HMRC Split-Year Tax Treatment Master Guide 2026
Comprehensive 2026 guide to HMRC split-year treatment under the Statutory Residence Test: the eight statutory cases, detailed qualifying conditions, priority rules, split dates, UK and overseas parts, income and capital-gain consequences, and the 2025–26 SA109 reporting requirements.
Executive Summary & Purpose of Split-Year Treatment
Under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), an individual is normally either UK resident or non-UK resident for the whole tax year. Split-year treatment is a statutory mechanism that applies in specified circumstances to divide the tax year into a UK part and an overseas part. It is not an elective tax concession: where an individual is UK resident for the year and all conditions of a split-year case are met, split-year treatment applies. The individual must consider the eight cases and, if more than one applies, the statutory priority rules determine the applicable case and split date.
Summary Matrix: The 8 Statutory Split-Year Cases
The table below outlines HMRC's 8 statutory split-year cases:
| Case Number | Direction | Core Statutory Circumstances |
|---|---|---|
| Case 1 | Leaving UK | UK resident in the current and previous tax year; non-UK resident in the following year under the third automatic overseas test; starts full-time work overseas and satisfies the overseas-work criteria |
| Case 2 | Leaving UK | Partner of a person meeting Case 1; lived together in the UK; moves overseas to live together while the partner works overseas; meets the residence, home and UK-day conditions |
| Case 3 | Leaving UK | UK resident in current and previous year; non-UK resident in the following year; ceases to have any UK home and satisfies the overseas residence/home and UK-day conditions |
| Case 4 | Arriving UK | Non-UK resident in the previous year; becomes UK resident; starts to have only UK home during the year and continues to satisfy the only-home condition; no sufficient UK ties before the UK-home date |
| Case 5 | Arriving UK | Non-UK resident in the previous year; becomes UK resident; starts full-time work in the UK and meets the third automatic UK test over the relevant 365-day period; no sufficient UK ties before the relevant date |
| Case 6 | Arriving UK | Non-UK resident in the previous year because of full-time overseas work; was UK resident in one or more of the previous four tax years; ceases full-time overseas work and satisfies the overseas-work conditions; UK resident in the following year |
| Case 7 | Arriving UK | Partner of a person meeting Case 6; moves to the UK to continue living with that partner; satisfies the residence, home and UK-day conditions and is UK resident in the following year |
| Case 8 | Arriving UK | Non-UK resident in the previous year; becomes UK resident; did not have a UK home at the start of the year but starts to have a UK home during the year and continues to have it in the current and following year; satisfies the pre-arrival ties/day conditions |
Tax Treatment During Overseas vs UK Parts of the Year
Split-year treatment does not change the individual's formal SRT residence status for the tax year: the individual is UK resident for the year. Instead, the legislation divides the tax year into a UK part and an overseas part. For most purposes, the overseas part is taxed as though the individual were non-UK resident and the UK part as UK resident. Foreign income and gains arising in the overseas part are therefore generally outside UK tax, but the rules are not an unconditional exemption: UK-source income, UK duties, certain employment earnings and specified UK/attributed gains can remain taxable.
Claiming Split-Year Status on Form SA109
Split-year treatment is not a discretionary claim. If you are UK resident for the year and meet all the conditions of an applicable statutory case, split-year treatment applies automatically under the SRT. SA109 is used to report the position to HMRC. For the 2025–26 SA109, box 3 is used where split-year criteria are met; box 3.1 is used where more than one case applies; box 6 records the date from which the UK part begins or ends; and the relevant case(s) should be identified in the required additional-information section.
The Fundamental Rule: Split Year Does Not Make You Non-Resident for the Tax Year
An individual must be UK resident under the SRT for the tax year in order to receive split-year treatment. Split-year treatment does not create two separate residence statuses for the year or alter the individual's residence status for a double taxation agreement. Instead, it divides the tax year into two statutory periods for UK tax purposes: a UK part and an overseas part. The overseas part is generally taxed as if the individual were non-UK resident, while the UK part is generally taxed as UK resident.
Case 1 — Starting Full-Time Work Overseas
Case 1 applies only where an individual starts full-time work overseas and satisfies all the statutory conditions. The individual must be UK resident in both the current and previous tax year, non-UK resident in the following tax year because they meet the third automatic overseas test, and satisfy the full-time overseas-work criteria during the relevant period. The current HMRC guidance contains detailed sufficient-hours calculations, permitted UK-day limits and rules dealing with gaps between employments. A simple '35 hours a week' test is therefore insufficient.
Case 2 — Partner of Someone Starting Full-Time Work Overseas
Case 2 applies to a partner who moves overseas to live with someone whose circumstances satisfy Case 1. The partner must satisfy separate residence, previous-year residence, following-year non-residence, cohabitation, home and UK-day conditions. The person does not qualify simply because their spouse or partner works abroad. The deemed departure date and the permitted UK-day limit must be determined under the Case 2 rules.
Case 3 — Ceasing to Have a Home in the UK
Case 3 is the principal non-work departure case. The individual must be UK resident in the current and previous tax years and non-UK resident in the following year. They must have one or more UK homes at the start of the tax year and cease to have any UK home for the rest of the tax year. From the deemed departure date, the individual must spend fewer than 16 days in the UK and, within six months, satisfy one of the required overseas-country residence, presence or home conditions.
Case 4 — Starting to Have a Home in the UK Only
Case 4 applies where an individual was non-UK resident in the previous tax year and becomes UK resident. During the current year they did not meet the only-home test at the start, then at some point start to meet it because their only home, or all their homes, are in the UK, and they continue to satisfy that condition to the end of the year. They must also not have sufficient UK ties in the part of the year before the UK-home date, using the reduced day-count limits in HMRC's Case 4 rules.
Case 5 — Starting Full-Time Work in the UK
Case 5 applies where an individual starts full-time work in the UK and meets the third automatic UK test over the relevant 365-day period. The individual must be non-UK resident in the previous tax year, UK resident in the current and following circumstances as required by the SRT, and must not have sufficient UK ties before the point at which the third automatic UK test is first met. The full-time-work test is not simply a 35-hour weekly test: HMRC uses the sufficient-hours calculation and the relevant 365-day period.
Case 6 — Ceasing Full-Time Work Overseas
Case 6 applies in qualifying arrival situations where an individual was non-UK resident in the previous tax year because they worked full-time overseas and then cease full-time overseas work. The individual must have been UK resident in one or more of the four tax years before the non-resident year, satisfy the current-year overseas-work conditions for the relevant period and be UK resident in the following year. This case has detailed rules concerning the previous non-resident year, the overseas-work period, UK-day limits and the split date.
Case 7 — Partner of Someone Ceasing Full-Time Work Overseas
Case 7 applies to an individual who has been living overseas with a partner who qualifies for Case 6 and who moves to the UK to continue living together when the partner returns or relocates. The individual must have been non-UK resident in the previous year, be UK resident in the current and following year, satisfy the home and permitted UK-day conditions before the deemed arrival date, and meet the partnership and cohabitation requirements.
Case 8 — Starting to Have a Home in the UK
Case 8 is distinct from Case 4. It covers an individual who was non-UK resident in the previous tax year and becomes UK resident, who did not have a UK home at the start of the current tax year but begins to have a UK home during the year and continues to have a UK home for the rest of that tax year and the following year. The individual must also satisfy the relevant pre-arrival sufficient-ties/day conditions. Unlike Case 4, Case 8 does not require the individual's only home to be in the UK: the individual can retain an overseas home.
Priority Rules When More Than One Case Applies
More than one split-year case can apply to the same tax year. HMRC therefore has statutory priority rules. For departures, Case 1 takes priority over Cases 2 and 3, and Case 2 takes priority over Case 3. For arrivals, Case 6 can take priority over Case 5, Case 7 can take priority over Case 5 where Case 6 does not apply, and among Cases 4, 5 and 8 the case with the same or earliest split-year date is used. This affects both the applicable case and the date from which the UK or overseas part begins.
SA109 2025–26 — Exact Split-Year Reporting
HMRC's current SA109 form for the 2025–26 tax year was published on 6 April 2026. Box 3 is used where the circumstances meet the split-year criteria for 2025–26. Box 3.1 is used where more than one split-year case applies. Box 6 records the date from which the UK part of the year begins or ends. Box 10 records the total UK days for the year and box 11 records exceptional-circumstances days where applicable. The relevant split-year case(s) should also be identified in the additional-information section as instructed by HMRC.
Income During the Overseas and UK Parts
The overseas part does not create a blanket exemption from all UK tax. For most purposes, foreign income and gains arising in the overseas part are outside UK tax because that period is treated as non-resident. However, UK-source income can remain taxable, duties performed in the UK can create employment-tax consequences and special rules apply to certain categories of gains. For employment income, the tax treatment follows the location where duties were performed and the relevant employment rules, rather than simply the payment date.
Capital Gains During a Split Year
Normally, capital gains accruing in the overseas part are outside UK Capital Gains Tax because the individual is treated as non-UK resident for that part. HMRC identifies important exceptions. These include gains that would have been taxable under the non-resident trading rules, temporary non-residence provisions, certain gains attributed under section 86, and disposals of interests in UK land or property under the relevant post-2015 and post-2019 rules. A guide should therefore not state that all overseas-period capital gains are exempt.
Split Year Does Not Automatically Determine Treaty Residence
HMRC specifically states that split-year treatment does not affect whether the individual is regarded as UK resident for the purposes of a double taxation agreement. A person may therefore need a separate treaty residence analysis if another country also treats them as resident under domestic law. The domestic SRT, the split-year rules and the applicable DTA perform different functions and should not be collapsed into a single residence test.
Practical Compliance & Evidence
A defensible split-year position should be supported by evidence showing the relevant facts and dates. Depending on the case, this can include employment contracts, overseas assignment letters, work calendars, work-hour records, travel records, tenancy or property documents, evidence that a UK home was given up or acquired, partner evidence, overseas residence documents, and records of UK days and exceptional circumstances. The applicable case and split date should be documented before completing SA109.