How to count your UK days for tax: a step-by-step method

What’s the short answer?

Count the days you were in the UK at midnight during one tax year. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.[9] HMRC uses this count in the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), its test of whether you’re UK resident for tax.

1. Count the midnights. A day is a UK day if you were in the UK at the end of it, at midnight.[9][1]
2. Take out transit days. Leave out nights when you were only passing through between two other countries, if they meet HMRC’s transit conditions.[3]
3. Check the deeming rule. For some people, days in the UK without a midnight are added after the first 30.[2]
4. Check exceptional circumstances. Up to 60 days caused by events beyond your control can be left out of some parts of the test.[4]

The total is a fact you use in the test. On its own, it doesn’t tell you your residence status.

HMRC’s SRT guidance runs to 143 pages. Only a few pages cover day counting, but every other part of the test depends on them.

What do you need before you start?

Each tax year is counted on its own.[9] So the 2025–26 tax year runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.

You need a night-by-night list. For each date, it shows the country you were in at midnight.

HMRC says people with UK connections should keep records showing “in which countries they have spent their days and midnights”.[8] Its examples include:

• travel schedules and details
• booking information
• tickets and boarding cards, including e-tickets

These records are usually spread across your inbox, calendar, banking app and booking accounts. Gathering them into one list is most of the work. Once the list exists, the counting is quick.

Keep same-day visits on the list too, even though they don’t count at first. Step 3 explains why.

Step 1: which days count as UK days?

HMRC’s starting rule is one sentence: “An individual is considered to have spent a day in the UK if they are here at the end of the day (midnight).”[1]

So what matters is where you were at midnight. The dates on your ticket don’t decide it.

People often say “the arrival day counts and the departure day doesn’t”. That’s usually how it works out, but only because of where you are at midnight. If you land or leave after midnight, the shorthand gives the wrong answer.

Step 2: do transit days count?

No, not if they meet HMRC’s conditions. A transit day is part of a journey between two countries outside the UK. You travel on a through ticket to your final destination.[3]

On the way, all three of these must be true:[3]

1. You arrive in the UK as a passenger.
2. You leave the UK the next day, as a passenger.
3. In between, you don’t do anything that is “to a substantial extent unrelated” to passing through the UK.

HMRC gives examples of each:[3]

• Related to the journey: having dinner or breakfast at your hotel.
• Unrelated: a trip to a local cinema, any time in your UK home, catching up with friends or relations, or a work meeting. In these cases the midnight counts.

Note two details in your record:

• The day you arrive is the day that’s left out.
• The next day, when you leave, can still be a qualifying day under the deeming rule (see Step 3).[3]

On the tax return, transit days stay out of the main day count. They’re shown separately (see “Where does the number go on the tax return?”).[10]

What did the Parker case decide?

In Parker v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 652 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal accepted the taxpayer’s transit days. It did so even though his flights into and out of the UK were booked as separate tickets.[11][12]

The tribunal said:

• nothing in the legislation requires a single ticket
• travelling with family members on the same onward flight didn’t make the stop unrelated to his passage through the UK[11][12]

This is one decision on its own facts. HMRC’s manual still describes a through ticket. If transit days make a difference to your year, check your position with an adviser.

Step 3: when do same-day visits count?

Usually they don’t, because you weren’t here at midnight. But the deeming rule changes that for some people. HMRC calls a day in the UK without a midnight a “qualifying day”.

The deeming rule applies for a tax year only if all three of these are true:[2]

1. You were UK resident in one or more of the previous three tax years.
2. You have at least three UK ties for the tax year. UK ties are connections to the UK, like work or family.[9]
3. You were in the UK on more than 30 days without being here at the end of the day.

If all three apply, then “after the first 30 qualifying days, all subsequent qualifying days within the tax year are treated as days spent in the UK”.[2] So your total is your midnights plus your qualifying days over 30.

HMRC’s own example. Desmond was UK resident the year before. He has three UK ties: a country tie, a family tie and an accommodation tie.[2]

• He is in the UK at midnight on 44 days.
• On another 50 days, he is in the UK but not at midnight.
• That gives him 20 qualifying days above the 30-day threshold.
• His total is 44 + 20 = 64 days.

Three points are easy to miss:

• Departure days are qualifying days too. Any day you’re in the UK but leave before midnight is a qualifying day. That includes the last day of an ordinary visit and the day you leave after a transit stop.[2][3] So they add up faster than day trips alone.
• The 90-day tie uses midnights only here. You have a 90-day tie if you spent more than 90 UK days in either of the previous two tax years.[13] For the deeming rule’s three-tie check, deemed days aren’t used to decide the 90-day tie.[2][13]
• It doesn’t apply to the third automatic overseas test. That test is for people working full-time overseas. Its UK day limit is counted without deemed days.[2][14]

This is why same-day visits belong in your record. Without them, you can’t tell whether the deeming rule has been triggered.

Step 4: can days caused by events beyond your control be left out?

Sometimes, but the rule is narrow. HMRC calls these “exceptional circumstances”. Some days they kept you here at midnight can be left out of some parts of the test.

HMRC’s tax return notes give examples:[10]

• an illness that happened while you were in the UK and stopped you travelling
• national or local disasters, such as civil unrest, natural disasters and the outbreak of war

Three limits apply:

• 60 days at most in a tax year. HMRC calls this “a limit, not an allowance or entitlement”. It applies whether there is one event or several.[4]
• Only some parts of the test. HMRC lists the parts where these days can be left out (see below).[4] They can’t be left out of other parts, including the country tie, the deeming rule and the work-day counts.[5]
• It depends on the facts. HMRC says whether circumstances are exceptional “will always depend on the particular facts”.[6]

The parts where these days can be left out include:[4]

• the day counts in the 183-day test
• the first three automatic overseas tests
• the sufficient ties tables, which set how many UK ties matter at each day count
• the 90-day tie
• some split-year cases, where a tax year is split into a resident and a non-resident part[9]

Keep a note of what happened and what you did to reduce its effect, such as trying to rearrange travel. HMRC’s record-keeping guidance for the full-time work tests asks for exactly that.[15]

In Parker, the tribunal also accepted one exceptional-circumstances day. A named storm closed the destination airport, and the taxpayer’s flight was cancelled after boarding. He left on the flight the airline rebooked for the next day.[11][12] Again, that’s one decision on its own facts.

These days are still part of the figure you report. On the tax return they’re included in the main day count, and shown separately as well.[10]

What does a full year look like?

Here is the method applied to an invented year for a fictional person, Sam, in 2025–26.

Sam was UK resident in 2023–24. For this example, Sam also has three UK ties. So the first two deeming conditions are met.

The figures are made up to show the maths. They aren’t a real case, and they say nothing about Sam’s residence status.

Working through the steps:

1. Midnights: 39 UK midnights.
2. Transit: 6 June meets HMRC’s transit conditions, so it comes out. That leaves 38.
3. Deeming: Sam has 41 qualifying days: 34 from day trips and 7 from the last day of other visits. If Sam meets all three deeming conditions, the 11 days above 30 are added. That gives 49. Without three UK ties, the total would stay at 38.
4. Exceptional circumstances: suppose the midnight of 2 March is accepted as caused by exceptional circumstances. It can then be left out for the parts of the test HMRC lists. For example, the sufficient ties tables would use 48. It still counts where those days can’t be left out, such as the country tie.

What moved the total? The 7 departure days added to the day trips, and the single transit night. Both only show up if they were logged.

Keeping this list as you go is the part an app can take off you. Nomad Pro is free to download on the App Store.

Where does the number go on the tax return?

The residence pages of the Self Assessment tax return are called the SA109. HMRC’s notes for 2025–26 say:[10]

• Box 10, days spent in the UK: your UK midnights, plus any deemed days over 30.
  • Make a note in box 54 of how many deemed days are included.
  • Include days you were here at midnight because of exceptional circumstances.
  • If you’re claiming split-year treatment, enter only the days in the overseas part of the year.
  • Transit days don’t go in box 10.
• Box 11: how many of the days in box 10 were due to exceptional circumstances. It shouldn’t be more than 60.
• Box 11.1: the number of days you were in the UK at midnight but in transit.

For Sam, as an illustration only, that would mean:

• 49 in box 10, with a box 54 note that 11 deemed days are included
• 1 in box 11, if the storm day qualifies
• 1 in box 11.1

What happens to the total next?

The same total feeds the rest of the test.[7][9]

1. First come the automatic tests. Meeting an automatic UK test, such as spending 183 or more days here, can make you resident. Meeting an automatic overseas test usually makes you non-resident.[9]
2. If none of them applies, the sufficient ties test is used. Its tables weigh your UK days against your UK ties.[7]

Where to go next:

• For how the tests fit together, read the 183-day myth or Am I a UK tax resident?
• To try your own figures, use the free UK residence day calculator.
• If you moved in or out of the UK during the year, see changing residence mid-year.
• UK work days are counted separately. See UK work days and the SRT.
• The country tie compares your midnights country by country. See the SRT country tie.

How do you keep the count going?

Every step above is quick once you have a night-by-night list. The slow part is building it later from bookings, e-tickets and statements spread across a year of email and apps.

Recording it as you go means the count is ready whenever you or an adviser need it. There are two ways to do that:

• A spreadsheet with one row per date. Note the country at midnight, any same-day visit, any possible transit and the record behind it. It works well if you keep it up to date through the year.
• An app. Nomad Pro is an iPhone app that counts UK days from daily or weekly check-ins. It keeps a separate UK work-day count, tracks Schengen 90/180 and exports CSV and PDF summaries for an adviser. Core tracking is free, including your first AI import. Premium is £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year, with a 3-day free trial. It keeps records and counts days. It doesn’t decide your residence status.

For what to keep alongside the count, see what records HMRC says to keep and why documentation matters.

Frequently asked questions

Does the day I arrive in the UK count?

Yes, if you’re still in the UK at midnight that day. HMRC treats a day as a UK day when you’re here at the end of it (RFIG20710). If you land after midnight, the earlier date isn’t a UK day.

Does the day I leave count?

Not if you leave before midnight. But it is a qualifying day. If the deeming rule applies to you, qualifying days after the first 30 in the tax year are counted (RFIG20720).

Do same-day trips to the UK count?

Not on their own, but some can under the deeming rule. The rule only applies if you were UK resident in one of the previous three tax years. You also need at least three UK ties, and more than 30 days in the UK without a midnight. Then every such day after the 30th is added to your count (RFIG20720).

Does an overnight connection at Heathrow count?

No, if it meets HMRC’s transit conditions. You must be travelling between two countries outside the UK. You arrive as a passenger and leave the next day as a passenger. You also mustn’t do anything substantially unrelated to the journey, such as seeing friends or a work meeting (RFIG20730). On the SA109 it goes in box 11.1, not box 10.

Can days caused by illness or a cancelled flight be left out?

Possibly, up to 60 days in a tax year. The days must be caused by exceptional circumstances beyond your control. They can only be left out for the parts of the test HMRC lists in RFIG22220. Whether circumstances are exceptional depends on the facts. Keep evidence of what happened and what you did about it.

Is there a set number of UK days I can spend?

No, no single number applies to everyone. It depends on the automatic tests. If none applies, it depends on your UK ties. It also depends on whether you were UK resident in any of the previous three tax years (RFIG20520). The 183-day myth and the free calculator walk through it.

How does HMRC check my day count?

You state your own figures on your return, and HMRC’s manual says you should keep records that support them (RFIG21910). It also lists records that show where you spent your days and midnights. These include travel schedules, booking information, and tickets and boarding cards (RFIG21940).

Sources

GOV.UK pages checked on 5 October 2026. The dates in brackets are each page’s recorded public-update date, not the date the law changed.

1. RFIG20710: Meaning of a day spent in the UK (4 April 2025)
2. RFIG20720: The deeming rule (4 April 2025)
3. RFIG20730: Transit days (4 April 2025)
4. RFIG22220: Exceptional circumstances, where they can be taken into account (4 April 2025)
5. RFIG22230: Exceptional circumstances, where they cannot be taken into account (7 April 2025)
6. RFIG22210: Exceptional circumstances, introduction (4 April 2025)
7. RFIG20520: The number of ties (3 July 2026)
8. RFIG21940: Record keeping, the sufficient ties test (4 April 2025)
9. GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income, UK residence and tax
10. HMRC: SA109 Residence, remittance basis etc notes 2025–26 (PDF), from the SA109 publication page (last updated 28 September 2026)
11. Parker v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 652 (TC) (First-tier Tribunal decision, The National Archives: Find Case Law)
12. KPMG: Statutory Residence Test, transit days and exceptional circumstances (summary of Parker, 14 May 2026)
13. RFIG20570: 90-day tie (8 January 2026)
14. RFIG20140: Third automatic overseas test (4 April 2025)
15. RFIG21930: Record keeping, working hours and location of work done (4 April 2025)

Educational information, not tax advice. UK residence can turn on detailed facts and current law. If your position is close to a threshold or commercially significant, use current HMRC guidance and take advice from a qualified professional.

Nomad Pro is a record-keeping tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by HM Revenue & Customs.