How to Determine UK Residency Status
A whole chapter of the CII’s R03 study text is based on residence and domicile, so no doubt you’ll be faced with questions on this subject. Over the next few weeks, we will be posting articles to help you break down the technical detail. This will also be of interest to anyone studying for AF1, AF5 or R06.
The Statutory Residence Test was introduced in April 2013 and consists of:
- automatic tests for non-residence;
- automatic tests for residence; and
- a sufficient ties test, for those who are not automatically non-resident or resident.
You need to look at each test in turn – if you do not qualify as automatically not resident under the test, then the next step is to consider whether you would be automatically resident
Automatically NOT resident
If:
- In the UK for less than 16 days
- Not resident in the previous 3 years and in the UK for less than 46 days in the current year.
- Left for full-time work abroad (at least 35 hours per week) and in the UK for less than 91 days in the tax year, and less than 31 days in the tax year are spent working in the UK. This includes self-employed work.
Automatically resident in the UK
If:
- In the UK for 183 days or more in the tax year or
- Has a home in the UK (and you live in it for at least 30 days during the tax year)
- If you work full time in the UK continuously for 12 months
Sufficient UK ties test
Depending on the number of ‘ties’, you also need to consider the number of days spent in the UK during the tax year.
There are five UK ties:
- Having a spouse, civil partner or minor children resident in the UK
- Having accommodation in the UK
- Doing substantive work in the UK (40 or more days a tax year)
- Spending more than 90 days in the UK during either of the 2 previous years
- Spending more time in the UK than in any other single country (this only applies when you leave the UK)
As part of this test, the number of days spent in the UK is compared against the number of UK ties:
(i.e. someone who has not been resident for the last 3 tax years) | (i.e. someone who has been UK resident for any of the previous 3 tax years) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 16 | |||
| 16 – 45 | |||
| 46 – 90 | |||
| 91 – 120 | |||
| 121 – 182 | |||
| More than 182 | |||
Split-Year Treatment
Usually, we are treated as resident or non-resident for a tax year, but a year can be split for periods of residence and non-residence if:
- You start to work full time overseas or someone comes to the UK for full-time work
- You accompany your spouse or partner who is working full time overseas
- You leave the UK to live overseas and you no longer have a UK home
- You come to live in the UK – your only home is here or you work full time
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