The UK uses the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) to determine tax residency. There are three parts: Automatic Overseas, Automatic UK, and the Sufficient Ties Test.
You are automatically UK tax resident if you:
- Spend 183+ days in the UK during the tax year.
You are automatically non-resident if:
- You spent fewer than 16 days in the UK and were UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years,
- Or you spent fewer than 46 days and were not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years,
- Or you worked full-time overseas, and:
- Spent fewer than 91 days in the UK,
- Worked more than 3 hours on fewer than 31 UK days,
- Had no significant break (31+ days without working or valid leave) from overseas work
If none of the above apply, the Sufficient Ties Test is used.
This test looks at your UK connections, including:
- Having a UK home
- Having a UK-based job
- Spending more time in the UK than any other country
- Having close family in the UK
- Spending significant time in the UK in recent years
The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before becoming a tax resident.
 These rules apply to both employees and the self-employed. Voluntary workers and transport workers (e.g., ships, planes) follow separate rules.
You can explore the UK SRT more through our case study.