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HMRC Statutory Residence Test (SRT) Master Guide 2026

Comprehensive 2026 guide to the HMRC Statutory Residence Test: automatic UK and overseas tests, the full sufficient-ties matrix, UK day-counting rules, exceptional circumstances, automatic UK work and home tests, and all eight split-year cases.

SRT 2026: What the Statutory Residence Test Determines

The Statutory Residence Test (SRT) determines an individual's UK residence status for each UK tax year. The relevant legislation is in Schedule 45 Finance Act 2013. A person is generally either UK resident or non-UK resident for the tax year, although split-year treatment can divide the tax year into UK and overseas parts for specified purposes. The residence result must be established before applying the tax consequences that depend on residence.

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The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.
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The SRT applies separately to each tax year.
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The statutory tests must be applied in the required order.
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A person who is UK resident for a year must also consider whether split-year treatment applies.
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Split-year treatment does not change the person's treaty residence under a double-taxation agreement.
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The Residence and FIG Regime Manual was updated on 3 July 2026, including the ties and overseas-work guidance.

Correct SRT Testing Order

The original page's three-stage order was too simplified. HMRC's current guidance says the practical sequence is: first check the 183-day automatic UK test; if that is not met, consider the three automatic overseas tests; if none applies, consider the second and third automatic UK tests; if still unresolved, apply the sufficient-ties test.

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The 183-day automatic UK test is considered before the overseas tests in HMRC's current guidance.
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The overseas tests are not simply a first stage that always comes before all UK tests.
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The second and third automatic UK tests must be considered if the position remains unresolved.
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The sufficient-ties test is only reached when none of the applicable automatic tests determines the result.
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Split-year treatment is considered after establishing UK residence for the year.
StepQuestionOutcome
1Were you in the UK for 183 days or more in the tax year?UK resident under Automatic UK Test 1
2Do you meet Automatic Overseas Test 1, 2 or 3?Non-UK resident if any applicable overseas test is satisfied
3Do you meet Automatic UK Test 2 or 3?UK resident if any applicable automatic UK test is satisfied
4If no automatic test settles the position, how many sufficient UK ties do you have?Resident or non-resident according to the applicable ties table
5If resident, does a split-year case apply?Apply the relevant split-year case and priority rules

Automatic Overseas Test 1: Fewer Than 16 UK Days

Automatic Overseas Test 1 can apply where the individual spends fewer than 16 days in the UK during the tax year and was UK resident in one or more of the previous three tax years. If the conditions are satisfied, the individual is non-UK resident for that year.

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The limit is fewer than 16 days, meaning a maximum of 15 counted UK days.
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The individual must have been UK resident in at least one of the three tax years before the year under consideration.
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Exceptional-circumstances days may be deductible for this test, subject to the statutory rules and 60-day maximum.
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The test is an automatic overseas test; where it applies, the sufficient-ties calculation is not needed to determine the result.

Automatic Overseas Test 2: Fewer Than 46 UK Days

Automatic Overseas Test 2 can apply where the individual was not UK resident in any of the previous three tax years and spends fewer than 46 days in the UK in the current tax year. The maximum counted UK presence under this test is therefore 45 days.

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The person must have been non-UK resident in all three previous tax years.
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The current year must contain fewer than 46 counted UK days.
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Exceptional-circumstances days can potentially be disregarded for this day count, subject to the statutory rules.
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The test is not available simply because the person has a low UK day count; the previous-three-year residence condition also matters.

Automatic Overseas Test 3: Full-Time Work Abroad

The third automatic overseas test can apply where an individual works full-time overseas under HMRC's statutory sufficient-hours calculation, has no significant break from overseas work, spends fewer than 91 days in the UK, and works for more than 3 hours in the UK on fewer than 31 days. The 35-hour requirement comes from the statutory sufficient-hours calculation; it is not enough simply to have a contract stating 35 hours a week.

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The sufficient-hours calculation is based on actual hours rather than contractual hours.
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Employment gaps and permitted days are dealt with under detailed HMRC calculation rules.
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A day on which more than 3 hours are worked in the UK can count as a UK workday.
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Exceptional-circumstances rules do not allow the UK-workday and significant-break conditions themselves to be ignored.
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The UK-day limit can be affected by qualifying exceptional circumstances where the relevant statutory conditions permit that deduction.
AOT3 RequirementCore 2026 Rule
Overseas workMust satisfy HMRC's full-time overseas sufficient-hours calculation
UK presenceFewer than 91 UK days
UK workdaysFewer than 31 days on which more than 3 hours are worked in the UK
Break from overseas workNo significant break

Automatic UK Test 1: 183 or More UK Days

A person is automatically UK resident under the first automatic UK test if they spend 183 days or more in the UK during the tax year. For this test, HMRC permits qualifying days attributable to exceptional circumstances to be disregarded where the statutory conditions are satisfied.

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183 counted UK days is sufficient to make the individual UK resident under this automatic UK test.
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The tax year is 6 April to 5 April.
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The midnight/day-counting rules determine ordinary UK days.
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Exceptional-circumstances deductions can apply to this test but are subject to the 60-day maximum and statutory conditions.
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The test does not require any particular number of UK ties.

Automatic UK Test 2: UK Home Test

The second automatic UK test is more detailed than simply having a UK home for 91 consecutive days. An individual generally needs a UK home in which they spend at least 30 separate days in the tax year, a qualifying 91-consecutive-day period of which at least 30 days fall in the tax year, and the relevant overseas-home conditions must also be satisfied.

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The UK home must be available under the statutory definition of a home.
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The individual must be present at the UK home on at least 30 separate days in the tax year.
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The relevant home must form part of a 91-consecutive-day period, with at least 30 days falling in the tax year.
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An overseas home can prevent the test from applying where the person is present there for at least 30 days in the tax year.
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The second automatic UK test does not use the ordinary sufficient-ties matrix.
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Exceptional-circumstances days cannot be used to satisfy or avoid the specific 30-day/91-day home conditions.

Automatic UK Test 3: Full-Time Work in the UK

The third automatic UK test can make an individual UK resident where they work full-time in the UK over a period of 365 days, with no significant break from UK work, and more than 75% of the days on which they work for more than 3 hours in that 365-day period are UK workdays. At least one qualifying UK-workday must fall in the tax year.

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The calculation uses a 365-day period rather than simply the tax year.
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The person must work sufficient hours in the UK under HMRC's statutory calculation.
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More than 75% of qualifying workdays in the 365-day period must be UK workdays.
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At least one UK workday must fall in the tax year being tested.
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There must be no significant break from UK work.
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Contractual hours alone are not sufficient evidence; HMRC uses actual work performed.

Sufficient Ties: Four Core Ties Plus Country Tie

If no automatic test determines residence, the sufficient-ties test looks at UK connections against the number of UK days. There are four core ties: family, accommodation, work and 90-day. The country tie is an additional tie that is relevant where the person was UK resident in one or more of the three previous tax years.

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The country tie is not relevant to every person.
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Someone who was not UK resident in any of the previous three tax years considers four ties.
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Someone who was UK resident in one or more of those years considers the country tie as well.
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A split-year treated year counts as a full UK-resident year for the purpose of considering residence in the prior three tax years.
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The precise statutory definitions of family and accommodation ties contain detailed exceptions and thresholds.
TieCore 2026 Concept
Family TieRelevant close-family connection with a UK-resident spouse/civil partner/partner or qualifying child, subject to statutory conditions
Accommodation TieA UK place available for at least 91 consecutive days with the required presence
Work TieAt least 40 UK workdays, where more than 3 hours are worked on a day
90-Day TieMore than 90 days spent in the UK in one or both of the previous two tax years
Country TieThe UK is the country with the greatest number of qualifying midnights, or is tied for the greatest number

Exact Sufficient-Ties Day Matrix

The number of ties required depends on prior UK residence. This table should be used rather than the original description of a generic '5-tier' tie test.

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If someone was resident in a previous three-year period, 16-45 days can produce residence with 4 ties.
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If someone was not resident in any of the previous three years, fewer than 46 days is covered by the automatic overseas test rather than this ties table.
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The original page's description of a universal five-tier test was therefore incomplete.
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The current HMRC guidance updated the tie-day figures on 3 July 2026.
Previous 3-Year UK ResidenceUK Days in Current Tax YearTies Needed
UK resident in at least 1 of previous 3 years16-45 daysAt least 4 ties
UK resident in at least 1 of previous 3 years46-90 daysAt least 3 ties
UK resident in at least 1 of previous 3 years91-120 daysAt least 2 ties
UK resident in at least 1 of previous 3 yearsOver 120 daysAt least 1 tie
Not UK resident in any previous 3 years46-90 daysAll 4 core ties
Not UK resident in any previous 3 years91-120 daysAt least 3 core ties
Not UK resident in any previous 3 yearsOver 120 daysAt least 2 core ties

Midnight Rule, Transit Days and Deemed Days

For ordinary SRT day counting, a person is generally treated as present in the UK for a day if they are present in the UK at the end of that day, normally at midnight. However, special rules apply to transit days, qualifying exceptional circumstances and the statutory deeming rule. The deeming rule can treat certain additional days as UK days even where the individual was not actually in the UK at midnight.

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The normal rule is based on presence at midnight.
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Transit days can be excluded where the statutory transit conditions are met.
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The deeming rule has its own qualifying-day, UK-tie and previous-residence conditions.
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The deeming rule generally cannot be used to create more than 30 qualifying days before deemed days begin.
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Exceptional-circumstances deductions do not automatically apply to every day-counting test.
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Travel records should record arrival/departure dates and the circumstances of unusual travel.

Exceptional Circumstances: The 60-Day Limit Is Not an Allowance

Days spent in the UK because of exceptional circumstances beyond the individual's control can be disregarded under certain SRT tests. The statutory maximum is 60 days in a tax year, but this is a ceiling, not a 60-day entitlement. The circumstances must be genuinely exceptional and normally arise while the individual is in the UK and prevent them from leaving. Some SRT tests expressly do not allow exceptional-circumstance days to be deducted.

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The maximum is 60 days across the tax year, whether there is one event or several.
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The 60 days are not an automatic annual allowance.
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The circumstances must generally be beyond the individual's control.
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The person should normally intend to leave the UK as soon as the exceptional circumstance permits.
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Civil unrest, natural disasters and sudden serious or life-threatening illness can potentially qualify.
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Birth, marriage, divorce and death are not routinely exceptional.
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Elective medical treatment, avoidable travel disruption and visa delays are not normally exceptional.
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Automatic UK Tests 2 and 3 and several other specific conditions do not permit exceptional-circumstance days to be deducted.

Split-Year Treatment: All Eight Cases

Split-year treatment applies only where the individual is UK resident for the tax year and satisfies one of the statutory cases. Cases 1-3 concern individuals leaving the UK part way through the tax year; Cases 4-8 concern individuals coming to the UK part way through the tax year. Split-year treatment is not optional. If more than one case applies, HMRC's statutory priority ordering determines the applicable case and split date.

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The precise conditions of each case differ materially.
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Case 1 requires full-time overseas work criteria and relevant prior/following-year residence conditions.
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Case 5 requires the third automatic UK test to be met over the relevant 365-day period.
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Case 8 requires a UK home to start during the year and continue for the remainder of the year and the following tax year.
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Where multiple arrival cases apply, HMRC has explicit priority rules.
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Split-year treatment does not affect treaty residence.
CaseGeneral Circumstance
Case 1Starting full-time work overseas
Case 2Partner of someone starting full-time work overseas
Case 3Ceasing to have a home in the UK
Case 4Starting to have an only home in the UK
Case 5Starting full-time work in the UK
Case 6Returning to the UK after a period of full-time overseas work
Case 7Returning to the UK after a period of residence overseas with a UK home situation covered by the rules
Case 8Starting to have a UK home

Residence History, Split Years and the Prior Three Years

Previous residence matters throughout the SRT. In particular, whether the individual was UK resident in any of the prior three tax years determines which sufficient-ties table applies. Importantly, HMRC states that a year in which split-year treatment applies counts as a full UK-resident year when determining residence in the prior three tax years.

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A split-year is still a UK-resident year for this historical three-year test.
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Previous UK residence can materially reduce the number of UK days that can be spent before sufficient ties create residence.
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The residence history should therefore be checked for all three prior tax years.
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The 90-day tie also looks back to the two previous tax years.
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A residence calendar should distinguish tax years rather than calendar years.

Practical 2026 SRT Decision Workflow

A reliable SRT calculation should be performed in a fixed sequence. Start with the 183-day automatic UK test, then the three automatic overseas tests, then the second and third automatic UK tests, and finally the sufficient-ties test. Only after establishing UK residence should split-year treatment be tested. Residence history, precise day counts, UK homes, workdays, family relationships and exceptional circumstances must all be documented.

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Step 1: identify the exact UK tax year.
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Step 2: calculate ordinary UK presence using the midnight/day-counting rules.
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Step 3: test Automatic UK Test 1 — 183 days.
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Step 4: test Automatic Overseas Tests 1, 2 and 3.
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Step 5: test Automatic UK Test 2 — the home test.
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Step 6: test Automatic UK Test 3 — full-time UK work.
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Step 7: if still unresolved, identify the correct sufficient-ties table.
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Step 8: calculate each applicable UK tie.
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Step 9: determine UK residence or non-residence.
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Step 10: if UK resident, test the applicable split-year cases.
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Step 11: apply split-year priority rules if multiple cases are met.
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Step 12: retain travel records, work records, home/accommodation evidence and family-tie evidence.
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Step 13: consider the FIG regime and treaty residence separately from the domestic SRT result.

Frequently Asked Questions (6)

HMRC's current guidance starts with the first Automatic UK Test: whether you spent 183 days or more in the UK during the tax year. If that test is not met, you then consider the three Automatic Overseas Tests. If none applies, you consider the second and third Automatic UK Tests and then, if necessary, the sufficient-ties test. This is more precise than saying that the Automatic Overseas Tests always come first.

There is no single universal day limit. Your result depends on your residence history, UK ties and whether an automatic test applies. For someone UK resident in at least one of the previous three years, sufficient ties can produce residence at 16-45 UK days with 4 ties, 46-90 with 3 ties, 91-120 with 2 ties, or over 120 with 1 tie. Someone who was not resident in any of the previous three years uses a different table: 46-90 days with all 4 core ties, 91-120 with 3, or over 120 with 2.

If you spend 183 or more counted days in the UK during a tax year, you are normally UK resident under the first Automatic UK Test. The day-count rules include the normal midnight rule and can be affected by statutory exceptions such as qualifying exceptional circumstances. The 183-day rule is only one part of the wider SRT.

For the third Automatic Overseas Test, the individual must satisfy HMRC's statutory full-time-overseas sufficient-hours calculation, have no significant break from overseas work, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK and work for more than 3 hours in the UK on fewer than 31 days. The 35-hour average comes from the statutory calculation; it is not enough simply to have a 35-hour employment contract.

For the relevant workday tests, a day is generally a UK workday when the individual performs more than 3 hours of work in the UK. HMRC uses actual work performed rather than contractual hours for the sufficient-hours calculations. The exact treatment of days with overseas and UK work on the same day, disregarded days and employment gaps is governed by the detailed SRT calculation rules.

Exceptional circumstances are events beyond the individual's control that normally arise while the individual is in the UK and prevent them from leaving. Examples can include serious or life-threatening illness or injury, civil unrest, natural disaster or war-related circumstances. The maximum that may be ignored in a tax year is 60 days, but this is a limit rather than an entitlement, and some SRT tests do not allow exceptional-circumstance days to be deducted. The individual must also normally intend to leave once the exceptional circumstances permit.
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2026 TAX SNAPSHOT

Standard Personal Allowance
£12,570
Standard allowance; specialist and Scottish rules can differ.
England / Wales / Northern Ireland Basic-Rate Band
£37,700
£50,270 including the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance.
4-Year FIG Regime
Maximum 4 tax years
Available to qualifying new UK residents after at least 10 years of non-UK residence.
IHT Long-Term UK Residence
10 of previous 20 years
Overseas-asset exposure can continue for 3–10 years after leaving, depending on residence history.

Summary Takeaways & Checklist

  • HMRC's current SRT sequence starts with the 183-day automatic UK test, then the automatic overseas tests, then the remaining automatic UK tests, and finally sufficient ties.
  • 183 or more counted UK days normally makes an individual UK resident under Automatic UK Test 1.
  • AOT3 is not simply a 35-hour-week or 90-day rule: the statutory full-time-overseas calculation, fewer-than-91 UK days, fewer-than-31 UK workdays and significant-break condition must all be considered.
  • The sufficient-ties test uses four core ties, with the country tie added where the individual was UK resident in one or more of the previous three tax years.
  • The exact tie thresholds are 16-45/4, 46-90/3, 91-120/2 and over 120/1 for prior UK residents.
  • For someone not resident in any of the previous three years, the core ties thresholds are 46-90/all 4, 91-120/3 and over 120/2.
  • A normal SRT day is generally counted by UK presence at midnight, but transit, deeming and exceptional-circumstances rules can modify the calculation.
  • The 60-day exceptional-circumstances figure is a maximum, not a 60-day allowance, and some SRT tests do not permit the deduction.
  • Split-year treatment applies only to a UK-resident tax year where one of the eight statutory cases is satisfied, and multiple applicable cases are subject to priority rules.
  • A split-year year counts as a full UK-resident year when applying the prior-three-year residence history in the sufficient-ties test.

Official References & Manuals

GOV.UK RDR3 Statutory Residence Test GuidanceHMRC Residence and FIG Regime Manual - SRTHMRC SRT Introduction and Testing OrderHMRC Automatic Overseas Test 3HMRC Automatic UK Test 1HMRC Automatic UK Test 2HMRC Automatic UK Test 3HMRC SRT Sufficient TiesHMRC SRT Number of Ties 2026HMRC SRT Day CountingHMRC Exceptional CircumstancesHMRC Exceptional Circumstances - Tests Where They Cannot Be DeductedHMRC Split-Year TreatmentHMRC Split-Year Cases and Priority RulesHMRC Residence and FIG Regime Updates 2026

Related HMRC Guides

HMRC Statutory Residence CalculatorHMRC SRT 90-Day Tie-Breaker Rule GuideHMRC SA109 Residence & Remittance Guide