Anyone who travels a lot also knows to expect the unexpected. We’ve had global travel impacted by natural disasters and a global pandemic in just the last few decades. But disruptions don’t always need to be global — a purely personal event can disrupt your travel plans and throw your day counting off track. You may call these days ‘exceptional days’. But what do they have to do with tax residency?
At its simplest, the concept of exceptional days allows you to disregard days spent in a country due to certain unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstances when determining tax residency. While this might sound like a helpful relief, claiming these days is far from simple. The names for these unexpected events vary by jurisdiction, along with the rules surrounding them. Mistakes or assumptions about what constitutes exceptional days or how they operate can lead to audits, penalties, and even unexpected tax bills.
This article explores the meaning and mechanics of exceptional days, how different countries interpret them, and what you can do to protect yourself from costly misunderstandings.
Exceptional days are, quite literally, days that don’t count in jurisdictions that allow for them. They are typically days spent in a country that — under specific circumstances — do not contribute to your tax residency status.
Many tax regimes employ a threshold, such as 183 days, to determine whether an individual is a tax resident. If your presence exceeds that threshold, you could be deemed a tax resident and liable to taxation on your income. Exceptional day provisions, therefore, offer relief for days you were forced to stay in a country, not by choice, but by necessity.
Common examples of events that can qualify a day as ‘exceptional’ include the following:
However, while the concept seems straightforward, successfully claiming exceptional days is another matter altogether. Countries have different ways to interpret exceptional days, and often proving your claims comes down to evidence and interpretation. In some cases, they may not even apply.
| 💡Tax residence is rarely determined solely with day counts, and many countries use day counts as one of the qualifying criteria. Learn more about tax residency and day counting here. |
Tax jurisdictions have different ways they determine which days count towards your tax residency. The OECD Model Tax Convention provides a framework for resolving dual-residency, but it doesn’t mandate the exclusion of ‘exceptional days’. Implementation depends on each country’s domestic tax code. Therefore, how countries determine these unique days differs, if they use the concept at all.
The exact term ‘exceptional days’ is most common in the UK tax code, along with the Statutory Residence Test (SRT). Therefore, you are most likely to hear the term used in the context of the UK’s rules.
Some days may not count towards your residency in other countries due to these unforeseen circumstances. For example, in the US, an illness or injury that prevents you from leaving the country can be considered when determining your residence.
Then, other countries may consider individual circumstances but don’t have a concept of ‘exceptional days’ or ‘unforeseen circumstances’ outlined in their tax code.
The chart below outlines some of the differences between countries:
Even in jurisdictions that allow for exceptional day exclusions, such as the UK, proving and claiming them can be challenging.
Tax authorities often request corroborating evidence, such as hospital records, airline notices, immigration data, and contemporaneous correspondence. Vague statements or after-the-fact explanations are not enough.
Even when rules exist, they’re subject to the tax authority’s judgment. In a high-profile case in the UK, HMRC challenged a person’s non-residency claims in a case involving exceptional days claims. The person claimed they only went above their day count due to exceptional circumstances, arguing that those days spent in the UK shouldn’t count. The court case dragged on with:
It’s easy to assume that the concept is universally applied. However, even if you are an expert in the UK tax code, it doesn’t mean similar rules apply in Switzerland. You also need to remember that rules can change or be interpreted differently due to major global events, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us. Overconfidence can be dangerous.
Because of the high bar for documentation and the discretion involved in exceptional day claims, it’s wise to consult a professional tax adviser before relying on these provisions. What qualifies in one country may be irrelevant in another, and a specialist can help you interpret the rules accurately in your context.
| 💡Did you know? The OECD published specific guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognising that “force majeure” situations (e.g., travel bans) could affect tax residency. While this was non-binding, some countries temporarily adjusted rules accordingly. |
The key is to prepare for an exceptional situation before it arises. You can’t go back and create evidence after the fact, especially if you need to demonstrate events that happened years ago.
The key is to move from counting days retroactively to actively managing them. This means:
Don’t leave your day count to guesswork or memory. As investigations increase and tax authorities use AI tools to cross-reference data from airline bookings, credit card transactions, and social media, your records must match up. An exceptional day could be less disruptive — even if it’s not accepted as such — when you have a better idea of how close you are to your limit as you book travel.
Daysium helps HNWIs, trustees, and family offices keep accurate, defensible records:
An exceptional day is a day spent in a country that, under certain tax residency rules, does not count toward the usual residency threshold, such as the 183-day rule. These days typically involve events outside your control, like illness, travel disruptions, or force majeure situations.
No. Tax treatment of exceptional days varies widely. While the UK allows up to 60 exceptional days under strict conditions, countries like Spain count almost every day — even partial days — with little room for exception.
In the UK, exceptional circumstances might include severe illness, national disasters, or travel restrictions that make it impossible to leave. However, HMRC requires strong contemporaneous evidence, and each claim is judged on a case-by-case basis.
To claim an exceptional day, you’ll need comprehensive documentation: geo-tagged location data, medical records, flight cancellations, or correspondence with authorities. Real-time day counting platforms, such as Daysium, help create a defensible record.
Because exceeding day thresholds, even by accident, can trigger unexpected tax residency, exposing you to global taxation. By accurately identifying and documenting exceptional days, you reduce the risk of audits and penalties.
Exceptional days can occur and have a significant impact on your tax compliance. But whether or not they can offer relief to you depends on the tax jurisdictions involved. Some countries do consider these special occasions that may arise from unavoidable presence. Yet, the rules vary, and not all countries even recognise such concepts.
For globally mobile individuals, planning around these rules requires more than guesswork. It demands clarity, documentation, and the tools to manage your movements in a legally defensible way.
Whether you’re in the UK, Ireland, the US, or anywhere else, the trend is clear: authorities are intensifying scrutiny. Proving where you were and why has never been more important.
If you’re navigating complex global movements and need peace of mind, consider building your compliance on a foundation you can trust. Daysium is built for people like you.
Check how prepared you are with our Tax Residence Risk Score. It takes just a few minutes and gives you actionable tips to help with tax residency compliance.
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