

  3. Sign the form (the form must be signed by a trustee).

  4. Print and post it to HMRC, using the postal address shown on the form.

This file may not be suitable if you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader). If you need a more accessible format, email [email protected] and tell us what format you need. It will help if you tell us what assistive technology you use. Read the accessibility statement for HMRC forms.

Email HMRC to ask for the form in Welsh.

After you’ve applied

HMRC will normally approve your application if:

  • the application form is complete and correct

  • we are satisfied that you will follow all your UK tax obligations

HMRC will approve applications after an initial check. Applications will be checked later in more detail. We may ask you to supply more information after your application is checked. Failure to provide extra information may result in the withdrawal of approval. You can read about the withdrawal of approval in the non-resident landlord scheme guidance.

Notification of approval

HMRC will send a notice of approval to either you, or your tax agent where we hold written authority to do so.

HMRC will also send a separate notice to any tenants or letting agents named on the application form, authorising them to pay rental income without deducting tax.

These notices will show an approval reference number.

All notices will give the date from when rental income should be paid without deducting tax. The date will usually be on the first day of the quarter in which the application was received.

Refusal of applications

HMRC may refuse your application if we are not satisfied that:

  • the information given in the application is correct
  • you will follow all your UK tax obligations

We will send a notice if we refuse your application. The notice will explain how to appeal against the refusal. You should appeal in writing within 90 days of the date of the notice. If the appeal cannot be settled by agreement between both parties, an independent appeal tribunal will hear it.

Updates to this page

Published 8 May 2014

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