An HMRC change of address is not one update but several, because PAYE, Self Assessment, VAT, Corporation Tax, and Universal Credit each keep their own record of where you live. Change one and the others stay as they were. The Personal Tax Account handles a useful cluster in a single go; everything else needs its own notification, and some carry deadlines with penalties attached.
The Personal Tax Account Route
If you’re employed or draw a pension through PAYE, your Personal Tax Account is the fastest way to tell HMRC you’ve moved. A single update through the PTA also covers your National Insurance, State Pension, and Child Benefit records.1GOV.UK. Tell HMRC When You Change Your Address The HMRC app does the same job.2GOV.UK. Change Your Address and Personal Details
Sign in through Government Gateway and find the address option in your profile. Keep your National Insurance number and previous address to hand. Once processed, the change reaches the records HMRC uses to issue your P2 Notice of Coding, which tells your employer how much tax to deduct.3HM Revenue & Customs. PAYE11030 – Coding: Codes: How They Are Used and Calculated: P2 Notice of Coding
No online access? Call the Income Tax helpline. The agent will run security questions and process the change, though phone updates take longer to appear on your record than online ones.
Self Assessment
If you file Self Assessment, your address is tied to your Unique Taxpayer Reference. HMRC’s guidance is that once you report an address change, your Self Assessment details will also be updated.4GOV.UK. Tell HMRC About a Change to Your Personal Details – Change of Name or Address You can do this through the Personal Tax Account or the Self Assessment online service, both via Government Gateway.
Paper works too. Send HMRC a signed letter with your old address, new address, date of the move, and your UTR. Filing your next SA100 with the new address on it will also update the record when HMRC processes the return.
Getting this right is worth the few minutes. Self Assessment deadlines carry automatic penalties, and HMRC sends filing reminders and penalty notices by post. If letters go to an old address, HMRC does not accept “I didn’t get the letter” as a reasonable excuse.5GOV.UK. Disagree With a Tax Decision or Penalty – Reasonable Excuses Internal guidance goes further: when someone claims they never received a return notice, HMRC checks for an address change on file. If there isn’t one, they assume delivery.6GOV.UK. SAM10090 – Appeals, Postponements and Reviews: Appeals: Reasonable Excuse
VAT
A VAT-registered business updates its main address through its VAT online account. HMRC requires notification within 30 days of the change, and late notification can trigger a penalty under the VAT Act 1994.7GOV.UK. Register for VAT – Changing Your VAT Details If the online account isn’t available to you, contact HMRC directly.
Corporation Tax
Limited companies tell Companies House first. File an AD01 within 14 days of moving.8GOV.UK. Change a Company’s Registered Office Address (AD01) Then update HMRC by writing to your Corporation Tax Office. The address appears on recent tax forms or letters, or you can call the Corporation Tax helpline to get it.9GOV.UK. Tell HMRC About a Change to Your Business
Companies House and HMRC don’t share address updates automatically, so notifying one and forgetting the other leaves you half-updated.
Moving Abroad
Tell HMRC if you’re leaving the UK permanently, going abroad for full-time work for at least one full tax year, or you’re a foreign national leaving the UK.10GOV.UK. Tax if You Leave the UK to Live Abroad Holidays and short business trips don’t count.
Which form depends on your current relationship with HMRC:
- Not in Self Assessment: complete Form P85.
- Working abroad for a UK employer: complete Form P85 and file a Self Assessment return with Form SA109.
- Already in Self Assessment: report the change through your return.
Depending on when in the tax year you leave, you may qualify for split year treatment, meaning you’re taxed as a UK resident only for the part of the year you lived here. Eligibility depends on your reasons for leaving and your ties to the UK.11HM Revenue & Customs. Statutory Residence Test (SRT) – Split Year Treatment – When Split Year Treatment Will Apply
Student Loans
If you repay through your wages, HMRC handles the deductions via PAYE, but the Student Loans Company keeps your loan account separately. Update both. For SLC, change your home and contact address online through your student finance account, or upload a completed CO1 form and SLC will process it.12GOV.UK. Updating Your Student Finance Details
The mismatch matters most at the end of repayment. SLC sends confirmation and any refund correspondence to the address on the loan account, not the one HMRC holds.
Universal Credit Is Not an HMRC Update
Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit ended on 5 April 2025 and were replaced by Universal Credit.13GOV.UK. Move to Universal Credit if You Get a Migration Notice Letter Universal Credit is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, so address changes go through your Universal Credit online account, not HMRC.14GOV.UK. Universal Credit – Report a Change of Circumstances Updating DWP does not update HMRC, and updating HMRC does not update DWP. If you have PAYE income or file Self Assessment as well as claiming Universal Credit, notify both.
What Happens If You Don’t Update
HMRC doesn’t chase you to confirm your address. Letters go to whatever address they hold, and the consequences of missed post fall on you. For Self Assessment, missed filing reminders lead to automatic late-filing penalties starting at £100, and not receiving a reminder is not a reasonable excuse.5GOV.UK. Disagree With a Tax Decision or Penalty – Reasonable Excuses For VAT, missing the 30-day window can bring its own penalty.7GOV.UK. Register for VAT – Changing Your VAT Details
Because PAYE, Self Assessment, VAT, Corporation Tax, Universal Credit, and your student loan account each hold your address separately, work through the list in the days after you move rather than assuming one update carries across.