The Statutory Residence Test (SRT)
Figuring out your UK tax residency can feel complex, but it all comes down to one thing: the Statutory Residence Test (SRT). We‚ broken it down into simple terms to help you understand your status with confidence.Whether you owe UK tax is determined by your residency status, not your nationality or where you were born. The SRT (Statutory Residence Test) is a series of tests that look at how much time you've spent in the UK and what ties you have to the country.
The test has three parts you work through in order:
1. The 'Automatic Overseas' Tests
First, see if you are automatically considered non-resident. If you meet any of these conditions, you are not a UK resident for that tax year, and you don't need to go any further. For example, you might be automatically non-resident if you:
- Were a UK resident in one of the last 3 tax years but spent fewer than 16 days in the UK in the current year
- Were not a UK resident in any of the last 3 tax years and spent fewer than 46 days in the UK in the current year
- Work full-time overseas
2. The 'Automatic UK' Tests
If you don't meet any of the 'Automatic Overseas' tests, you then check if you are automatically a UK resident. You'll be automatically resident if, for example, you:
- Spent 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year
- Your only home is in the UK
3. The 'Sufficient Ties' Test
If your status still isn't clear, you move to the final test. This looks at a combination of how many days you spent in the UK and how many 'ties' you have to the country. Ties can include things like:
- Having a close family member (spouse or child) who is a UK resident
- Having accommodation available to you in the UK
- Doing substantive work in the UK
The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before becoming a tax resident.
It's a structured process, and our platform can guide you through it to give you a clear answer.