The UK tax year and the order of the tests
The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April — not the calendar year. Your residence status is worked out separately for each tax year, so you can be resident one year and not the next.
The Statutory Residence Test (SRT) is applied in a fixed order:
- Automatic overseas tests — if you meet one, you are automatically non-resident.
- Automatic UK tests — if you meet one (and no overseas test applied), you are automatically resident.
- Sufficient ties test — used only when the automatic tests do not settle it. It weighs your UK connections against the number of days you spent here.
Work through them in that sequence; the first one that gives a clear answer decides the year.
183 days = automatically resident
The clearest rule is the first automatic UK test: spend 183 days or more in the UK in the tax year and you are UK resident for that year. HMRC is explicit that there are no exceptions and no need to look at any other test.
There are two other automatic UK tests that can make you resident on fewer days:
- UK home test — broadly, having a home in the UK that is available to you for a period of at least 91 consecutive days, with enough presence there.
- Full-time work in the UK — working full-time in the UK over a 365-day period (with more than 75% of working days in the UK).
If you do not meet any automatic UK test, you are not yet off the hook — the ties test may still apply.
The automatic overseas tests (how to be clearly non-resident)
Meeting any one of these makes you automatically non-resident for the year:
- Fewer than 16 days in the UK, if you were UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years.
- Fewer than 46 days in the UK, if you were not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years.
- Full-time work overseas, with fewer than 91 days in the UK and fewer than 31 days worked (more than 3 hours) in the UK, and no significant break from your overseas work.
The 16-vs-46-day split is why your recent history matters: someone leaving the UK after years of residence has a much tighter day budget than a long-term non-resident.
The sufficient-ties test and the 90-day tie
When the automatic tests do not decide the year, the sufficient-ties test balances how many days you spent in the UK against how many ties you have. The five possible ties are:
- Family tie — a spouse, civil partner or minor child resident in the UK.
- Accommodation tie — UK accommodation available to you for a continuous period of at least 91 days, which you use.
- Work tie — working in the UK for 40 days or more in the year (a day = more than 3 hours).
- 90-day tie — you spent more than 90 days in the UK in either or both of the previous 2 tax years.
- Country tie — the UK is the country where you were present at midnight most often (this tie applies only to people who were UK resident in one or more of the prior 3 tax years).
The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before becoming resident. A single tie can be enough at higher day counts.
How many ties make you resident
The thresholds differ depending on whether you are an arriver (not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years) or a leaver (resident in one or more of them). Leavers also have the extra country tie in play.
Leavers (resident in 1+ of the prior 3 years):
| Days in UK | Ties needed to be resident |
|---|---|
| 16–45 | at least 4 |
| 46–90 | at least 3 |
| 91–120 | at least 2 |
| 121–182 | at least 1 |
Arrivers (not resident in any of the prior 3 years):
| Days in UK | Ties needed to be resident |
|---|---|
| 46–90 | all 4 |
| 91–120 | at least 3 |
| 121–182 | at least 2 |
This is why a long-term UK resident with strong ties can become resident on as few as 16 days, while spending up to 182 days does not guarantee non-residence.
Counting days — and what Countly tracks
For the SRT, a day generally counts if you are in the UK at the end of the day (midnight) — the "midnight rule." A refinement called the deeming rule can count some days you were not present at midnight, mainly aimed at people with substantial UK ties and many UK days. Limited relief exists for exceptional circumstances (such as serious illness) and for transit days.
Note one common point of confusion: the SRT's **"90 days" is the 90-day tie threshold**, measured across the previous two tax years — it is not a visa or entry limit, and it is unrelated to the Schengen 90/180 rule for visitors to Europe.
In Countly, the UK 90 days counter tracks this 90-day tie. The app also helps you watch your day count against the 16/46/183-day automatic thresholds for the current 6 April–5 April year. It is a planning aid, not a determination of your status.
Where the SRT fits with the rest of your tax picture
Residence is only part of UK tax. Your domicile and the rules on bringing foreign income into the UK can change what you actually pay, and a double-tax treaty can override a residence finding where two countries both claim you. Some years can also be split into resident and non-resident parts under the split-year rules.
Because the SRT counts days precisely and the bands are narrow, a single mis-recorded trip can flip an outcome. Keep a contemporaneous travel log, and confirm anything material with HMRC or a qualified UK tax adviser. This page is informational, not legal or tax advice, and exceptions exist.