Am I a UK Tax Resident? Start Here

Why it matters

UK residents normally pay UK tax on all their income, from the UK or abroad. Non-residents only pay UK tax on their UK income.[2]
You work out your residence for capital gains the same way.[2]
Each tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. It’s looked at on its own, so you can be resident one year and not the next.[1][2]
Before 6 April 2025, a domicile abroad could mean you didn’t pay UK tax on some foreign income.[3] On that date the 4-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime replaced the remittance basis. It’s for people in their first 4 years of UK residence after at least 10 years of non-residence.[4]

The quick check, in HMRC’s order

Step 1. Count your UK days. If you spent 183 days or more in the UK in the tax year, you’re UK resident. There’s no need to look at any other test.[1]

Step 2. The automatic overseas tests. Meet any one and you’re not UK resident for the year.[1]

You were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years, and you spent fewer than 16 days in the UK.[5]
You were UK resident in none of the previous 3 tax years, and you spent fewer than 46 days in the UK.[6]
You work full-time overseas and spend fewer than 91 days in the UK. You work more than 3 hours on fewer than 31 UK days. And you have no significant break from overseas work.[1][7] Full-time means an average of 35 hours a week or more, worked out HMRC’s way.[2][8]

Step 3. The automatic UK tests. If no overseas test applies, meet any one of these and you’re UK resident.[1]

You spent 183 days or more in the UK.
The UK home test: you have a UK home for at least 91 days in a row, at least 30 of them in the tax year. You’re there on at least 30 days in the year. And you have no overseas home, or you’re in each one on fewer than 30 days in the year.[1][9]
You work full-time in the UK for a 365-day period, and other conditions are met.[1]

Step 4. The sufficient ties test. You only get here if no automatic test settled the year.[10] The more UK ties you have, the fewer UK days it takes to make you resident.[1]

How many days your ties allow

UK days in the tax year	Resident in any of the previous 3 tax years	Resident in none of them
Fewer than 16	Not resident (first overseas test)	Not resident (second overseas test)
16 to 45	Resident with 4 or more ties	Not resident (second overseas test)
46 to 90	Resident with 3 or more ties	Resident with all 4 ties
91 to 120	Resident with 2 or more ties	Resident with 3 or more ties
121 to 182	Resident with 1 or more ties	Resident with 2 or more ties
183 or more	Resident	Resident

Source: RDR3 Tables A and B, and the automatic tests.[1][11] The middle rows only apply if no automatic test settled the year, so full-time work abroad or a UK home can change the answer. Our 183-day myth guide has a worked example.

The five UK ties

Family tie: your spouse or civil partner (unless you’re separated), a partner you live with, or your child under 18, is UK resident. For a child, it doesn’t count if you see them in the UK on fewer than 61 days in the year.[12]
Accommodation tie: a place to live in the UK is available to you for 91 days or more in a row in the tax year. You spend at least 1 night there, or 16 nights if it’s a close relative’s home.[13] See “available accommodation”, decoded.
Work tie: you work more than 3 hours a day in the UK on at least 40 days in the tax year.[14] See what counts as a UK work day.
90-day tie: you spent more than 90 days in the UK in either of the previous 2 tax years.[15]
Country tie: the UK is where you spent the most midnights in the tax year. It only counts if you were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years.[10][16] See the country tie, explained.

What counts as a UK day

You count a day as a UK day if you’re in the UK at midnight.[17] Three rules can change the total:

Transit: you arrive as a passenger and leave the next day, and do nothing largely unrelated to your journey. Then the arrival day doesn’t count.[19]
Exceptional circumstances: some days you’re stuck in the UK may not count. Examples are a natural disaster or a sudden or life-threatening illness, and you must mean to leave as soon as you can. The limit is 60 days a tax year, and these days still count for some parts of the test.[17][19]
The deeming rule: some days count even though you left before midnight. It applies if you were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years, have at least 3 UK ties, and are in the UK on more than 30 days without staying to midnight. Each of those days after the 30th then counts as a UK day.[18]

Our how to count your UK days guide walks through each rule.

Leaving or coming back during the year

If you’re UK resident for a tax year, that year may be split into a UK part and an overseas part.[1]

Cases 1 to 3 cover leaving the UK. Cases 4 to 8 cover arriving.[1]
It isn’t a choice. If you meet all the conditions of one case, it applies. If you don’t, it doesn’t.[20]
You show it on the SA109 residence pages: box 3, plus which case applies in box 54.[21]
Coming back after a short spell abroad? GOV.UK says that if you were abroad for less than a full tax year, you stayed UK resident.[22]

Read when your situation changes mid-year next. If you might come back within 5 years, see temporary non-residence.

Where to go next

Your situation	Read this
You’re moving abroad for a job	Full-time work abroad and the SRT
You travel all year with no fixed base	Tax resident nowhere? Nomad visas and UK tax
You keep a room at a parent’s or friend’s home	“Available accommodation”, decoded
You’re filling in your tax return	The SA109 residence pages
You need your UK days for a year that’s already over	How to work out your UK days for a past tax year
Another country wants proof you’re not UK resident	Does HMRC give a non-resident certificate?
HMRC has asked about your residence	Residency enquiries: documentation is your defence
You want to keep paying National Insurance	Voluntary NI abroad
You also spend time in Europe	Schengen 90/180 for UK passport holders and EES says you overstayed?

To work through your own year, use our free UK residence days walkthrough. HMRC also has a residence status checker. GOV.UK says it gives an indication for the current tax year or any of the previous 6.[2]

Records HMRC says to keep

HMRC’s manual says you’ll need records that support what you say about your residence.[23] For the ties test, it lists your travel details, booking information, and tickets and boarding cards, including e-tickets.[24]

In practice, that means booking emails, Airbnb, Booking.com and hotel confirmations, e-tickets, your calendar and bank statements. Keep them by tax year. See what records HMRC says to keep.

Educational, not tax advice. Check your own position with HMRC’s guidance or a qualified adviser.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if I’m a UK tax resident?

HMRC uses the Statutory Residence Test (SRT). It looks at one tax year, 6 April to 5 April. It has automatic overseas tests, automatic UK tests and the sufficient ties test, which looks at your links to the UK. If you don’t meet any automatic test, the ties test decides.

Is it just about spending fewer than 183 days in the UK?

No. 183 days or more in the tax year makes you UK resident under the first automatic UK test. But you can be UK resident on far fewer days, depending on your UK home, your work and your UK ties.

What is the fewest UK days that can make me resident?

Table A is HMRC’s table of UK days and UK ties. If you were UK resident in any of the 3 tax years before, it starts at 16 to 45 days. In that band you need at least 4 UK ties. Under 16 days, the first automatic overseas test makes you non-resident.

Can a tax year be split when I leave or come back?

It can, but it isn’t a choice. RDR3 says a UK-resident year may be split into a UK part and an overseas part if you meet all the conditions of one of HMRC’s split year cases. Cases 1 to 3 cover leaving and Cases 4 to 8 cover arriving. HMRC’s manual says that if you meet all the conditions of a case, it applies. You show it in box 3 of the SA109 residence pages.

Is the Nomad Pro app free?

It’s free to download, and you get one free trip check. More trip checks are part of Premium. Your records are stored on your iPhone, and iCloud Drive sync is optional and off until you turn it on. Nomad Pro doesn’t collect anything for you. Each day, Nomad Pro pre-fills your country from your phone’s location (or your last logged country), and you confirm or change it with one tap. You can also import booking files and review each suggested stay before saving it.

Sources

Confirm your position with current HMRC guidance and a qualified adviser before acting.

Am I a UK tax resident? Start here (and why the answer is really about proof)