How to Become Non Resident for UK Tax: SRT Tests, Split Year and Exit Planning

How to become non resident for UK tax: the short answer

You become non resident for UK tax by failing the statutory residence test (SRT) for a whole tax year, which in practice means spending few days in the UK and cutting the ties the test counts, and then telling HMRC. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, and residence is decided for each tax year separately under Schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013. No form makes you non-resident: your status follows from the facts of each year.

The test works in a fixed order. First you check the automatic overseas tests: meet one and you are non-resident for that year. If none applies, you check the automatic UK tests: meet one and you are resident. If neither set settles it, the sufficient ties test weighs the number of days you spent in the UK against the number of UK ties you kept. HMRC's guidance on UK residence and tax summarises the tests, and its detailed RDR3 guidance note, updated on 11 June 2026 to add a section on temporary non-residence, sets out the full rules.

Leaving is therefore measured in tax years, not a moment at the airport: the departure year usually needs split year treatment, and because a short absence can be unwound by anti-avoidance rules, planning a move means planning at least the next six tax years.

The statutory residence test, step by step

Each stage of the SRT uses days of presence, and the thresholds are tighter for people who were UK resident recently.

Automatic overseas tests

According to GOV.UK, you are usually non-resident if either of these applies:

• Few UK days. You spent fewer than 16 days in the UK in the tax year, or fewer than 46 days if you have not been UK resident in any of the three previous tax years.
• Full-time work abroad. You worked abroad full-time, averaging at least 35 hours a week, and spent fewer than 91 days in the UK, of which no more than 30 were spent working.

Automatic UK tests

If no overseas test applies, you are UK resident if any of these applies: you spent 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year; your only home was in the UK for 91 days or more in a row and you were there on at least 30 days of the tax year; or you worked full-time in the UK for any period of 365 days, with at least one day of that period in the tax year.

The sufficient ties test

Most leavers who are not working full-time abroad land in the third stage, where RDR3's two tables apply: the more UK ties you keep, the fewer UK days you can spend.

Days in the UK in the tax year	UK resident in 1 or more of the previous 3 tax years: resident if you have	UK resident in none of the previous 3 tax years: resident if you have
Fewer than 16	Always non-resident (automatic overseas test)	Always non-resident (automatic overseas test)
16 to 45	At least 4 ties	Always non-resident (fewer than 46 days)
46 to 90	At least 3 ties	All 4 ties
91 to 120	At least 2 ties	At least 3 ties
121 to 182	At least 1 tie	At least 2 ties
183 or more	Resident (automatic UK test)	Resident (automatic UK test)

The UK tax residency rules are harder on leavers: for three years after departure they face the tighter left-hand column, so someone keeping four ties, such as a UK home and a spouse in it, has only 15 days.

Counting days and the five UK ties

A day counts as a UK day if you are in the UK at midnight: paragraph 22 of Schedule 45 counts a day if you are present at the end of it, with narrow exceptions for transit passengers and exceptional circumstances.

The deeming rule in paragraph 23 catches people who avoid midnights. If you have at least three UK ties, were UK resident in one of the three previous tax years and had more than 30 days in the UK that did not end there, those extra days are counted.

The five ties, as defined in Schedule 45, are:

• Family tie. Your spouse, civil partner, cohabiting partner or a child under 18 is UK resident for the year.
• Accommodation tie. A place to live in the UK is available to you for a continuous period of at least 91 days in the year and you spend at least one night there; for the home of a close relative the threshold is at least 16 nights.
• Work tie. You work in the UK for at least 40 days in the year, a day counting where you do more than three hours' work.
• 90-day tie. You spent more than 90 days in the UK in either or both of the two previous tax years.
• Country tie (leavers only). The UK is the country in which you were present at midnight on the greatest number of days in the year.

The 90-day and country ties are backward-looking and follow you for a year or two whatever you do; ties you control, such as an available flat or UK workdays, are where planning matters. Log days from the start of the departure tax year and keep travel records for several years.

Split year treatment in the year you leave

Split year treatment divides the tax year of departure into a UK part, taxed as a resident, and an overseas part, taxed for most purposes as a non-resident. Without it, a UK resident is taxed on worldwide income and gains for the whole year, including the months after leaving.

HMRC's manual on what a split year is stresses that it is not optional: if you meet all the conditions of one of the cases, it applies, and if you meet more than one, priority rules decide which. For people leaving, Schedule 45 sets out three cases:

• Case 1: starting full-time work overseas. You were UK resident the previous year, you meet the full-time work abroad test for the following year, and your UK days after departure stay within a permitted limit.
• Case 2: the partner of someone starting full-time work overseas. You move so that you and your partner can continue to live together while they work abroad.
• Case 3: ceasing to have a UK home. You had a UK home at the start of the year and none for the rest of it, you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK after that point, and within six months you have a sufficient link with an overseas country.

Separate cases apply to arrivals, and income from UK workdays stays taxable in the UK. Because the conditions are factual, the UK home is usually sold or let and local registrations completed before the departure date, not after it.

Temporary non-residence: the five-year rule

If you return to the UK within five years, certain income and gains received during your absence can be taxed in the year you come back. HMRC's manual on temporary non-residence sets out the conditions: you had sole UK residence in four or more of the seven tax years immediately before the year of departure, and your period of non-residence lasts five years or less. The absence must exceed five years, so at least five years plus one day.

RDR3 lists the amounts most often caught, including:

• capital gains on assets held before departure;
• distributions from closely controlled companies and loans to participators that are written off or released;
• certain pension payments and lump sums;
• chargeable event gains and offshore income gains;
• foreign income remitted to the UK by former remittance basis users.

A founder who leaves, sells shares or takes a large dividend from a family company in year two, then returns in year four, can find it taxed as if they had never left. Selling a business after departure therefore means a horizon of more than five years abroad, and the company may need attention too: our analysis of branches, subsidiaries and permanent establishment risk explains how a company's own tax position can follow a founder overseas.

Dual residence and double tax treaty tie-breakers

If you are resident in the UK under the SRT and resident in another country under its law, the double tax treaty between them decides where you are resident for treaty purposes. HMRC's International Manual explains that modern UK treaties apply tie-breaker tests in sequence, stopping as soon as one is conclusive:

1. Permanent home: where you have a permanent home available to you, owned or not.
2. Centre of vital interests: where your personal and economic relations are closer.
3. Habitual abode: where you habitually live.
4. Nationality.
5. Mutual agreement between the two tax authorities.

Treaty residence in the other country lets you claim relief from UK tax so that, broadly, only UK-source income stays taxable here, as far as the treaty allows. It does not change your domestic SRT status, which still drives UK filing obligations and the temporary non-residence rules. The specific treaty text must always be checked, and where there is no treaty, international tax specialists should review the position before the move.

What the UK still taxes after you leave

Leaving ends UK tax on most foreign income and gains, but not on UK income or UK land. GOV.UK's guide to tax on UK income if you live abroad says you usually still pay UK tax on UK income such as pensions, rental income, savings interest and wages, though non-residents do not usually pay UK tax on the State Pension or on interest from gilts.

• UK property sales. Non-residents pay capital gains tax on UK property and land, and must report and pay within 60 days of completion for disposals completed on or after 27 October 2021, even where no tax is due. Property lawyers can advise on timing a sale.
• Rental income. If you live abroad for six months or more a year, HMRC treats you as a non-resident landlord: your letting agent, or a tenant paying more than £100 a week, deducts basic rate tax unless HMRC approves form NRL1i so you can receive rent in full and pay through Self Assessment.
• Personal allowance. Non-residents get the personal allowance if they are British or EEA citizens, have worked for the UK government in the year, or are covered by a treaty; it must be claimed, for example on form R43.
• Pensions moved abroad. Transfers of UK tax-relieved pensions to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme can attract the 25% overseas transfer charge unless an exclusion applies, and since 30 October 2024 the exclusion for schemes in the EEA and Gibraltar no longer applies. Specialist wealth managers should model any transfer first.

Moving to the UK: the FIG regime, the TRF and inheritance tax

For people moving to the UK, the non-dom remittance basis has gone: HMRC's helpsheet HS266, updated on 18 May 2026, confirms that from 6 April 2025 all UK residents are taxed on worldwide income and gains as they arise.

In its place, the foreign income and gains (FIG) regime lets a "qualifying new resident" claim relief on foreign income and gains arising in their first four tax years of UK residence. HMRC's manual defines a qualifying new resident as someone UK resident in the year who had not been UK resident for at least 10 consecutive tax years before it, regardless of nationality or domicile. A returning expatriate can qualify after a decade away. Claims are made year by year and have a cost: HMRC confirms that it removes the personal allowance and the capital gains annual exempt amount for that year.

Former remittance basis users who stay can use the Temporary Repatriation Facility to bring pre-6 April 2025 foreign income and gains to the UK at a reduced charge. HMRC's manual sets the TRF charge at 12% of amounts designated for 2025-26 or 2026-27 and 15% for 2027-28, the final year.

Inheritance tax now follows residence too. Under HMRC's guidance on long-term UK residence, you are a long-term resident if you were UK resident for 10 or more of the previous 20 tax years, and that status can last up to 10 tax years after you leave. Our earlier analysis explains how the three to ten year inheritance tax tail works. Families with trusts or assets in several countries should involve private client lawyers early, because the income tax and inheritance tax clocks run on different timetables.

Is there a UK exit tax? What to watch on 28 October

The UK does not currently impose a general exit charge on individuals' unrealised gains when they emigrate: non-residents are generally outside UK capital gains tax except on UK land, and the temporary non-residence rules catch people who return within five years. That is what is under debate. Osborne Clarke's preview of 6 October 2026 lists a CGT "exit tax" for those leaving permanently among suggested measures, without predicting it will be adopted. On the same day, Tax Policy Associates argued that gains built up in the UK and realised after departure should be taxed in the UK, through an exit charge with deferral, and reported that the Chancellor had declined to give signals that would fuel Budget speculation.

No announcement has been made. Founders and others with large unrealised gains should treat 28 October as a date to watch, not a deadline to beat, and take advice on whether any measure would apply from Budget day, a later tax year or only future departures.

What destination countries tax: UAE, Portugal, Italy and Spain

Becoming non-resident in the UK only helps if the destination's rules work too. The four destinations below show how differently countries treat new arrivals.

Destination	When you become tax resident	Headline regime for new arrivals	Key condition
United Arab Emirates	183 days in 12 consecutive months; or 90 days plus a residence permit and a permanent place of residence or work in the UAE; or primary home and centre of interests	No income tax on individuals	Certificate available from the Federal Tax Authority
Portugal	Criteria in article 16 of the IRS Code	IFICI: 20% on eligible employment and self-employment income for 10 consecutive years; most foreign income generally exempt	Not resident in the previous 5 years; eligible activity; never benefited from NHR
Italy	Residence, domicile or physical presence for most of the tax year (183 days, 184 in a leap year)	Optional lump sum on foreign income: EUR 300,000 a year, EUR 50,000 per family member, up to 15 years	Not resident in Italy for 9 of the previous 10 tax years; moved from 1 January 2026
Spain	More than 183 days in the calendar year, or centre of economic interests	Special regime: 24% up to EUR 600,000 of employment income, 47% above	Not resident in the previous 5 years; opt in on modelo 149 within six months

United Arab Emirates

The UAE government portal states that the UAE does not levy income tax on individuals. Residence still matters for treaty claims. Under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 (effective 1 March 2023), an individual is resident if their primary residence and centre of financial and personal interests are in the UAE, on 183 days in 12 consecutive months, or on 90 days with UAE or GCC nationality or a residence permit plus a permanent place of residence or employment or business there. Our sister publication Global Law Experts compares the UAE remote-work, golden visa and company residency routes. Owners moving a business should also note the Gulf's 15% domestic minimum top-up taxes; members in our UAE directory and in Dubai advise on both.

Portugal

Portugal's tax authority describes IFICI, the incentive in article 58-A of its Tax Benefits Statute, in an official leaflet: a special 20% rate on net employment and self-employment income from eligible activities for 10 consecutive years, with foreign employment, capital, rental and capital gains income generally exempt, but a 35% rate on income paid from blacklisted jurisdictions. Applicants must not have been resident in Portugal in any of the previous five years and must never have benefited from the non-habitual resident regime, and only eligible activities such as research, innovation and highly qualified roles qualify, so it is not a retiree regime. Advisers in Portugal can confirm eligibility.

Italy

Since 2024 Italy has treated as resident anyone with residence, domicile or physical presence in Italy for most of the tax year, counting fractions of days, according to the Agenzia delle Entrate's Circular 20/E; Global Law Experts' guide to Italy's tax residency rules walks through the same tests. The new-residents lump sum now costs more: the Agenzia's guidance on the new-resident option confirms the 2026 budget law raised it to EUR 300,000 a year, plus EUR 50,000 per family member, for people moving from 1 January 2026, for up to 15 years. Advisers in Italy can model the trade-off.

Spain

Spain treats as resident anyone who spends more than 183 days in the calendar year in Spain or whose main economic interests are there. Its special regime lets qualifying arrivals be taxed under non-resident rules in the year they become resident and the next five; the tax agency's manual sets a 24% rate up to EUR 600,000 and 47% above. The option is made on modelo 149 within six months of starting work. Advisers in Spain handle the filing.

Other regimes are in play: Global Law Experts' decision guide to Greece's non-domicile options sets out how a lump-sum regime compares with staying foreign tax resident. A residence visa is a separate question from tax residence, as our report on Latvia's closed property residence route shows, so immigration lawyers and tax advisers should work together.

Exit planning checklist: steps before and after you leave

A clean departure follows a sequence, reflecting GOV.UK's guidance on tax if you leave the UK to live abroad.

1. Choose the departure tax year. Work out which SRT test and which split year case you expect to meet, and whether you expect to be away for more than five years.
2. Time gains and income deliberately. Decide which disposals and dividends happen while resident, bearing in mind the five-year rule and the Budget.
3. Change the facts. Sell or let the UK home, set up the overseas home, move family members if a family tie matters, and register with the destination's tax authority.
4. Tell HMRC. If you do not file Self Assessment, use form P85, with Parts 2 and 3 of your P45; if you do, complete the residence pages (SA109) of your return.
5. Set up continuing obligations. Apply under the non-resident landlord scheme if you let UK property, diarise the 60-day UK property return, and claim the personal allowance if eligible.
6. Keep a day log and evidence. Record midnights in the UK, workdays, and where you live, for every year in which ties remain.

Business owners should add a corporate step. HMRC's manual notes that a company is UK resident if it is incorporated in the UK or its central management and control is in the UK, so where the board meets after a founder moves can affect where the company is taxed. Advisers in the United Kingdom and in the destination should review board arrangements at the same time.

When to take advice before you move and what to prepare

Take advice before you fix a departure date, ideally before the start of the tax year in which you plan to leave, and certainly before selling a business, exercising options or transferring a pension. Once a tax year's facts have happened, they cannot be rearranged. Cross-border moves usually need a UK tax adviser and one in the destination, plus a private client lawyer where trusts, wills or family assets are involved.

To make the first meeting productive, prepare:

• a day count for the current and previous three tax years, with where you spent each midnight;
• a list of UK ties: homes available to you, family members' residence, expected UK workdays;
• your intended move date, destination and length of stay, and whether a return within five years is possible;
• a schedule of assets with acquisition dates and costs, especially shares, property and carried interest;
• pension details and any plans to transfer;
• for arrivals to the UK, your UK residence history for the last 20 tax years and the date of any remittance basis claims.

Corporate INTL's directory lists vetted lawyers and advisers in more than 150 jurisdictions, including tax specialists and private client advisers. If you are planning a move, use the Find an Expert form below to tell us where you are moving from and to, and we will put you in touch with a member who can advise on both ends.

Frequently asked questions

When am I no longer a UK tax resident?

You are non-resident for a tax year if you meet an automatic overseas test, or meet no automatic UK test and have too few UK ties for your UK days. Split year treatment can make the overseas part of the departure year non-resident.

What is the 183 day rule in the UK?

Spending 183 or more days in the UK in a tax year makes you UK resident automatically under the statutory residence test. Staying below 183 days does not make you non-resident: with four ties, a recent UK resident can be resident with just 16 days.

How long do I have to be out of the UK to avoid taxes?

To be safe from the temporary non-residence rules, your period of non-residence must exceed five years, so at least five years and one day. If you return sooner, gains and certain income received abroad, such as close company dividends, can be taxed in the year you come back.

What is split year tax treatment?

Split year treatment divides the tax year in which you leave or arrive into a UK part and an overseas part, so you are taxed as a non-resident for most purposes after departure. It applies automatically if you meet a case, such as starting full-time work abroad.

Do non-residents have to file a UK tax return?

Often, yes: GOV.UK says you usually need a Self Assessment return if you rent out UK property, work for yourself in the UK or have untaxed UK income. A sale of UK property must be reported within 60 days of completion, even if no tax is due.

Does the UK have an exit tax?

Not currently for individuals: non-residents are generally outside UK capital gains tax except on UK land, and the temporary non-residence rules tax returners. A capital gains exit charge is among measures discussed before the Budget on 28 October 2026, but nothing has been announced.

How do I tell HMRC I am leaving the UK?

If you do not usually file Self Assessment, complete form P85 and include Parts 2 and 3 of your P45. If you do file, complete the residence section (SA109) of your tax return.

Can I keep a home in the UK and still be non-resident?

Yes, but it makes the test harder. An available UK home is an accommodation tie if you stay there one night, and it rules out split year Case 3. With other ties, it can cut the UK days you can spend to 15.

What is the FIG regime for people moving to the UK?

The foreign income and gains regime lets people who become UK resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-residence claim relief on foreign income and gains for their first four years. Claims are made each year and cost the personal allowance and the capital gains annual exempt amount.

Sources

1. HM Treasury: Chancellor letter to the Treasury Select Committee, Budget 2026 date (31 July 2026)
2. Osborne Clarke: Autumn Budget 2026, what tax measures can the UK expect? (6 October 2026)
3. Tax Policy Associates: Capital gains tax reform was right. Now it's dead (6 October 2026)
4. Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45 (statutory residence test)
5. HMRC: RDR3 Statutory Residence Test guidance note (updated 11 June 2026)
6. GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income, UK residence and tax
7. HMRC: RFIG21010, split year treatment
8. HMRC: RFIG21510, temporary non-residence
9. HMRC: INTM154020, double taxation agreements, dual residents
10. HMRC: INTM154050, double taxation agreements, residence of companies
11. GOV.UK: Tax on your UK income if you live abroad
12. GOV.UK: Rental income if you live abroad
13. GOV.UK: Personal Allowance if you live abroad
14. HMRC: Tell HMRC about Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land if you're not a UK resident
15. HMRC: Reducing tax-free overseas transfers of tax-relieved UK pensions
16. GOV.UK: Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad
17. HMRC: Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK (P85)
18. HMRC: HS266 Foreign income and gains (FIG) regime (updated 18 May 2026)
19. HMRC: RFIG44000, qualifying new resident
20. HMRC: RFIG43000, effects of a FIG claim
21. HMRC: RDRM73400, Temporary Repatriation Facility charge
22. HMRC: Inheritance Tax if you're a long-term UK resident
23. UAE Government portal: Taxation
24. UAE Federal Tax Authority: Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 on the determination of tax residency (unofficial translation)
25. Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (Portugal): IFICI leaflet
26. Agenzia delle Entrate (Italy): Circular 20/E of 4 November 2024 on tax residence (English)
27. Agenzia delle Entrate (Italy): Neo residenti, regime opzionale (updated 16 January 2026)
28. Spain: Ley 35/2006 del IRPF, consolidated text (BOE)
29. Agencia Tributaria (Spain): Contenido del régimen especial, IRPF 2025 manual
30. Agencia Tributaria (Spain): Régimen especial para trabajadores desplazados
31. Global Law Experts: Italy tax residency rules 2026 (October 2026)
32. Global Law Experts: UAE digital-nomad and remote-worker residency 2026 (October 2026)
33. Global Law Experts: Greece non-domicile options versus remaining a foreign tax resident (October 2026)

About this article

This analysis was researched and written by The Corporate INTL Newsroom, which covers cross-border legal, regulatory and business developments for lawyers, professional advisers and financiers in over 150 jurisdictions. It has been checked against UK legislation, HMRC guidance and manuals, HM Treasury, the UAE Federal Tax Authority and government portal, Portugal's tax authority, Italy's Agenzia delle Entrate, Spain's Agencia Tributaria and Official State Gazette, and guides published by our sister publication Global Law Experts. Thresholds, rates and regimes are those published at the date of review and can change, including at the UK Budget on 28 October 2026. This article is general information, not tax or legal advice; residence depends on individual facts, so for advice on a specific move, consult a qualified tax adviser in each country concerned. Last reviewed 13 October 2026. For more analysis like this, visit the Corporate INTL newsroom or subscribe to Corporate INTL.