Council tax, jury service and the DVLA when you leave

The UK doesn't forget you just because you've moved to Málaga. Letters keep landing on the doormat back home, and a few of them carry fines.

The short version

Tell the council when you leave so your council tax account is closed or moved to whoever is now liable. HMRC's own guidance reminds you to do this [1].
If your home sits empty and unfurnished for a year or more, councils in England can charge a premium of up to 100% on top, rising to up to 300% after 10 years. From April 2025 they can also charge up to 100% extra on furnished second homes [2][3].
A jury summons can still arrive at your old address. You must reply within 7 days, and living outside England or Wales is a reason to ask to be excused [4][5].
You can't put an overseas address on a UK driving licence, and not telling the DVLA about an address change can mean a fine of up to £1,000 [6].
Tell HMRC with form P85 or the SA109 with your tax return, and update the electoral register so you're on as an overseas voter, not at an address you've left [1][7].

Council tax: who pays now?

Council tax follows whoever lives in the property, or the owner if nobody does. When you leave, ring or email the council (many have an online "moving out" form) and tell them the date you left and what's happening to the home. What you then owe depends on which of these you are.

Your home after you leave	Who pays council tax	Watch out for
Sold	The buyer, from completion	Final bill sent to your forwarding address
Let to tenants who live there	Usually the tenants, as it's their main home	Gaps between tenants fall back on you
Partner or family still living there alone	They do	They may be able to claim the 25% single person discount [8]
Empty and substantially unfurnished	You, as owner	The long-term empty homes premium after one year [2][3]
Furnished, nobody's main home	You, as owner	The second homes premium, from April 2025 [3]

The single person discount

If your partner stays behind in the UK while you go ahead, they may be able to claim 25% off the bill, because they now live on their own [8]. Councils check, so tell them honestly when you leave. It also works the other way: if you come back, the discount stops.

Empty homes and second homes premiums

This is the one that catches people who leave a house "ready for when we come back". In England [3]:

Long-term empty homes. Since 1 April 2024, councils can charge a premium once a home has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for one year. They can charge up to 100% extra for 1 to 5 years, up to 200% for 5 to 10 years, and up to 300% after 10 years, so up to four times the normal bill [2][3].
Second homes. Since 1 April 2025, councils can charge up to 100% extra on a home that is substantially furnished and isn't anyone's main home [3]. A furnished house you've left behind while living abroad can fall into this group. A council must decide at least a year in advance before it first charges it [3].

These are maximums. Each council decides whether to charge and how much [3]. There are mandatory exceptions, including a home actively marketed for sale or let (for up to 12 months), a home within 12 months of probate, and an empty home undergoing major repairs (up to 12 months) [3]. Exceptions aren't automatic: you apply to the council [2]. Scotland and Wales set their own rules, so check with your council there [2].

If you're planning to let the home, our guide to renting out your UK home and the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme covers the tax side.

Jury summonses at your old address

Jurors in England and Wales are picked at random from the electoral register. If you're still registered at your old UK address, a summons can turn up there months after you've gone, and your tenant or neighbour forwards it with a cheery "this looks official".

The rules [4][5]:

You must reply within 7 days, even if you can't serve or are disqualified [4].
Living outside England or Wales is one of the reasons GOV.UK lists for asking to change the date or be excused [5]. Reply with a clear explanation and evidence of where you live, such as a residence permit or a local utility bill.
Eligibility depends on age (18 to 75), being registered to vote, and having lived in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for at least five years since age 13 [4]. Most people who moved abroad as adults still meet that, so don't assume you're automatically out.
Questions go to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau: jurysummoning@justice.gov.uk or 0300 456 1024 [4].

Don't ignore it: ignoring a summons can land you with a fine. Better still, stop it happening: take yourself off the ordinary register at your old address when you go (see below). Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own jury systems.

The electoral register

When you leave, tell your council's electoral registration office that you've moved, so you come off the register at that address. You can then register as an overseas voter, against your last UK address, and keep voting in UK general elections [7]. Overseas registration lasts up to three years and must be renewed [7]. Our guide to voting from abroad and votes for life covers it step by step.

The DVLA: licence and car

The DVLA has a short memory for excuses.

You can't put an overseas address on a British licence [6]. The DVLA tells you to contact the driving licence authority in your new country instead [6]. In many countries you'll exchange your UK licence for a local one after you become resident [9].
You must tell the DVLA when your address changes. Changing it is free, and you can be fined up to £1,000 if you don't [6]. The online service is for residents of Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own process [6].
If you take your car abroad for good, tell the DVLA the vehicle has been permanently exported, using the logbook (V5C), or you'll keep getting tax and MOT reminders. Short trips of under 12 months follow separate rules [9].
If you sell or scrap the car before you go, tell the DVLA, so you're not liable for whatever the next owner gets up to.

HMRC

HMRC wants to know if you're leaving the UK to live abroad permanently, or going to work abroad full-time for at least a whole tax year [1].

If you don't usually file a tax return, fill in form P85 and include parts 2 and 3 of your P45 if you have one [1].
If you file Self Assessment, report your departure on the return with the residence pages, form SA109. That part can't be done online through HMRC's own service, and paper returns are due by 31 October [1].
Keep your details up to date while you're away: a change of address abroad, a marriage or a divorce [1].
Tell them when you come back [1].

You may still owe UK tax on UK income such as rent [1]. Our guide to telling HMRC with the P85 covers the year you leave in detail.

Who else needs your new address

A quick checklist for the week before you fly. None of these are law in the same way, but each one saves a faff later.

Who	Why
Your bank and card providers	They may restrict accounts for non-residents
Pension providers and the DWP	So statements and State Pension letters reach you
The Student Loans Company	Repayments carry on from abroad
Your GP surgery	So you're taken off the list and records are kept
TV Licensing, utilities, broadband	To close accounts and stop direct debits
Royal Mail	A redirection catches what you've forgotten
Insurers	Home cover on an empty house often has conditions

If you'd like to compare notes with people who've done this recently, our community groups for Brits abroad are full of them.

Leaving the UK: council tax, jury summonses and who needs your new address