Buying UK property from China.

Ownership of land and property in England and Wales is registered by HM Land Registry, and most stages of a purchase can be handled remotely. PROXERA Wealth works across buy-to-let, below-market-value, new homes and off-plan, and short-term lets. See the current developments or our guide to investing in UK property.

This guide is for people living in mainland China. Hong Kong has its own tax agreement with the UK and its own guide: see buying UK property from Hong Kong. We also have guides for investors in Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, and every country guide is listed on our overseas investors page.

Stamp Duty Land Tax when you buy

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) applies to residential purchases in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes, and the non-UK resident surcharge does not apply there. Two surcharges stack on the standard rates:

• Higher rates for additional properties, 5%. Added to every band if, after the purchase, you will own more than one residential property worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world. A home in mainland China counts.
• Non-UK resident surcharge, 2%. Added if you have not been present in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase, on top of all other residential rates.

A worked example: an investor living in mainland China who already owns a home there buys a £600,000 buy-to-let in England. SDLT is £62,000, of which £12,000 is the non-resident surcharge. A UK resident buying the same additional property would pay £50,000.

If all the buyers spend at least 183 days in the UK in a continuous 365-day period that starts no more than 364 days before completion and ends no more than 365 days after it, the surcharge may be reclaimable within 2 years. Your conveyancer usually files the SDLT return and pays the tax within the 14-day deadline after completion. Companies generally pay the higher rates, and a 17% rate can apply to company purchases above £500,000. Estimate your figure with the stamp duty calculator, and read our guides to stamp duty for non-residents, stamp duty on second homes and limited company buy-to-let.

Tax on your rent: the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme

HMRC classes you as a non-resident landlord if you live abroad for 6 months or more a year. Your letting agent must then deduct basic rate Income Tax from the rent, after the expenses they pay, and pass it to HMRC each quarter. With no agent, a tenant paying more than £100 a week must deduct it. To receive rent without deduction, you apply on form NRL1, and HMRC will not approve it if your UK taxes are not up to date. Either way, you declare the rent on a UK Self Assessment return unless HMRC tells you not to. Our guide to the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme covers how it runs in practice.

Income Tax on your rental profit

Income Tax is charged on your rental profit: the rent less allowable expenses such as agent fees, insurance and repairs. An individual landlord cannot deduct mortgage interest; relief for residential finance costs is restricted to the basic rate, and this applies to non-UK residents. For 2026 to 2027 the rates are 20% from £12,571 to £50,270, 40% to £125,140 and 45% above. Living abroad, you get the £12,570 Personal Allowance if you are a British or EEA citizen, have worked for the UK government in the tax year, or the double taxation agreement with your country of residence provides for it.

From 6 April 2027, property income has its own rates of 22%, 42% and 47% (Finance Act 2026, section 7), and the government's technical note says Non-Resident Landlord Scheme deductions and finance cost relief move to the 22% property basic rate. GOV.UK says non-resident landlords cannot use HMRC's own online services for their return, so it is filed with commercial software, on paper by 31 October, or through an accountant. Model your figures with the landlord tax calculator.

Capital Gains Tax when you sell

Living abroad does not take a sale of UK property or land out of UK tax. For individuals in 2026 to 2027, Capital Gains Tax is 18% on gains within the basic rate band and 24% above it. You report the sale through a Capital Gains Tax on UK property account and pay any tax within 60 days of completion, even if there is no tax to pay or you made a loss; late reports can bring interest and penalties. Non-UK resident companies pay Corporation Tax on these gains instead. Try the capital gains tax calculator.

Inheritance Tax on UK property

Since 6 April 2025, Inheritance Tax depends on residence rather than domicile. If you have been UK resident for the previous 10 consecutive years, or 10 or more of the previous 20, you are a long-term UK resident and assets outside the UK can be in scope. If not, Inheritance Tax applies only to your UK assets, which include UK property, at 40% on the part of an estate above the £325,000 threshold.

China is not among the countries GOV.UK lists as having a double taxation convention that applies to Inheritance Tax, so there is no treaty relief for Inheritance Tax between the two. An adviser can explain how an estate that includes UK property would be treated in both places.

The UK and China signed a double taxation agreement in London on 27 June 2011, amended by a protocol signed on 27 February 2013. It entered into force on 13 December 2013, with UK effect for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax for years of assessment beginning on or after 6 April 2014. It has since been modified by the Multilateral Instrument, with UK effect for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax from 6 April 2023.

What the articles we have read, in GOV.UK's text of the agreement as amended in 2013, say about UK property:

• Taxes covered, Article 2. For China, the agreement covers the individual income tax and the enterprise income tax.
• Rental income, Article 6. Income a resident of China derives from immovable property in the UK, including from letting it, may be taxed in the UK.
• Gains, Article 13. Gains a resident of China makes on selling UK immovable property may be taxed in the UK. So may gains on shares deriving more than 50% of their value directly or indirectly from UK immovable property.
• Relief, Article 22. Where a resident of China derives profit, income or capital gains from the UK, the UK tax payable under the agreement is allowed as a credit against the Chinese tax on that resident, up to the Chinese tax computed on that profit, income or gain under China's tax laws and regulations.

In short, the agreement confirms the UK's right to tax your UK rent and gains, and sets out how China gives credit for UK tax. How China taxes your UK income is a question for an adviser in mainland China. We have not summarised the other articles of the agreement.

Beijing Time, China's national standard time, is generated and kept by the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is UTC+8. London is on GMT (UTC) in the UK winter and one hour ahead during British Summer Time. So Beijing Time is 8 hours ahead of London in the UK winter and 7 hours ahead in the UK summer.

UK clocks go forward 1 hour on the last Sunday in March, into British Summer Time (BST), and back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on the last Sunday in October. The next changes are on 25 October 2026 and 28 March 2027.

How meetings work

Your first conversation is a call, booked online from the available slots. Most stages can then be handled remotely, including consultation, document exchange and parts of identity verification, and anything that must be signed or certified in person is flagged early. We reply to enquiries within one working day.