UK statutory residence test (SRT): complete guide for expats in 2026

For the 2025 US tax year filed in 2026, your UK residence position can affect how UK income taxes interact with your US return. The UK applies its residence rules by UK tax year, from April 6 to April 5, rather than the US calendar year.

This guide uses HMRC guidance current through September, 2026. It focuses on the SRT rules relevant to 2025/26 and on the 2025 US return, including the 2026 Form 1116 change for foreign tax credits.

What is the UK statutory residence test and why does it matter for expats?

The SRT has applied since April 6, 2013, and uses three parts: Automatic Overseas Tests, Automatic UK Tests, and the Sufficient Ties Test. HMRC’s RDR3 guidance explains how your UK tax residency status is determined for each UK tax year.

Your UK tax residency status under the Statutory Residence Test determines whether HMRC can tax your global income.

The UK’s Statutory Residence Test is annual. A 2025/26 result does not decide 2026/27 because your UK days, work pattern, home, and family connections can change from one tax year to the next.

UK residents normally pay UK tax on UK and foreign income and gains. Non-residents normally pay UK tax on UK-source income, with separate rules for UK property and certain gains.

From April 6, 2025, the remittance basis ended. A new 4-year foreign income and gains regime can give qualifying new UK residents relief after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence.

That change makes the difference between residence and domicile especially important. Our guide to country of domicile vs residence explains the concepts in plain English.

For a US citizen or green card holder, UK residence does not end US filing by itself. The US generally taxes citizens and resident aliens on worldwide income, while credits, exclusions, and treaty provisions can reduce double taxation.

Automatic Overseas Tests: when you are automatically non-resident

The Automatic Overseas Tests can make you non-resident before the ties test is needed. For 2025/26, the key day limits are fewer than 16 UK days for certain recent residents, fewer than 46 for certain new arrivals, and fewer than 91 for qualifying full-time overseas workers.

The following 4 routes cover the three general overseas tests plus the special test for a person who dies during the tax year:

• Recent UK resident: You were UK resident in at least one of the previous 3 tax years and spend fewer than 16 days in the UK, subject to the separate rules for a tax year in which you die.
• Not recently UK resident: You were non-resident in all 3 previous tax years and spend fewer than 46 days in the UK in the current year.
• Full-time overseas work: You work sufficient hours overseas, have no significant break, spend fewer than 91 UK days, and have fewer than 31 UK workdays of more than 3 hours.
• Death during the year: Fewer than 46 UK days can qualify only with additional prior-residence conditions. Death plus a 45-day count alone is not enough.

Spending fewer than 16 days in the UK is the clearest automatic non-residence route for someone who was UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years.

 

 

The automatic non-residence test is different from the IRS Physical Presence Test. The IRS test looks for 330 full foreign days in a 12-month period, so review our Physical Presence Test guide.

For 2025, UK tax residency rules under the Statutory Residence Test use the UK tax year, while your US return uses the calendar year. Keep a one-day log that supports both systems without assuming their thresholds match.

Automatic UK residence tests: when you are automatically UK resident

You can be automatically UK resident through 3 main tests: 183 UK days, a qualifying UK-home test, or full-time UK work over a 365-day period. The home and work tests contain extra conditions, so the headline 91-day and 365-day figures should not be used alone.

The following 3 Automatic UK Tests apply after considering the SRT order:

1. 183-day test: You spend 183 or more days in the UK during the tax year.
2. UK-home test: A UK home exists for a 91-day period, at least 30 days fall in the tax year, and you are present in that home for at least 30 days, with no disqualifying overseas-home presence.
3. Full-time UK work test: You work full-time in the UK over a 365-day period with no significant break, satisfy the 75% UK-workday condition, and have at least one qualifying UK workday in the period and tax year.

Spending 183 or more days in the UK in one tax year makes you automatically UK resident under the first Automatic UK Test.

The second automatic UK test is not limited to “your only home is in the UK.” If you have an overseas home, you can still meet the test when you are present in each overseas home for fewer than 30 days in the tax year.

HMRC’s home-test stages explain the second test. The third automatic UK test separately uses a 365-day work period, and more than 75% of qualifying workdays in that period must be UK workdays.

 

 

Do not confuse the 183-day rule in the UK with the US Substantial Presence Test. Our US Substantial Presence Test guide explains the separate US formula.

HMRC RDR3 guidance for the UK Statutory Residence Test confirms that 183 days makes you resident under the first test. Fewer UK days can still produce residence through other tests or sufficient ties.

The Sufficient Ties Test: determining residence when automatic tests are inconclusive

The Sufficient Ties Test applies only when the automatic tests do not settle your status. The number of UK ties needed falls as your UK day count rises, and the thresholds differ depending on whether you were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years.

The more days you spend in the UK, the fewer ties are needed to make you UK resident under the Sufficient Ties Test.

The following 5 possible ties can matter for someone who was recently UK resident; a person who was not resident in any of the previous 3 years uses only the first 4:

• Family tie.
• Accommodation tie.
• Work tie.
• 90-day tie.
• Country tie, for recent UK residents only.

A person returning after recent UK residence can become resident at a lower day count than a new arrival with the same family or accommodation facts.

The statutory resident test in the UK – formally the Statutory Residence Test – is not a points system where every connection has equal weight. Day bands determine how many ties matter, and the country tie is unavailable to a person with no UK residence in the previous 3 tax years.

This is why an SRT result needs both a day count and facts about home, work, and family. The sections below define each tie before the threshold table combines them.

Family tie

A family tie can arise when your spouse, civil partner, cohabiting partner, or child under 18 is UK resident for the same tax year. For a child, the 61-day contact rule matters, and separate rules can apply to a child in full-time UK education.

A UK-resident spouse, civil partner, or cohabiting partner can create a family tie when the SRT relationship conditions are met.

For a child under 18, you do not have a family tie through that child if you spend time with the child in person in the UK on fewer than 61 days in the tax year.

A child in full-time UK education is subject to additional school-term rules. Do not treat school attendance by itself as proof that the family tie applies.

A family tie for UK residence is a two-person test: HMRC looks at the other person’s UK residence and your qualifying relationship or contact with that person.

For US filing questions involving a non-US spouse, see our foreign spouse filing-status guide.

Accommodation tie

An accommodation tie usually exists when UK accommodation is available to you for a continuous period of at least 91 days and you spend at least 1 night there. If the accommodation is a close relative’s home, the overnight threshold rises to 16 nights in the tax year.

A room in a close relative’s home can create an accommodation tie if it is available for the required 91-day period and you stay there for 16 or more nights.

Accommodation can include a home, holiday home, temporary retreat, or other place you can live while in the UK. Ownership is not required, so a rented flat or available family property can count.

Short gaps in availability can be treated as part of the continuous period under HMRC’s rules. Each place is considered separately when you have more than one UK accommodation option.

For an accommodation tie in the UK, availability and actual use both matter. A property that exists on paper but is not genuinely available to you does not automatically create the tie.

Work tie

A work tie arises when you do more than 3 hours of work in the UK on at least 40 days during the tax year. The 40 days do not have to be consecutive, and the rule can apply to employment or self-employment activity.

Working more than 3 hours in the UK on 40 or more days in a tax year creates a work tie under the SRT.

For the statutory residence work tie, the following 2 points help with day counting:

• Ordinary employment and self-employment activity can count when the work is physically performed in the UK.
• Travel does not automatically create a workday, but special cross-border rules apply to certain jobs, including jobs performed on vehicles, aircraft, or ships.

Keep a separate log for UK workdays rather than relying only on passport stamps. A day can matter for the work tie even when your arrival or departure time makes the midnight count look different.

For remote workers, record where the work was physically performed and how long you worked. The 3-hour threshold applies to the work tie, not to every other SRT test in the same way.

90-day tie

You have a 90-day tie if you spent more than 90 days in the UK in either of the 2 tax years immediately before the year being tested. The prior years are tested separately, so 50 days in each year does not combine into a 100-day tie.

More than 90 UK days in either of the 2 preceding tax years creates a 90-day tie for the current SRT calculation.

Based on our client scenario at TFX: a US professional spent 94 days in the UK during one prior assignment, then 52 days the next year. The 94-day year is enough to create the tie for the year now under review.

 

 

This tie is easy to miss when an old assignment feels unrelated to a current move. HMRC does not average the 2 preceding tax years for this test.

Country tie

The country tie applies only if you were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years and the UK is where you spend the most midnights. If another country ties the UK for the highest midnight count, the UK still counts for this tie.

The country tie is relevant only after UK residence in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years, and it uses the greatest number of midnights in the current tax year.

For frequent travelers, the tie can become decisive when no single country dominates by much. A tie in midnight totals does not save you if the UK is one of the countries tied for the highest count.

A recent UK resident with fewer than 16 UK days already meets the first Automatic Overseas Test, so the ties test is never reached. The country tie only matters when the earlier automatic tests do not settle residence.

Between 16 and 45 UK days, a recent resident needs at least 4 ties for UK residence. The country tie can be one of those ties, but it does not operate independently of the day-band table.

Sufficient ties thresholds table: days in UK vs ties required

The ties threshold changes at 16, 46, 91, and 121 UK days for recent residents, while a person with no UK residence in the previous 3 years starts the ties table at 46 days. At 183 days, the automatic UK test already makes you resident.

For a person resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years, 46 to 90 UK days require at least 3 ties for UK residence.

The following tables show the HMRC RDR3 decision rule: recent residents can become UK resident with fewer ties at lower day counts than people arriving after 3 non-resident years.

 

For a person not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years, 46 to 90 UK days require all 4 available ties; the country tie is not available.

 

The automatic rules sit outside these tables. A recent resident below 16 days or a qualifying new arrival below 46 days may already be non-resident, while 183 or more UK days creates automatic UK residence.

For a statutory residence test used for UK residency, these tables matter only after the earlier automatic tests fail to give an answer. The day bands then determine how many qualifying ties are needed.

Split year treatment: arriving in or leaving the UK mid-year

Split year treatment can divide a UK-resident tax year into a UK part and an overseas part when 1 of 8 statutory cases applies. It is not elective: if you meet all conditions for a case, split-year treatment applies, with priority rules if more than one case fits.

Split year treatment applies only when the full-year SRT result is UK residence and one of 8 defined cases is met.

The following 8 cases are grouped by departure and arrival:

1. Case 1: Starting full-time work overseas.
2. Case 2: Accompanying a partner who starts full-time work overseas.
3. Case 3: Ceasing to have a home in the UK.
4. Case 4: Starting to have your only home in the UK.
5. Case 5: Starting full-time work in the UK.
6. Case 6: Ceasing full-time work overseas.
7. Case 7: Accompanying a partner who ceases full-time work overseas.
8. Case 8: Starting to have a home in the UK.

Cases 1–3 cover departures and Cases 4–8 cover arrivals. Each case has its own conditions and split date, so meeting a general description in the list is not enough.

If more than one case applies, HMRC’s split-year priority rules select the case and split date. Self Assessment filers report residence and split-year information on SA109 for 2025/26.

The overseas part is generally treated on a non-resident basis for many income-tax purposes, while the UK part is treated on a resident basis. Treaty residence is a separate question and is not split by the SRT rule.

 

 

Read the TFX guide to reporting the timing of foreign income and foreign taxes on a US expat return.

Temporary non-residence rules and the five-year trap

HMRC’s temporary non-residence guidance in RDR3 explains when specified income and gains can come back into UK tax if you return after 5 years or less of non-residence. The rules also require prior UK residence, including sole UK residence in at least 4 of the 7 years before departure.

A period of non-residence must exceed 5 years, meaning at least 5 years plus 1 day, to fall outside the SRT temporary non-residence time condition.

The following 7 categories are among the items HMRC identifies as potentially caught when the temporary non-residence rules apply:

• Certain pension payments and lump sums.
• Distributions from closely controlled companies.
• Loans to participators that are released or written off.
• Chargeable event gains on specified insurance or annuity products.
• Offshore income gains.
• Capital gains arising during temporary non-residence.
• Certain remitted foreign income or disguised-remuneration amounts under the relevant rules.

The rule is not a blanket tax on every pound earned while abroad. Each category has its own conditions, and treaty relief or foreign tax credits can affect the final result.

For returns to UK residence on or after April 6, 2026, HMRC’s manual also reflects a revised rule for qualifying close-company distributions.

Based on our client scenario at TFX: a US citizen leaves the UK, realizes an investment gain abroad, and returns after 4 years. If the statutory prior-residence conditions are met, that gain may be charged in the UK in the return period.

 

 

US green card holders also need to track continuing US worldwide-income rules while abroad. Our green card and foreign income guide covers that separate US obligation.

Determine your UK tax residency status

Your UK status is determined by the SRT facts for the relevant April 6 to April 5 tax year. HMRC’s UK residence-status guidance and checker can indicate a result, while TFX’s UK page explains the US filing side for Americans who live in the UK.

Use HMRC’s checker or a UK tax adviser for the UK residence conclusion. Then see US tax services for Americans in the UK for the US return, foreign account, and cross-border reporting issues TFX handles.

UK-US dual residency: when both countries claim you as a resident

A US citizen or green card holder can be a UK resident under the SRT while remaining subject to US tax rules. Article 4 of the UK-US treaty contains residence and tie-breaker rules, but US citizens are also affected by the treaty’s Article 1 saving clause.

Dual residency in the UK and US does not automatically let a US citizen switch off US worldwide taxation by claiming treaty residence in the UK.

Article 4 first asks whether a person is a resident of each country for treaty purposes. For a US citizen or green card holder, the treaty’s US-residence definition includes extra US connection requirements.

Where an individual is treaty-resident in both countries, Article 4 uses a sequence based on permanent home, center of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and then competent-authority agreement.

Those treaty tie-breaker rules do not override every US tax rule for citizens. Article 1’s saving clause generally preserves the United States’ right to tax its citizens as if the treaty had not entered into force, subject to listed exceptions.

Form 8833 is a disclosure form for treaty-based return positions when required. It is not the rule that makes US worldwide taxation continue, and US citizens should not file it merely because they live in the UK.

For a dual-resident alien who claims treaty residence in the other country, IRS guidance requires a timely nonresident return and Form 8833 disclosure when the treaty position is used to compute US tax as a nonresident.

See our US tax treaty guide before treating a treaty position as a substitute for Form 1040 filing.

The UK-US tax treaty can allocate taxing rights and provide double-tax relief, but the result depends on the income article, residence facts, and citizenship or immigration status.

Foreign tax credits and avoiding double taxation

For the 2025 US tax year, Form 1116 is a primary route for claiming credit for qualifying UK income tax on foreign-source income. The credit is limited by the US foreign tax credit rules, and 2025 Form 1116 has a new Part IV completion requirement.

For 2025 returns filed in 2026, Form 1116 Part IV lines 25–32 must be completed even when you file only 1 Form 1116.

The Foreign Tax Credit does not automatically refund every pound of UK tax. The credit is generally limited to the US tax attributable to the relevant foreign-source income category.

Article 24 of the UK-US treaty contains relief-from-double-taxation rules. The treaty can affect sourcing and credit mechanics for specific items, so wages, pensions, dividends, and gains should not be treated as one category.

For the 2025 tax year, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion is up to $130,000 per qualifying person. If you exclude income on Form 2555, foreign taxes allocable to that excluded income cannot also generate a Form 1116 credit.

 

 

Read our Form 1116 Foreign Tax Credit guide for the US calculation and carryover rules.

For foreign income, UK tax timing also matters because the UK tax year ends April 5. Form 1040 normally reports on a January 1 to December 31 calendar year.

Worldwide income taxation in the UK can span parts of 2 US calendar years, so reconcile tax paid or accrued before claiming a US credit.

Ceasing UK residence: the P85 form and HMRC notification

Form P85 can be used to tell HMRC you left the UK and to claim a refund of UK employment tax in qualifying situations. It is not required when you are filing a Self Assessment return for the tax year of departure, subject to HMRC’s limited work-abroad exception.

A P85 leaving UK form does not decide your SRT status; residence is determined from the facts of the tax year.

The following 4 items are central to the P85 departure process:

• Your UK employment details and P45 information, if available.
• The country you are moving to and your overseas work position.
• Whether and how much time you expect to spend back in the UK.
• Whether you retain a home or other accommodation in the UK.

HMRC’s P85 guidance says P85 is available when you lived and worked in the UK, left or intend to leave, and either may not return or will work abroad full time for at least one full tax year.

If you send a Self Assessment return for the departure year, you normally do not also file P85; HMRC’s employment manual sets out the limited exception. The return itself reports the residence position, including SA109 where applicable.

Submitting P85 can trigger HMRC’s review of your PAYE and refund position, but it is not a formal SRT determination.

Ceasing UK residence can also affect split-year treatment and the temporary non-residence rules. Keep the departure date, UK visits, workdays, and home availability in the same residence file.

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HMRC residence determination and the Statutory Residence Test flowchart

HMRC’s residence-status checker can test the current tax year and the previous 6 tax years, but detailed records still matter. Residence depends on dates, work hours, family ties, and homes, so keep evidence that supports the answers entered into the checker or Self Assessment.

HMRC residence determination is fact-based, and the online checker gives an indication rather than replacing the legislation or RDR3 guidance.

HMRC’s SRT record-keeping guidance supports keeping contemporaneous evidence. The following 4 record-keeping steps make an SRT position easier to support:

1. Keep a travel diary showing UK entry and exit dates and where you were at midnight.
2. Retain boarding passes, itineraries, hotel invoices, and other travel evidence where available.
3. Log UK workdays separately, including days with more than 3 hours of UK work.
4. Keep documents supporting any exceptional-circumstance days you ask HMRC to disregard.

Under HMRC’s assessment time-limit guidance, a 4-year discovery-assessment limit applies in some cases, but HMRC can have 6, 12, or 20 years depending on the facts, including careless conduct, offshore matters, or failure to notify.

A normal enquiry into a filed return has a different statutory timetable. Do not use a single 4-year figure as your record-retention rule.

GOV.UK’s Statutory Residence Test guidance, RDR3, remains the practical guide, while the Residence and FIG Regime Manual gives detailed mechanics. HMRC added a temporary non-residence section to RDR3 on June 11, 2026.

UK tax obligations once residency is established

UK residents normally pay UK tax on UK and foreign income and gains, subject to reliefs such as the 4-year FIG regime. Non-residents normally pay UK tax on UK income, with separate rules for UK property, gains, employment, and treaty relief.

For 2025/26, residence is the main connecting factor for UK taxation of worldwide income and gains after the remittance-basis reforms of April 6, 2025.

The following 4 obligations can arise, depending on your facts:

• File Self Assessment when HMRC’s filing rules require it, using SA109 for residence and FIG information where relevant.
• Report taxable foreign income and gains unless a specific relief, exemption, or treaty rule applies.
• Check UK National Insurance rules for work abroad separately if you work in the UK, because contribution rules depend on work and social-security coverage.
• Review property-specific taxes only if relevant; ATED mainly applies to companies and similar entities owning UK residential property over £500,000, while SDLT arises on property transactions.

For US owners of overseas rentals, the same property can require a separate US calculation. See our foreign rental property guide.

US citizens and resident aliens generally keep filing US returns on worldwide income. For 2025 calendar-year returns, the regular deadline is April 15, 2026, and qualifying taxpayers abroad receive an automatic filing extension to June 15, 2026.

 

 

Your UK tax obligations as an expat and your US obligations are separate systems. TFX prepares US returns; use HMRC guidance or a UK adviser for UK filing and UK tax positions.

Get your US expat taxes filed while living in the UK

A 2025 Form 1040 filed in 2026 may need Form 1116, Form 2555, Form 8938, or other international forms depending on your facts. TFX prepares US expat returns for Americans in the UK and coordinates the US reporting from your available UK tax records.

Paying UK tax while filing in the US? Get your 2025 expat return prepared.

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UK domicile vs residence: why the distinction still matters

From April 6, 2025, the UK abolished the remittance basis and replaced domicile as a main income-tax connecting factor with a residence-based system. All UK residents now start from arising-basis taxation, but qualifying new residents can claim up to 4 years of FIG relief.

From April 6, 2025, UK residence largely determines exposure to UK tax on foreign income and gains, subject to the new 4-year FIG regime and other reliefs.

Historically, a non-UK-domiciled resident could use the remittance basis in qualifying circumstances. That regime ended on April 6, 2025, so older “non-dom” articles can give the wrong answer for 2025/26.

The new 4-year FIG regime is narrower and time-limited. A qualifying new resident must be in one of their first 4 UK-resident tax years after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence.

A FIG claim can relieve eligible foreign income and gains for the claim year, but it comes with separate consequences and reporting choices. Residence under the SRT remains the gateway question.

Domicile still matters in some legal and historical contexts, but the 2025 reform changed its role in UK taxation. Do not use pre-April 2025 remittance-basis assumptions for a 2025/26 residence analysis.

The distinction also matters for US expats because US federal tax residence and citizenship rules use different concepts. A UK residence result does not change US citizenship-based filing.

Catch up on unfiled US returns while living abroad

If you missed US returns while living in the UK, the IRS streamlined filing compliance procedures can apply to eligible non-willful taxpayers. For eligible taxpayers residing outside the US, the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures generally call for 3 years of returns and 6 years of FBARs, with specified penalties waived when all requirements are met.

Behind on US returns while living in the UK? See whether Streamlined may help you catch up.

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