What counts as a UK work day for the Statutory Residence Test?
A visit to the UK can include client meetings, training and work done between appointments. If the diary only says “UK visit”, where would the hours come from when it is time to review the year?
For the ordinary work-tie rule, a day counts when someone does more than three hours of work in the UK. The work tie applies at 40 or more such days in the tax year, whether those days are consecutive or spread out. Exactly three hours does not exceed that threshold. Special rules apply to workers with a “relevant job”, explained below. HMRC RFIG20560
A work tie does not settle residence on its own. The sufficient ties test is considered when none of the automatic overseas or UK tests is met. HMRC RFIG20510
Educational, not tax advice.
Why 31 and 40 appear in different explanations
The work tie and the third automatic overseas test use different conditions. Reading one number as a general allowance loses that distinction. HMRC RFIG20560, RFIG20140
| Part of the SRT | Where working days enter the rule | What else to read |
|---|---|---|
| Work tie | More than three hours of UK work on at least 40 days in the tax year; days may be continuous or intermittent. | This is one tie within the sufficient ties test. RFIG20560 |
| Third automatic overseas test | Fewer than 31 days in the tax year on which more than three hours of work are done in the UK. | This is one condition. The test also requires sufficient overseas hours, no significant break from overseas work and fewer than 91 UK days. RFIG20140 |
| Third automatic UK test | More than 75% of the days in the relevant 365-day period on which more than three hours of work are done must be days with more than three hours of UK work. | Other conditions include full-time UK work over that period, no significant break, overlap with the tax year and a qualifying UK work day in the overlap. RFIG20370 |
The full-time tests have defined conditions and a relevant-job exclusion; “full-time” is not just the description on an employment contract. The table is a signpost to those tests, not their complete calculation. For the UK test's percentage condition, the dedicated HMRC page and Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45, paragraph 9 both say more than three hours. HMRC RFIG20140, RFIG20370, RFIG20790
Failing the third automatic overseas test does not establish that the sufficient ties test is next. Other automatic tests still need to be considered. HMRC RFIG20510
What HMRC includes as work
HMRC gives work its everyday meaning. For an employee, it covers activities carried out in performing their duties. For someone self-employed, it covers activities in their trade, profession or vocation. HMRC RFIG20740
HMRC's list also includes:
- Time when an employer instructs someone to stay away from work while remaining on the payroll, for example during a period of notice.
- Travelling time where the cost would have been a deductible tax expense if the individual had incurred and paid it, whether or not they worked during the journey.
- Time actually spent working during a journey, regardless of the expense-deductibility rules.
- Job-related training provided or paid for by an employer, or training for a self-employed person where its cost is an allowable deduction against their profit for income tax purposes.
A voluntary post without a contract of service does not count as work for the SRT. The qualification matters: HMRC does not simply say that all unpaid activity is excluded. HMRC RFIG20740
Does the employer's location decide where work happens?
In most cases, work is considered to be done where it is actually carried out, rather than where the employment or business is based. An overseas employer's address is therefore not a substitute for recording the location of the work itself. HMRC RFIG20770
Work during travel needs particular care: whether the time counts as work and where it counts are separate questions. HMRC sets out location rules for journeys to and from the UK, including the points at which an overseas-work period begins or ends. Use that guidance for the journey rather than assuming the employer's country settles it. HMRC RFIG20740, RFIG20770
Special rules for a “relevant job”
“Relevant job” is a defined category with conditions in HMRC's guidance, not a label for anyone who travels for work. Occasionally answering business emails during an international journey does not, on its own, put someone in that category. HMRC RFIG20780
For a worker with a relevant job, a cross-border trip starting in the UK counts as more than three hours of UK work for the work tie that day. This is why the ordinary hours rule must not be applied without the relevant-job qualification. HMRC RFIG20800
A worker who has a relevant job at any time during the tax year is outside the third automatic UK and overseas tests if at least six trips made as part of that job during the tax year are cross-border trips beginning in the UK, ending in the UK, or beginning and ending in the UK. Other automatic tests and, where applicable, the sufficient ties test remain relevant. HMRC RFIG20370, RFIG20140, RFIG20790
What records does HMRC describe?
HMRC says records need to identify the number of hours worked on a given day. HMRC RFIG20740
Its more detailed working-hours record guidance is expressly framed for people whose residence status is determined by the automatic tests for working full-time in the UK or overseas. Selected categories include:
- The split between UK and overseas work, particularly days with more than three hours of work.
- The nature and duration of activities, for which a work diary, calendar or timesheet may be useful.
- Breaks from work and the reasons for them.
- Annual, sick or parenting leave.
- Employment contracts and communications about changes to them.
These are selected categories, not the entire list or a universal checklist for every work-tie case. HMRC RFIG21930
A practical way to organise the information
The following is an editorial suggestion for organising records, not an HMRC form or a required format. Use it alongside the source guidance above.
| Field | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Date | The date of the activity. |
| Location | Where it happened; describe travel separately if relevant. |
| Activity and time | What was done, with the hours recorded rather than only “worked today”. |
| Supporting record | A reference to the calendar entry, timesheet or other record being retained. |
| Unresolved question | Anything needing clarification, such as the treatment of a journey. |
Leave an unresolved classification visible. A tidy-looking total is less useful for a review if it conceals an assumption about what an activity involved.
Does a shorter working day mean there is no UK tax issue?
No such conclusion follows from the work-tie threshold. HMRC specifically warns that shorter UK working days still need to be taken into account when calculating UK taxable income. Exactly three hours not exceeding the ordinary work-tie threshold is not a promise of tax-free work. HMRC RFIG20560, RFIG20740
Put the working hours beside the travel record
Start with one date in the diary. Can the entry show where the work happened, what it involved and the hours recorded? Note what is missing before trying to turn it into a yearly total.
For the wider context, read the introduction to the Statutory Residence Test and the guide to residence records.
Sources
HMRC pages below were retrieved and checked on 8 September 2026. Their recorded public-update date is 4 April 2025, except RFIG20780, which records 7 April 2025. Those are page metadata dates, not a statement that the law changed on those dates.
- RFIG20560: Work tie.
- RFIG20510: Introduction to the ties test.
- RFIG20140: Third automatic overseas test.
- RFIG20370: Third automatic UK test.
- RFIG20740: Work for the SRT.
- RFIG20770: Location of work.
- RFIG20780: Workers with relevant jobs.
- RFIG20800: Relevant jobs and the work tie.
- RFIG20790: Relevant jobs and the automatic work tests.
- RFIG21930: Working-hours and location records.
- Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45, paragraph 9: statutory wording for the third automatic UK test.
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.