International estate planning arranges your will, assets and tax position so an estate that touches more than one country passes to the people you choose with as little tax, delay and conflict as possible. For anyone connected to England and Wales, the ground shifted on 6 April 2025: UK inheritance tax stopped depending on domicile and now turns on how long you have lived here.
What is international estate planning?
International estate planning arranges the will, assets and tax of anyone whose life crosses a border: you own property abroad, you moved to or from the UK, your beneficiaries live overseas, or you hold foreign accounts. It layers each country's succession and tax laws onto ordinary estate planning. The two questions that drive everything are where you count as resident for tax, and where each asset sits.
Does UK inheritance tax apply to your worldwide assets?
It depends on your residence, not your domicile. Since 6 April 2025, if you have been UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years you are a long-term resident, and UK inheritance tax at 40% applies to your worldwide estate above the available allowances. If not, only your UK-situated assets are charged. This replaced the old domicile test, which needed 15 of the previous 20 years.
| Feature | Old rule (to 5 April 2025) | New rule (from 6 April 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| What decides worldwide exposure | Domicile and deemed domicile | Long-term residence |
| Years of UK residence needed | 15 of the previous 20 tax years | 10 of the previous 20 tax years |
| If the test is met | Worldwide estate within UK IHT | Worldwide estate within UK IHT |
| If the test is not met | UK assets only | UK assets only |
Source: gov.uk, long-term UK residence for inheritance tax, as at August 2026, subject to change.
The allowances are the same as for any UK estate: a £325,000 nil-rate band, up to a £175,000 residence nil-rate band where a home passes to direct descendants, and 40% above them, all frozen until 5 April 2031 (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax rates and allowances, as at August 2026, subject to change). Transfers to a spouse or civil partner are exempt, but where the receiving spouse is not a long-term resident that exemption is capped at £325,000, unless they elect to be treated as a long-term resident (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). See our inheritance tax overview for how the bands work.
What happens to your inheritance tax position when you leave the UK?
Leaving does not end your exposure at once. Once you have been a long-term resident, your worldwide estate stays within UK inheritance tax for a run-off period, often called the tail, of between 3 and 10 years after you become non-resident. The longer you lived here, the longer the tail. This catches people who move abroad and assume the charge stops the day they land.
- Count your UK residence: someone resident for 10 to 13 of the previous 20 tax years keeps worldwide exposure for 3 years after leaving.
- For each extra year of residence beyond 13, add one year to the tail, up to a maximum of 10 years for the longest-resident individuals.
- During the tail, a death still brings your worldwide estate into UK inheritance tax, even if you are living and taxed elsewhere.
- After the tail ends, only your UK-situated assets remain within the UK charge.
Source: gov.uk, long-term UK residence for inheritance tax, as at August 2026, subject to change.
What happens when two countries both tax the same estate?
Where the UK and another country each tax the same asset, relief usually stops it being taxed twice in full. This comes either from a double taxation treaty covering inheritance or estate taxes, or, where no treaty applies, from unilateral relief that credits the foreign tax against the UK bill. The country where an asset sits, its situs, decides which side taxes, so foreign property and accounts are the usual flashpoints.
| Situation | How double tax is usually eased |
|---|---|
| Asset in a country with a UK estate-tax treaty | The treaty decides which country taxes, or gives a credit; treaty partners include the USA, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa and others. |
| Asset in a country with no treaty | Unilateral relief credits the foreign death tax paid against the UK inheritance tax on that same asset. |
| UK-situated asset held by a non-resident | Within UK inheritance tax by situs, whatever the owner's residence. |
Source: gov.uk, Inheritance Tax double taxation relief, as at August 2026, subject to change.
Relief credits the lower of the two taxes on the shared asset, so a large foreign bill does not always wipe out the UK charge, and evidence of the foreign tax paid is what makes a claim work.
Can foreign inheritance law override your will?
In some countries, yes. Several civil-law jurisdictions, including France, Spain and much of continental Europe, apply forced heirship: a fixed share of certain assets must pass to children or a spouse, whatever your will says. If you own a home there, local law may control who inherits it, not your English will.
For assets in the EU, the Succession Regulation, often called Brussels IV, can let a British national choose the law of their nationality to govern succession, which may sidestep forced heirship. The UK did not adopt it, but it can still apply to assets in a participating EU state. The choice usually has to be stated expressly, and the tax outcome can differ from the succession outcome, so local advice in the asset's country is sensible.
Do you need a separate will for assets in another country?
Often, yes. A single English will can in theory cover worldwide assets, but a separate will made under the law of the country where an asset sits usually speeds up the local process. The key is that the wills are drafted to sit alongside each other, not to conflict.
- List every asset by country, noting property, accounts, investments, business interests and pensions.
- Take advice in each country that applies forced heirship or has its own probate process, before drafting anything.
- Consider a separate local will for assets in that country, drafted so it does not revoke your English will or vice versa.
- Make sure one will is clearly the governing will for UK assets, so probate here is not delayed by a foreign document.
- Review all the wills together whenever you move country, buy or sell foreign assets, or the law changes.
Getting the revocation clauses wrong is the most common and most expensive mistake, because a later foreign will can cancel an English one by accident. See our guide on how to write a will before layering an international plan on top.
Who needs international estate planning?
You are likely to benefit if your estate touches more than one country, whether through foreign assets, a recent move, or beneficiaries overseas. Most people in this position have exposure they have not checked, because they assume their home country's rules travel with them. The following situations are the common triggers.
- You own property, a business or accounts outside the UK.
- You moved to the UK, or plan to leave, and are near the 10-year residence line.
- Your beneficiaries or executors live abroad.
- You or your spouse are not long-term UK residents, so the spouse exemption may be capped.
- You hold assets in a forced-heirship country such as France or Spain.
Two coming UK changes also reach cross-border estates: from 6 April 2026 business and agricultural relief is capped at 100% on the first £2,500,000 of qualifying assets per person, transferable to £5,000,000 for a couple, with 50% relief above (gov.uk, agricultural and business property relief reforms, as at August 2026, subject to change), and from 6 April 2027 unused pension funds come into the estate for inheritance tax (gov.uk, Inheritance Tax on pensions, as at August 2026, subject to change). Both matter if you own a foreign business or pension, and our inheritance tax planning strategies guide covers them in full.
Frequently asked questions
These are the questions we are asked most about international and cross-border estates. Each answer reflects the law of England and Wales, current to the November 2025 Budget, and describes general rules rather than advice on your own estate.
Do UK residents pay inheritance tax on overseas assets?
If you are a long-term UK resident, meaning UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years, UK inheritance tax applies to your worldwide assets, including overseas property and accounts, above the available allowances. If you are not a long-term resident, only your UK-situated assets are charged. This residence test replaced the old domicile rule on 6 April 2025 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
Do you pay UK inheritance tax on foreign property?
A long-term UK resident's foreign property is within UK inheritance tax. If the country where the property sits also charges a death or estate tax, double taxation relief usually credits the foreign tax against the UK bill on that same asset, either under a treaty or through unilateral relief, so the property is not fully taxed twice (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
Can you have one estate plan for assets in several countries?
You can have one coordinated plan, but often not one single will. A separate will under the law of each country where you hold assets usually speeds up the local process, provided the wills are drafted so none revokes another. Forced-heirship countries may also override parts of your wishes, so local advice in each country is sensible before finalising anything.
What is the long-term residence rule for inheritance tax?
The long-term residence rule, in force from 6 April 2025, decides whose worldwide estate is within UK inheritance tax. You are a long-term resident if you have been UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years, and worldwide exposure can continue for 3 to 10 years after you leave the UK. It replaced the domicile and deemed-domicile system (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).