The UK statutory residence test (SRT) is the set of rules that decides whether you are UK tax resident for a tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April. It replaced a mix of case law and guidance in April 2013 and works like a decision tree: a few automatic tests first, then a "sufficient ties" test that weighs your days in the UK against your connections to it.
The result matters more than ever. Since 6 April 2025, the UK has used residence, not domicile, to decide who can use the four-year foreign income and gains regime and who is within inheritance tax on worldwide assets. Each of those rules counts SRT years.
This guide walks through the test step by step, with the thresholds HMRC publishes in its RDR3 guidance on the statutory residence test, as of October 2026.
Key takeaways
- The SRT is applied in order: automatic overseas tests, then automatic UK tests, then the sufficient ties test.
- Fewer than 16 days in the UK makes you non-resident if you were resident in any of the previous three years; fewer than 46 days does so if you were not.
- 183 or more days in the UK makes you resident automatically.
- Between those limits, the number of UK ties you have decides the outcome, and leavers need fewer ties to stay resident than arrivers.
- A day usually counts if you are in the UK at midnight, but a deeming rule can add extra days for people with strong UK ties.
Why the SRT matters more since April 2025
The UK abolished the remittance basis and the concept of domicile for income tax on 6 April 2025. Two new rules now rely directly on your residence history:
- The FIG regime. New residents can claim a four-year exemption from UK tax on foreign income and gains, but only if they were not UK resident in any of the 10 previous tax years.
- Inheritance tax. You are within UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets if you were UK resident in at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years. After leaving, you stay in scope for 3 to 10 years, depending on how long you lived in the UK.
So a single tax year of residence, triggered by a few extra days or one extra tie, can affect eligibility for the FIG regime years later. Our article on the UK wealth exodus after the end of non-dom status covers the wider reform.
How the test works in three steps
- Automatic overseas tests. If you meet any of them, you are non-resident for the year, and you stop there.
- Automatic UK tests. If no overseas test applies and you meet any of these, you are resident.
- Sufficient ties test. If neither set of automatic tests decides the question, you compare your UK days with your number of UK ties.
The automatic overseas tests
| Test | Conditions |
|---|---|
| First | You were UK resident in one or more of the previous 3 tax years, and you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK in the tax year |
| Second | You were not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years, and you spend fewer than 46 days in the UK |
| Third | You work full-time overseas, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK, work more than 3 hours on fewer than 31 UK days, and have no significant break from overseas work |
Full-time work under the third test is measured as an average of 35 hours a week over the year, with allowances for leave. A significant break means at least 31 days in a row without a day of more than 3 hours' overseas work, other than for annual, sick or parenting leave.
The automatic UK tests
| Test | Conditions |
|---|---|
| First | You spend 183 days or more in the UK in the tax year |
| Second (only home test) | You have a UK home for at least 91 consecutive days, at least 30 of which fall in the tax year, you are present in it on at least 30 days, and you have no overseas home or spend fewer than 30 days in any overseas home |
| Third | You work full-time in the UK for a 365-day period, with more than 75% of your workdays (of more than 3 hours) in the UK, and at least one day in both that period and the tax year is a UK workday of more than 3 hours |
The 183-day test is the best known, but it is not the only way to become resident. Our explainer on the 183-day rule explains why day counts are only part of the story in most countries.
The sufficient ties test
If no automatic test applies, you look at five possible ties to the UK:
- Family tie: your spouse, civil partner or partner living as such, or a child under 18, is UK resident (with some exceptions for children in UK education).
- Accommodation tie: you have a place to live in the UK available for a continuous period of at least 91 days in the year, and you spend at least one night there. If it is a close relative's home, you need to spend at least 16 nights there.
- Work tie: you work in the UK for more than 3 hours a day on at least 40 days in the year.
- 90-day tie: you spent more than 90 days in the UK in either or both of the previous two tax years.
- Country tie: the UK is the country where you spent the most midnights in the year. This tie counts only if you were UK resident in one or more of the previous three tax years.
The number of ties needed depends on your recent history, as the tables below show.
If you were UK resident in one or more of the previous 3 tax years (often called "leavers"):
| Days in the UK | Ties needed to be UK resident |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 16 | Always non-resident |
| 16 to 45 | 4 or more |
| 46 to 90 | 3 or more |
| 91 to 120 | 2 or more |
| 121 to 182 | 1 or more |
| 183 or more | Always resident |
If you were not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years ("arrivers"):
| Days in the UK | Ties needed to be UK resident |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 46 | Always non-resident |
| 46 to 90 | All 4 available ties |
| 91 to 120 | 3 or more |
| 121 to 182 | 2 or more |
| 183 or more | Always resident |
The asymmetry is deliberate. Someone who has just left the UK is held to a stricter standard than someone who has never lived there. For example, a recent leaver with a UK home they still use and a spouse in the UK already has two ties, so 91 days in the UK would make them resident.
Counting days
The midnight rule
A day counts as a UK day if you are in the UK at the end of it, meaning at midnight. Days when you arrive and leave before midnight do not count, with one exception below. Days in transit, where you pass through the UK without doing anything unrelated to your journey, generally do not count.
The deeming rule
HMRC's manual on the deeming rule adds days for some people. It applies when all three conditions are met:
- you were UK resident in at least one of the previous three tax years;
- you have at least three UK ties in the year;
- you are in the UK on more than 30 days without being there at midnight.
If so, every such day after the first 30 counts as a UK day. Frequent day trips from nearby countries, common for people based in France, Belgium or Ireland, can push the total over a threshold.
Exceptional circumstances
Days spent in the UK because of exceptional circumstances beyond your control, such as a sudden serious illness or a natural disaster, can be excluded, up to a maximum of 60 days a year. HMRC reads this narrowly.
Keeping a reliable log of travel dates is the simplest protection when the margin is thin. Our guide on how to track days for tax residency and the free day counter can help.
Split-year treatment
Normally you are resident or non-resident for a whole tax year. Split-year treatment lets the year be divided into a UK part and an overseas part when you arrive or leave, if you meet one of eight cases.
| Case | Situation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Leaving the UK to work full-time overseas |
| 2 | Leaving the UK as the partner of someone in case 1 |
| 3 | Leaving the UK and ceasing to have any UK home |
| 4 | Starting to have your only home in the UK |
| 5 | Starting full-time work in the UK |
| 6 | Ceasing full-time work overseas and returning |
| 7 | Returning as the partner of someone in case 6 |
| 8 | Starting to have a UK home |
Each case has detailed conditions, and HMRC's rules set the order of priority when more than one could apply. Split-year treatment is not a choice; it applies automatically if the conditions are met.
Temporary non-residence
Leaving the UK for a short spell can still have tax effects. If you had sole UK residence in at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you left, and you return within 5 years, certain gains and income received while abroad can be taxed in the year you come back. This mainly affects capital gains on assets you owned before leaving and some dividends from closely held companies. Our article on whether the UK has an exit tax explains how these rules work in practice.
Dual residence and tax treaties
The SRT only answers whether you are UK resident under UK law. Another country may consider you resident at the same time under its own rules. Where there is a double tax treaty, its tie-breaker clause decides which country has the main taxing right, usually by looking at your permanent home, then your center of vital interests. See our guide to tax treaty tie-breaker rules for details.
People leaving the UK often set up a formal residence elsewhere. One option some nomads look at is Honduras tax residency through Próspera, which uses a flat lump-sum tax of $5,000 per year. A certificate from another jurisdiction does not change the SRT result on its own. Whether you are UK resident still depends on your UK days, ties and work under the rules above.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can I spend in the UK without becoming tax resident?
It depends on your history and ties. You are always non-resident with fewer than 16 days if you were resident in any of the previous three years, or fewer than 46 days if you were not. Above those limits, the answer depends on the number of UK ties you have.
Does a day of arrival count under the SRT?
A day counts if you are in the UK at midnight. Arrival days usually count because you are there at the end of the day. Departure days usually do not, unless the deeming rule applies.
Is owning a house in the UK an automatic tie?
Not on its own. An accommodation tie needs a place available to you for at least 91 continuous days in the year and at least one night spent there. A property that is let out on a long lease to a tenant is usually not available to you.
Can I be UK resident and resident in another country at the same time?
Yes. Each country applies its own rules. If there is a tax treaty between the two countries, its tie-breaker rules decide where you are treated as resident for treaty purposes.
Does the SRT apply to inheritance tax?
Yes, since 6 April 2025. Inheritance tax on worldwide assets now depends on being UK resident, under the SRT, in at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years.
Important: This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules change often and depend on your personal circumstances. Speak with a qualified professional in each relevant country before you act.