Due to the quirks of the UK tax calendar that I described in the past, having not lived in the country for four and a half years, I would be due to file a tax return for only the third fiscal year in which I have had zero UK income this coming January. Thankfully, Her Majesty Revenue and Customs finally caught on to the fact that I have no financial obligations to the crown. Some weeks ago, I received an official letter stating that I will no longer be issued a directive to file the tax return going forward. Interpreting that as having to file my now habitual zero-income return this year still, I logged onto the HMRC Self-Assessment site and found that the return had apparently already been submitted on my behalf and my tax account balance had been confirmed as £0.00.
I have to admit that it is a reasonable approach: A couple of years of required returns to confirm the pattern of zero income, before letting the former taxpayer off the hook in a fairly non-intrusive manner.
Still, a lengthier time on the hook than the actual time living in England.