Becoming a UK Tax Resident

How many days can I spend in the UK in my tax year of arrival prior to my split year date without becoming tax resident?

This depends on the date of your arrival to the UK and the number of ties you have to the UK between the 6 April and the date you expect to split the tax year.

The various ties are as follows:

Are your spouse or any minor children resident in the UK for the tax year as a whole?
Did you have accommodation available to you in the UK for a period of 91 days or more?
Did you spend 40 days or more working in the UK?
Did you have more than 90 days in the UK in either of the previous two tax years?

Ties 2 to 4 only consider your position between 6 April and the date you expect to split the tax year. Once you have identified the number of ties, the table below illustrates the limit on the number of days you can spend in the UK between 6 April and the date you expect to split the year:

	Days before satisfying only home or having a UK home, or FTWUK test
Date of arrival to the UK	6-30 Apr	1-31 May	1-30 Jun	1-31 Jul	1-31 Aug	1-30 Sep	1-31 Oct	1-30 Nov	1-31 Dec	1-31 Jan	1-29 Feb	1 Mar-5 Apr
2 ties to the UK	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100	110	120
3 ties to the UK	7	15	22	30	37	45	52	60	67	75	82	90
4 ties to the UK	4	7	11	15	19	22	26	30	34	37	41	45

If one or none of these ties applies then in theory you can spend up to 182 days in the UK between 6 April and the date you expect to split the tax year, providing you are only present in the UK and not working.

What if I have workdays in the UK prior to my move?

If you spend time working in the UK prior to your formal move date, unless there is a ‘significant break’ from UK work (i.e. a 31 day period without a UK workday), it is possible that you could be required to split the tax year based on starting full-time work in the UK from an earlier date than expected.

You should note that, if you work in the UK before the date that you ‘split the tax year’, your earnings relating to these days could still be taxable in the UK.