Client became UK resident for tax purposes during 2016/17 and has filed a US tax return for 31/12/16 and 31/12/17 declaring self-employed income.
I do not believe that the US accountants were aware of her UK tax status from 2016/17 and so she has paid the relevant US taxes on her self-employed income.
Obviously this income has been declared on her UK tax return for 2016/17 and 2017/18 and is liable to UK income tax but I am unsure what tax relief is available to be claimed and how to ascertain what figures to use, as at the moment she will clearly have paid US and UK tax on the same income.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
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You do not use any figure, it is the US returns which would need to be changed. This assumes you mean UK income and not US income.
Split year treatment applies for 2016/17 and so her self-employed income has been declared on her UK tax return for the relevant part of the year and the entire year in 2017/18 but this income also continues to be included on her US tax return.
So is relief claimed on her US or UK tax return ?
The point is that if she is uk resident then she can only claim UK double tax relief for US taxes that have been correctly levied. If the DTA specifies that the income is not taxable in the US then you cannot claim relief from the UK you have to claim it back from the IRS - you will need to provide them with a Certificate of uk tax residency.
You don't give enough information for anyone to point you in the right direction. Read the treaty. You need to decide where she is resident for treaty purposes - the US treats its citizens and green card holders as US residents, wherever they happen to live, but UK law makes her UK resident at the same time, so you need to consider the treaty tiebreaker. This may decide which state gives the DTR, if any is due.
Then, if the 'self-employed income' is from a business operating solely in the US, the treaty says it's taxable only in the US. You don't need a double tax credit, because the income is not taxable in the UK. If it's operating solely in the UK, it's taxable solely in the UK. If the 'self-employed income' is from being an artiste or entertainer, or sportswoman, there are other special rules in the treaty.
I wouldn't rely on a web forum on something as complex as this - find someone with experience who can consider all the facts and relevant law, and pay for advice.
Assuming the client is a US citizen, the client is subject to US tax on worldwide income; because of the operation of the saving clause in the treaty. The US will give credit for UK tax once it is paid. The client is exempt from SET in the States because of the totalisation agreement.