The automatic overseas and UK residence tests
The tests that can settle your residence outright — before you ever count a tie. Meet an overseas test and you're non-resident; meet a UK test and you're resident.
The SRT's automatic tests run before the ties test. Meet any automatic overseas test — fewer than 16 UK days (leaver), fewer than 46 (arriver), or full-time work overseas — and you're non-resident. Otherwise, meet any automatic UK test — 183+ UK days, your only home in the UK, or full-time work in the UK — and you're resident (HMRC RFIG20110–20380; 2026/27).
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Why the order matters
HMRC considers the automatic overseas tests first. If you meet one, you're non-resident and the test stops — you never reach the automatic UK tests or the ties. Only if no overseas test is met do the automatic UK tests apply; only if neither automatic stage settles it does the sufficient ties test decide (HMRC RFIG20110). A clean leaver almost always exits at the overseas stage.
The three automatic overseas tests
Meet any one and you're non-resident for the tax year (HMRC RFIG20120–20140).
| Test | Who it's for | The condition |
|---|---|---|
| Test 1 | Leaver (resident in 1+ of prior 3 years) | Fewer than 16 UK days this year |
| Test 2 | Arriver (not resident in any of prior 3 years) | Fewer than 46 UK days this year |
| Test 3 | Full-time work overseas | ≈35 hrs/week, no significant break, <31 UK workdays (>3 hrs), <91 UK days |
The three automatic UK tests
You reach these only if no overseas test was met. Meet any one and you're UK resident (HMRC RFIG20360, RFIG20380).
- Test 1 — the 183-day test. 183 days or more in the UK. A ceiling, not the whole test — many are resident on far fewer because of their ties.
- Test 2 — the only-home test. A UK home for a 91-consecutive-day period (30 of those days in the year), present in it on 30+ days, and either no overseas home or one used on fewer than 30 days.
- Test 3 — full-time work in the UK. Over any 365-day period: 35 hrs/week average in the UK, more than 75% of >3-hour workdays in the UK, and at least one such UK workday in the year.
What are "sufficient hours" and a "significant break"?
Sufficient hours overseas is HMRC's five-step calculation: count >3-hour UK workdays (disregarded days); total net overseas hours excluding those days; take 365 minus disregarded days and certain gaps; divide by 7 (round down); divide net hours by that figure. 35+ means sufficient (HMRC RFIG20150).
A significant break is 31+ days during which no day is a >3-hour overseas workday (ignoring annual, sick or parenting leave). It disqualifies the full-time-work-overseas test (HMRC RFIG20760). Long handovers and gardening leave are the usual culprits — the full-time work abroad checker sense-checks all four conditions.
Run the tests in order
The calculator applies the overseas, UK and ties stages in HMRC's order and shows which decided it.
Common questions
What are the automatic overseas tests?
Three tests: fewer than 16 UK days if you were resident in 1+ of the last 3 years (leaver); fewer than 46 UK days if you were not (arriver); or full-time work overseas (≈35 hrs/week, no significant break, fewer than 31 UK workdays and fewer than 91 UK days). Meet any one and you're non-resident. (HMRC RFIG20120–20140; 2026/27.)
Is 183 days the test for UK residence?
183 days is one automatic UK test — spend 183+ UK days and you're resident. But it's a ceiling, not the whole test: you can be resident on far fewer days through the only-home test, full-time UK work, or the sufficient ties test. Residence is decided by the whole SRT, in order. (HMRC RDR3; RFIG20380; 2026/27.)
What is a "significant break" from overseas work?
A period of 31 days or more during which not one day is a day you do more than 3 hours of overseas work (ignoring annual, sick or parenting leave). A significant break disqualifies the full-time-work-overseas test — which is why long handovers, gardening leave and frequent UK trips can break a clean exit. (HMRC RFIG20760; 2026/27.)