ProofstayFree calculator · UK Statutory Residence Test
Statutory Residence Test calculator
Whether you are UK resident for a tax year depends on how many midnights you spend in the UK and how many UK ties you have. Enter your trips and tick your ties to see where you stand, and the most days you can spend in the UK and stay non-resident.
0UK days · 0 ties
0days left
Not checked here: the full-time work tests, the only-home test, the deeming rule and split years. See below.
When a calculator isn't enough
HMRC may ask you to prove it.
A calculator only knows what you type. If HMRC opens an enquiry, you need to show where you were at midnight, night by night. Proofstay records the country you are in every day on your iPhone, counts UK midnights per tax year the way the test does, proofs each record the moment it is made, and turns any year into a report for your adviser. Free to record.
See how Proofstay works →How the test works
Three steps, in order
The Statutory Residence Test (SRT) decides whether you are UK resident for a tax year (6 April to 5 April). Work through it in this order and stop at the first answer.[1]
1. Automatic overseas tests: non-resident if any applies
The three that apply to most people (the law also has tests for people who die during the year):
- You were UK resident in one or more of the previous 3 tax years and spend fewer than 16 days in the UK.[2]
- You were UK resident in none of the previous 3 tax years and spend fewer than 46 days in the UK.[2]
- You work full-time overseas, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK and work more than 3 hours in the UK on fewer than 31 days.[1]
2. Automatic UK tests: resident if any applies
Again the three that apply to most people:
- You spend 183 days or more in the UK.[2]
- You have a home in the UK for 91 days or more in a row (at least 30 of them in the tax year), spend at least 30 days there, and either have no home overseas or spend fewer than 30 days in it.[1]
- You work full-time in the UK for a 365-day period that overlaps the tax year.[1,2]
3. Sufficient ties test
If no automatic test settles it, count your UK ties. The more ties you have, the fewer UK days it takes to make you resident:[1]
| UK days | Resident in a previous 3 years (leaver) | Not resident in previous 3 years (arriver) |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 16 | Always non-resident | Always non-resident |
| 16 – 45 | 4 ties | Always non-resident |
| 46 – 90 | 3 ties | 4 ties |
| 91 – 120 | 2 ties | 3 ties |
| 121 – 182 | 1 tie | 2 ties |
| 183 or more | Always resident | Always resident |
What counts as a day
A day counts if you are in the UK at midnight at the end of it. A day trip to London doesn't count; a night in a Heathrow hotel does. Transit days (you arrive and leave the next day, doing nothing unrelated to the journey) don't count, and neither do up to 60 days a year when exceptional circumstances, such as a sudden serious illness, keep you in the UK.[2]
The deeming rule catches people who avoid midnights: if you were UK resident in one of the previous 3 years, have 3 or more ties and were in the UK during more than 30 days without being there at midnight, the days beyond 30 count as UK days.[2]
An example
You left London for Lisbon in 2025 and were UK resident before that, so you are a leaver. In 2026-27 your adult children live in the UK (no family tie, they aren't minors), you keep your London flat (accommodation tie) and you spent more than 90 days in the UK in 2025-26 (90-day tie). That's 2 ties, so you can spend up to 90 days in the UK in 2026-27 and stay non-resident. Sell or let the flat on a long lease and you are down to 1 tie: up to 120 days.
The ties
Five UK ties
- Family tie: your spouse, civil partner or partner you live with as a couple is UK resident, or a child of yours under 18 is (a child in the UK you see on fewer than 61 days in the year doesn't count).[2]
- Accommodation tie: a place to live in the UK is available to you for 91 days or more in a row during the tax year and you spend at least one night there (16 nights if it belongs to a close relative).[2]
- Work tie: you work more than 3 hours a day in the UK on 40 or more days in the tax year.[2]
- 90-day tie: you spent more than 90 days in the UK in either or both of the previous two tax years.[2]
- Country tie (leavers only): the UK is the country where you were at midnight on the most days in the tax year.[2]
Not covered by this calculator
The full-time work tests, the only-home test, the deeming rule and split-year treatment depend on facts a day count can't see. If you work abroad full-time, have homes in more than one country, or arrive or leave part-way through a year, read HMRC's guidance or ask an adviser.[1,3]
Sources
- HMRC, Guidance Note for Statutory Residence Test (RDR3). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45 (statutory residence test). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- UK Government, Tax on foreign income: residence. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
FAQ
Statutory Residence Test questions
How does the Statutory Residence Test work?
Take the tests in order. If you meet any automatic overseas test, you are non-resident. If not, and you meet any automatic UK test, you are resident. If neither, the sufficient ties test compares your UK days with the number of UK ties you have: the more ties, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before you become resident.
What counts as a day in the UK?
A day counts if you are in the UK at midnight at the end of it. There are two exceptions: transit days, when you arrive and leave the next day without doing anything unrelated to the journey, and up to 60 days a year when exceptional circumstances beyond your control keep you in the UK.
How many days can I spend in the UK without becoming resident?
It depends on your ties and whether you were UK resident in any of the previous three tax years. A leaver with two ties can spend up to 90 days; with one tie, 120; with none, 182. Someone who wasn't resident in the previous three years can spend up to 45 days whatever their ties, and up to 120 with two ties.
What are the UK ties?
Family (a UK-resident spouse, partner or minor child), accommodation (a UK place to live available for 91 days in a row, where you spend at least one night), work (40 or more days of over 3 hours' work in the UK), 90-day (more than 90 UK days in either of the previous two tax years) and, for leavers only, country (more midnights in the UK than in any other single country).
What doesn't this calculator check?
The full-time work tests, the only-home test, the deeming rule for days you were in the UK but not at midnight, and split-year treatment. If any of those might apply to you, read HMRC's guidance RDR3 or ask a tax adviser.
Are my trips stored anywhere?
Only in your own browser, so they are there when you come back. Nothing is sent to a server.