UK Tax Residence Assessments
For Expats

Yes. Your UK tax residence status is what determines the UK domestic tax treatment of your global income and gains. Knowing your residence status is the first step in understanding your UK tax liability and reporting obligations.

If you were UK resident in one or more of the previous three tax years, spending fewer than 16 days here makes you automatically non-resident (46 days if you were not). Spending 183 days or more makes you automatically resident. Between those limits, the number of UK ties you have decides the outcome: for example, someone who left the UK is resident at 46 to 90 days only if they have three or more ties. Our Sufficient Ties Test guide explains how the ties work.

Residence is determined by the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), which works through three stages in order: the automatic overseas tests, the automatic UK tests, and finally the sufficient ties test. You only move on to the next stage if the previous one doesn't already settle your status, so the order in which the tests are applied matters.

The automatic overseas tests can make you automatically non-resident — for example, spending very few days in the UK, or leaving to work full time abroad. The automatic UK tests work the other way, making you automatically resident — for example, spending 183 days or more in the UK, or having your only home here. If none of these automatic tests apply, your status is decided by the sufficient ties test instead.

The sufficient ties test looks at connecting factors to the UK — such as family, accommodation, work, and time spent in the UK in previous years — and combines them with your day count for the year. The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before becoming resident, which is why two people with identical day counts can end up with different residence outcomes.

Broadly, you're treated as having spent a day in the UK if you're here at midnight, though there are exceptions — such as the "deeming rule" for frequent travellers, and limited relief for days spent here only because of exceptional circumstances beyond your control. Because these exceptions are narrowly defined, it's easy to miscount days without realising it.

Possibly. If you meet one of the qualifying cases — such as starting full-time work abroad, or ceasing to have a home in the UK — the tax year you leave or arrive can be split into a UK part and an overseas part, rather than being treated as resident or non-resident for the whole year. This is assessed separately from the main residence test and depends on your specific circumstances.

You can become UK non-resident by starting Full Time Work Abroad or by limiting the amount of time you spend in the UK. Ongoing ties to the UK such as homes, family and work will make it more difficult to break tax residence. Our UK tax planning advice for expats covers how to plan your departure.

It is possible to be resident in two countries under each country's own rules. Most UK double taxation agreements then apply tie-breaker tests, usually looking at where you have a permanent home, where your personal and economic ties are closest, where you habitually live and finally your nationality. The result decides which country has the primary right to tax you and can limit the UK's taxing rights over certain income.

UK tax residents are generally taxable in the UK on their worldwide income and gains however the source country may also tax the same income under their laws. Reliefs may be available under the Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) Regime or under a Double Tax Treaty which are discussed in our consultation.

No. UK tax residence is based on the days you spend in the UK and your ties to the country, not your citizenship. A British citizen living abroad can be non-resident, and a foreign national living in the UK can be resident. Nationality can still matter elsewhere, for example for the personal allowance as a non-resident and as the final step of a treaty tie-breaker.

UK sourced income includes UK bank interest, dividends from UK companies, rental income from UK properties, employment/self-employment income from UK workdays, income from UK pensions and UK partnership income.

Yes, however there may be some restrictions. Contributions to personal pensions claiming relief at source are capped at £3,600 gross per year while non-resident and you should ask your pension provider if they allow participation by non-residents.

Keep evidence of the days you spend in the UK and elsewhere, such as flight and ferry bookings, passport stamps, a travel calendar and records of where you worked. Evidence of your ties also helps, for example tenancy or property documents, payslips or work diaries, and details of family living in the UK. HMRC can ask you to support your position for several years, so it is worth keeping everything in one place.

HMRC provides a general guidance tool that gives an indication of residence status, but it can't take into account every nuance of your circumstances and its result isn't binding on HMRC. Given how much turns on getting this right — potentially your entire worldwide tax exposure — a proper assessment of your specific facts is usually a better starting point than a generic online tool.

We review your day counts, ties, and the specific facts around your move — homes, family, and work — and work through the Statutory Residence Test in full to reach a clear, documented conclusion on your status for the relevant tax year, or years. Where useful, we'll also flag split-year treatment, planning opportunities, or risks we notice along the way.