Leaving the UK - breaking tax residence

There are many reasons why individuals may decide to leave the UK; a lifestyle choice, employment reasons or other personal circumstances.

A move out of the UK can happen at short notice and you might intend your non-residence to have immediate effect. However, for tax purposes the date your residence begins, and ends is defined by the UK’s Statutory Residence Test (the ‘SRT’).

You may wish to continue to spend time in the UK and remain non-UK tax resident. However, once you have been UK tax resident, if you return to the UK after a period of non-UK residence there are additional specific matters (related to your UK tax position) to be aware of. It is best to understand the SRT rules so that you do not accidentally become UK tax resident again, if that’s not your intention

Although it can be complicated, the SRT can provide more certainty surrounding the steps you must take to become non-UK resident, and remain non-UK resident, for UK tax purposes.
 

A new UK tax regime

A new income and capital gains tax regime was introduced in the UK (from 6 April 2025) for new arrivers to the UK (i.e. individuals who have been non-UK resident for more than 10 years). This replaced the historic remittance basis of taxation in the UK.

The UK inheritance tax ('IHT') rules also changed from 6 April 2025 to be based on an individual’s residence status. Now individuals who have been resident in the UK for more than 10 years will have a continued exposure to UK IHT on non UK assets following departure from the UK. This exposure will depend on the length of time they were UK tax resident. Read more about IHT and protecting your family’s assets.
 

Statutory Residence Test

Your residence position in the UK is determined by the UK’s Statutory Residence Test (‘SRT’). The rules set out in the SRT determine your residence position by considering the number of connections you have to the UK (also known as ‘ties’) against the number of days you have spent in the UK in a tax year. Your position must be considered based on your personal circumstances, so detailed records must be kept to support your residence position.

Under the SRT, the more connections you have to the UK then the fewer number of days you may spend in the UK before you would be UK resident.

The connections that are relevant are work, family, accommodation, spending more than 90 days in the UK in the prior tax year and spending more time in the UK than any other country.

The SRT comprises three parts: an automatic overseas test, an automatic resident test and a sufficient ties test. The tests should be considered in that order, but as soon as the conditions of one test are met, the other tests do not need to be considered.

The flow chart is an overview only and does not cover all the intricacies of the SRT - personal tax advice based on your specific circumstances is therefore essential.

You are considered non-resident for a tax year if you are in the UK for fewer than a specified number of days during that year. Each day is counted based on your presence in the UK at midnight. The limits are as follows:

  1. If you were resident in the UK for one or more of the preceding three tax years the limit is 15 days or
  2. If you were resident in the UK for none of the preceding three tax years the limit is 45 days or
  3. If you work abroad ‘full-time’ throughout the tax year (broadly, 35 hours per week on average), without a significant break (more than 30 days, with exceptions for annual, sick or parenting leave), the limit is 90 days. In this case you must also have less than 31 days in the tax year on which you do more than three hours’ work in the UK.

Days of presence will be disregarded where you spend a day in the UK due to circumstances beyond your control or where it is a day spent in transit.

Days of presence will be disregarded if it is a day spent in transit or if you spend a day in the UK due to circumstances beyond your control. A Court of Appeal decision in favour of the taxpayer concerning what constitutes ‘exceptional circumstances’ has made this rule broader but also less certain when it can be applied.

If none of the three tests above are met, the automatic resident tests must be considered.

If you want to spend more than 15 or 45 days a year in the UK and do not want to work full-time abroad, it is still possible to be non-UK resident. However, you will need to substantially reduce both the amount of time you spend in the UK and the number of ‘ties’ you have with the UK.

The sufficient ties test combines the concept of UK ties with the number of days that you are present in the UK and can only be considered if none of the automatic residence tests are met. There are many situational complexities to each of the five UK ties but, in outline, the ties are:

  1. Family tie – you have a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or minor child resident in the UK. If you have both a spouse and a child then this is still just one tie, not two. Children will not be taken into account if you see the child in the UK on fewer than 61 days in the year, or if the child is only resident because they are in full-time education in the UK and they spend less than 21 days in the UK outside term time.
  2. Accommodation tie – you have accommodation in the UK that is available to be used for a continuous period of at least 91 days in a tax year, and you spend at least one night there in the year. If the accommodation is the home of a close relative the ‘one night’ test is extended to 16 nights. This tie does not require you to own the accommodation, so holiday homes and even hotels may trigger this tie.
  3. Work tie – you work in the UK for 40 or more days in a tax year, for at least three hours per day.
  4. 90 day tie – you have been present in the UK for more than 90 days in either of the previous two tax years.
  5. Country tie – you are present in the UK at midnight in the tax year as much as (or more than) you are present in any other single country. This tie applies to ‘leavers’ only (see below).

The more ties you have, the less time you can spend in the UK if you want to be regarded as non-resident. Please note that the table below only applies when the individual is a ‘leaver’ (meaning an individual who was UK resident in one or more of the three previous tax years). Separate rules apply to individuals who have not recently been resident in the UK.


Residence status is generally determined for a complete tax year. However, if your circumstances fit one of the cases for split-year treatment to apply then the tax year of departure can be split into a resident period and a non-resident period. These rules are more complex, so make sure to get expert advice based on your personal circumstances.

Anti-avoidance provisions apply to prevent individuals leaving the UK for a short period to realise substantial amounts of income or capital gains. You must be non-resident for a specified period, otherwise you will be taxed on certain types of income and capital gains in the year you return to the UK. Read more about the temporary non-residence rules.

Private Client Service

As trusted advisers to entrepreneurs and owner managed businesses, our Private Client specialists across our international network have vast experience in looking after the tax affairs of wealthy individuals, their families and their businesses. 

Our services include: 

Wealth and Asset Protection – Advice on the use of trusts and other entities in structuring global wealth including the tax efficiency of Wills.

International Tax – Co-ordinating and advising on the different tax regimes between countries.

Tax Residence - Advice and practical guidance on moving to the UK and other countries. 

Family Business Advisory – We work with multi-generational businesses all over the world with diverse cultures and in diverse sectors.  

Next steps

UK tax residence rules are complicated, and if you are trying to assess your residence status you should seek expert advice - please get in touch with your usual BDO contact, Paul Ayres, Richard Montague or Lee Bijoux.

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Paul Ayres

Paul Ayres

National Head of Private Clients
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