UK Statutory Residence Test: A Complete Guide

Whether you’re UK resident or not is important for tax purposes. Your residence status affects how much tax you pay and where you pay it.

Non-residents only pay tax on their UK income - they do not pay UK tax on their foreign income. Residents normally pay UK tax on all their income, whether it’s from the UK or abroad.

Whether you’re UK resident usually depends on how many days you spend and, where relevant, work in the UK in the tax year (6 April to 5 April the following year).

These rules are set forth in the UK Statutory Residence Test ("SRT"), introduced in the Finance Act 2013, which allows you to determine your UK tax residence status for any given tax year. While the quickest practical check is whether you spent 183 days or more in the UK (which makes you automatically resident), the SRT is officially applied sequentially in three distinct tests. You must work through them in order. (Note: If you leave or arrive in the UK mid-year, you may qualify for UK Split Year Treatment to split the tax year into resident and non-resident parts):

Step 1: Automatic Overseas Tests (Determines Non-Residency)

You are automatically a UK non-resident for the tax year if you meet any of the following conditions:

• You spent fewer than 16 days in the UK during the tax year (or fewer than 46 days if you have not been a UK resident in any of the 3 previous tax years).
• You worked abroad full-time (averaging at least 35 hours a week over the tax year), and spent fewer than 91 days in the UK, of which no more than 30 days were spent working in the UK.

Step 2: Automatic UK Tests (Determines Residency)

If you do not meet any of the automatic overseas tests, you are automatically a UK resident for the tax year if you meet any of the following conditions:

• You spent 183 or more days in the UK during the tax year (a day counts if you are present in the UK at midnight).
• You had a home in the UK for a continuous period of at least 91 days, stayed or visited it for at least 30 days during the tax year, and you either had no home abroad or, if you did, you spent fewer than 30 days in each home abroad during the tax year.
• You worked full-time in the UK for any period of 365 days, and at least one day of that period fell within the tax year you are checking.

Step 3: Sufficient Ties Test

If you do not meet any of the automatic overseas tests (which would make you automatically non-resident) and do not meet any of the automatic UK tests (which would make you automatically resident), you must use the "sufficient ties test" to determine your residence status. This test compares the number of days you spent in the UK against the number of ties you have to the UK. The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK without becoming a resident.

The ties are defined as follows:

• Family Tie: You have a spouse, civil partner, or minor child resident in the UK.
• Accommodation Tie: You have a place to live in the UK that is available to you for a continuous period of at least 91 days, and you spend at least one night there during the tax year.
• Work Tie: You work in the UK for at least 40 days during the tax year (working for more than 3 hours a day counts as a work day).
• 90-Day Tie: You spent more than 90 days in the UK in either of the two previous tax years.
• Country Tie: (Applies only to "leavers") You spend more days in the UK than in any other single country during the tax year.

Sufficient Ties Test Calculator

The Sufficient Ties Test is the most nuanced — and most consequential — layer of the SRT. It determines residency for anyone who doesn't fall clearly into the automatic resident or automatic non-resident categories. The outcome depends on the intersection of your UK day count and how many ties you hold.

Conclusion

Determining your UK tax residency status can be complex, involving automatic tests, a detailed analysis of your ties to the UK, and determining if you qualify for UK Split Year Treatment. As of the 2025 abolition of the non-dom regime, day count tracking isn't just one factor among several — for most globally mobile individuals, it's now the deciding factor in whether your worldwide income falls into the UK tax net.

The Domicile365 App simplifies this process by providing precise, automated day count tracking to help you monitor your status under the Statutory Residence Test.

Take control of your tax planning and ensure compliance by downloading the Domicile365 App today for Apple iOS or Google Android.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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