Buying UK property from South Africa.

For some buyers the link is personal: family already in the UK, children at UK universities, or a plan to spend more time here. For others it is the appeal of a sterling asset with a well-documented legal process, and title registered by HM Land Registry. Either way, the UK rules on this page turn on where you live, and South Africa's own exchange control rules shape how you fund the purchase.

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. If this is your first UK purchase from abroad, our guide to buying UK property remotely explains each stage.

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 South Africa 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 South Africa who already owns a home there buys a £300,000 buy-to-let in England. SDLT is £26,000, of which £6,000 is the non-resident surcharge. A UK resident buying the same additional property would pay £20,000.

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-UK 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 Non-Resident Landlord Scheme guide explains the forms and deadlines.

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. The UK and South Africa convention has no personal allowances article, so entitlement turns on the other tests.

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.

South Africa is one of six countries GOV.UK lists with a double taxation convention that applies to Inheritance Tax, in force since 6 May 1979. GOV.UK explains that these conventions generally let the country where a person is domiciled or deemed domiciled tax all their property, and the other country tax only specified property in its territory, such as immovable property. Where tax is still charged twice, there are rules for deciding which country gives credit for the other's tax. We have not reviewed the articles of the South Africa convention itself; an adviser can explain how it would apply to an estate.

The UK and South Africa double taxation convention was signed on 4 July 2002 and entered into force on 17 December 2002, with effect in the UK from 6 April 2003 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and in South Africa from 1 January 2003. A protocol signed on 8 November 2010 entered into force on 13 October 2011. The convention has also been modified by the Multilateral Instrument, with effect in the UK for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax from 6 April 2024. We read the text as amended by the 2010 protocol.

What the articles we have read say about UK property:

• Rental income, Article 6. Income a South Africa resident derives from immovable property in the UK, including from letting it, may be taxed in the UK.
• Capital gains, Article 13. Gains a South Africa resident makes on selling UK immovable property may be taxed in the UK. So may gains on shares, other than shares quoted on an approved stock exchange, that derive most of their value from UK immovable property, and on interests in partnerships or trusts whose assets are mainly UK immovable property.
• Relief, Article 21. Subject to South African law, UK tax paid by South Africa residents on income taxable in the UK under the convention is deducted from the tax due under South African law. The deduction cannot exceed the share of South African tax that the income represents.

In short, the convention leaves the UK free to tax your UK rent and gains, and sets out how South Africa gives relief for UK tax. How South Africa taxes your UK income is a question for a South African adviser. We have not summarised the other articles of the convention, or how the Multilateral Instrument modifies them.

South African Standard Time (SAST) is defined as UTC+2, both by NMISA, which maintains South Africa's time scale, and in a Government Gazette notice of 31 May 2013 under the Measurement Units and Measurement Standards Act. London is on GMT (UTC) in the UK winter and one hour ahead of that during British Summer Time. So South Africa is 2 hours ahead of London in the UK winter, and 1 hour ahead in the UK summer.

A London afternoon call at 3pm is 5pm in Johannesburg in the UK winter and 4pm 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. Our guide to buying UK property remotely walks through each stage.