To avoid taxes when shipping household goods and personal effects to the United Kingdom, both Australians and British citizens must first complete a Transfer of Residence Relief (ToR01) form on the HMRC website. They'll then assess whether you qualify for duty-free entry based on your fulfilment of the following criteria:
You're returning to the UK as your country of residence;
You've been living outside of the UK continuously for at least twelve months;
You've owned all the items you're planning to import for at least six months;
You haven't bought or received any of the goods in your shipment through a duty/tax-free scheme;
You intend to keep all the items for personal use and won't sell, hire out or give them away for at least twelve months after importing;
If the HMRC grant you a tax exemption, you can't import your belongings earlier than six months before your arrival or later than twelve months after you enter the country.
Please note that if your shipment does qualify for duty-free importation, you'll need to provide Seven Seas Worldwide with your ToR Authorisation Code so we can arrange customs clearance into the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, failure to supply this will result in your shipment being liable for importation tax. Take a look at our UK Customs Advice page for more information.