Expat Tax Residency in United Kingdom

The United Kingdom determines each individual's tax residence annually under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), introduced by Finance Act 2013 Schedule 45 and operational from the 2013-14 tax year. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Residence status governs whether an individual is taxed on worldwide income and gains or only on UK-source income. HMRC's primary guidance document is RDR3 (Guidance Note: Statutory Residence Test), available on GOV.UK [SC1].

How does the Statutory Residence Test determine UK residence?

The SRT is a three-stage cascade applied in order. Stage 1 -- Automatic Overseas Tests (AOTs): If any one of three AOTs is satisfied, the individual is automatically non-resident for that tax year with no further analysis required. AOT 1: the individual was UK-resident in at least one of the prior three tax years AND spent fewer than 16 days in the UK in the current year. AOT 2: the individual was not UK-resident in any of the prior three tax years AND spent fewer than 46 days in the UK. AOT 3: the individual worked full-time overseas throughout the year (broadly, at least 35 hours per week on average with no significant break of 31 or more consecutive days without overseas work), spent fewer than 91 days in the UK, and worked in the UK for more than 3 hours on fewer than 31 days [SC1].

Stage 2 -- Automatic UK Tests (AUTs): If no AOT is met, the individual is automatically UK-resident if any AUT is satisfied. AUT 1: 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year. AUT 2: the individual had only (or their main) home in the UK, that home was available for 91 or more consecutive days, and the individual stayed there at least once during the year. AUT 3: the individual worked full-time in the UK for 365 days spanning the tax year, with more than 75 percent of working days in the UK and at least one qualifying UK work day in both the period and the tax year [SC1].

Stage 3 -- Sufficient Ties Test: If neither automatic test produces a result, residence depends on UK days combined with the count of UK ties held. A day in the UK is generally any day at midnight (the midnight rule). There are five recognised ties: (1) Family tie -- a spouse, civil partner, or minor child is UK-resident; (2) Accommodation tie -- a home available for 91 or more days in the tax year in which the individual stays at least one night; (3) Work tie -- the individual works in the UK for more than 3 hours on 40 or more days in the year; (4) 90-day tie -- the individual spent more than 90 days in the UK in either or both of the two preceding tax years; (5) Country tie (only available if the individual was UK-resident in any of the prior three tax years) -- the UK is the country in which the most midnights were spent in the tax year [SC1].

How many ties and days trigger UK residence under the sufficient-ties test?

The number of ties that make an individual UK-resident depends on days present and whether the individual was UK-resident in any of the prior three tax years. The country tie is only available against leavers (prior UK residents), so not-previously-resident individuals can hold at most four ties.

Source: HMRC RDR3 [SC1].

What happened to the UK non-dom remittance basis?

The non-domiciled (non-dom) remittance basis allowed UK-resident individuals whose domicile was outside the UK to elect to pay UK tax only on foreign income and gains actually brought into the UK, leaving offshore amounts untaxed. This regime was abolished from 6 April 2025 by Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 and replaced by the Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime [SC2].

From 6 April 2025, all UK residents are taxed on the arising basis on worldwide income and gains unless they qualify for and claim FIG relief. Domicile is no longer a gateway to reduced taxation on foreign income or gains for income tax and CGT purposes, though domicile retains relevance for inheritance tax.

For individuals who were claiming the remittance basis as of 5 April 2025, a Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) is available for three years. Designated pre-April 2025 foreign income and gains already held offshore can be brought into the UK at a flat rate of 12 percent for designations in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 tax years, rising to 15 percent for 2027-28. Eligible individuals who previously claimed the remittance basis between 2017-18 and 2024-25 may also rebase certain foreign capital assets to their 5 April 2017 market value, eliminating the UK CGT exposure on gains that accrued before that date [SC2].

What is the new 4-year Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime?

The FIG regime is available to a qualifying new resident: a UK tax resident (under the SRT) who is within their first four consecutive tax years of UK residence following a period of at least 10 consecutive tax years as a non-UK tax resident. A British citizen who left the UK at least 10 complete tax years ago and returns in 2025-26 would qualify, as would a foreign national arriving in the UK for the first time [SC2].

A qualifying new resident who makes a claim on their Self Assessment return pays no UK income tax or CGT on eligible foreign income and gains arising in the claim year. Crucially, there is no requirement to keep the funds offshore -- exempted amounts can be freely remitted to the UK without triggering additional tax. This is a fundamental departure from the old remittance basis. The four-year window runs from first UK-residence year; unused years cannot be rolled over, and departures from the UK during the window do not pause or restart the clock [SC2].

Claiming FIG relief carries a significant trade-off: the personal income tax allowance (GBP 12,570 for 2025-26 and 2026-27), the CGT annual exempt amount (GBP 3,000 for 2025-26), and other allowances (married couples allowance, blind person's allowance) are all forfeited for any tax year in which a FIG claim is made. The HMRC guidance note for the FIG regime (RFIG44000 in the Residence and FIG Regime Manual) sets out qualifying conditions in detail [SC2].

How does split-year treatment work for arrivals and departures?

Split-year treatment under Schedule 45 Part 3 of Finance Act 2013 applies when an individual arrives in or leaves the UK partway through a tax year. Because the SRT determines residence for a whole tax year, an individual who arrives in December would otherwise be UK-resident for the full year from 6 April -- split-year treatment divides the year into a UK part and an overseas part so that foreign income arising before arrival falls outside UK tax. Eight statutory cases cover the qualifying patterns. Cases 1 to 3 apply to departures: starting full-time work overseas (Case 1), accompanying or joining a partner who qualifies under Case 1 (Case 2), and ceasing to have a UK home (Case 3). Cases 4 to 8 apply to arrivals: starting to have only a UK home (Case 4), starting full-time work in the UK (Case 5), ceasing full-time overseas work (Case 6), the partner of a Case 1 or 5 qualifier (Case 7), and starting to have a UK home and meeting a day-count condition (Case 8). The cases are mutually exclusive and the split date is determined by statute, not by individual choice. Claims are made on the SA109 supplementary pages of the Self Assessment return [SC1].

The SA109 Residence supplementary pages also capture days in the UK, tie counts, FIG regime claims, and treaty residence tie-breaker claims. The Self Assessment deadline for online filing is 31 January following the end of the tax year; the corresponding payment deadline is also 31 January, with payments on account due 31 January and 31 July [SC3].

Once UK-resident, an individual is taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates: 20 percent (basic rate, on taxable income from GBP 12,571 to GBP 50,270), 40 percent (higher rate, GBP 50,271 to GBP 125,140), and 45 percent (additional rate, above GBP 125,140) for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 tax years. The personal allowance of GBP 12,570 tapers to zero for income above GBP 125,140. These rates apply to employment income, self-employment profits, rental income, and most other categories of income. Dividend income and savings interest carry separate rate schedules. Scottish residents pay different income tax rates set by the Scottish Parliament on non-savings, non-dividend income [SC4].

For the broader UK tax framework, see the United Kingdom country overview. The rules summarised here are drawn from HMRC primary guidance and are current as of 2026-06-08; individual circumstances vary and a qualified UK chartered tax professional can apply these rules to specific situations.