United Kingdom tax residency: the 183-day rule
United Kingdom treats you as a tax resident at 183 days in the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April) — but the day count is only the part we can calculate. It is one of United Kingdom's tests, not the whole rule (see the others below). Source: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), last reviewed 2025-09-01.
Watch the lowest threshold: United Kingdom can treat you as resident from as few as 90 days (“Sufficient-ties test alert (90 days)”).
183 days isn't the only route — United Kingdom can also treat you as resident on non-day grounds (only-home test (automatic uk), full-time work in the uk, uk ties (family, accommodation, work, 90-day, country), domicile / long-term residence). See every test below.
Spend 183 days or more in United Kingdom during the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April) and it will generally treat you as a tax resident for that period.
Reviewed by Quentin Dupard, founder · last reviewed 2025-09-01 · How we research
- Threshold
- 183 days
- Counting window
- UK tax year
- Day-based tests
- 2
- Last reviewed
- 2025-09-01
How does United Kingdom count days for tax residency?
According to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), you become a tax resident of United Kingdom once you spend 183 days or more there in the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April). The UK tax year runs 6 April to 5 April, so the count resets in April — not on 1 January. Thinking in calendar years is the most common mistake here.
Automatic UK resident (183 days in tax year)
183 days · the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April)Spend 183 days or more in United Kingdom during the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April) and it will generally treat you as a tax resident for that period.
UK tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. The Statutory Residence Test also has automatic-overseas tests and a sufficient-ties test — 183 days is the simplest automatic-resident trigger.
Sufficient-ties test alert (90 days)
90 days · the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April)Spend 90 days or more in United Kingdom during the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April) and it will generally treat you as a tax resident for that period.
If you had a 90+ day stay in either of the prior two tax years, 90 days in the current year counts as a tie under the SRT and may make you resident.
What else makes you a tax resident of United Kingdom?
The day count is only one route. United Kingdom can also make you a tax resident through any one of the following — regardless of how few days you spend there. These don't depend on a day count, so Yuravia can't track them for you; weigh them against your own situation.
Only-home test (automatic UK)
Automatic UK residence if, over a 91+ day period, your only home (or all your homes) is in the UK and you spend enough time there — independent of the 183-day count (SRT automatic UK test 2).
Full-time work in the UK
Automatic UK residence if you work full-time in the UK across a 365-day period (sufficient-hours test), even without 183 days in a single tax year (SRT automatic UK test 3).
UK ties (family, accommodation, work, 90-day, country)
Under the sufficient-ties test the number of UK ties you have — family resident in the UK, available accommodation, UK work, 90+ days in a prior year, most time in the UK — sets how few days make you resident: as low as 16 days for someone with prior UK residence and four ties.
Domicile / long-term residence
Separate from residence: your domicile — replaced by a "long-term residence" test from 6 April 2025 — sets how your foreign income and gains are taxed once you are UK-resident.
United Kingdom at a glance
- Tax year
- 6 April – 5 April (the following year). The UK tax year (year of assessment) runs 6 April to 5 April; e.g. 2025/26 started 6 April 2025 and ended 5 April 2026.
- How days are counted
- Under the Statutory Residence Test, a day counts as "spent in the UK" only if you are present in the UK at the end of the day (midnight). So a departure day (you have left before midnight) normally does not count, while an arrival day where you stay past midnight does; a separate "deeming rule" can additionally count days you were here but not at midnight for some people with UK ties.
- What residency means
- UK residents are, in principle, taxed on their worldwide income and gains; non-residents are taxed only on UK-source income. Spending 183+ days in a UK tax year is the simplest automatic-resident trigger, but the SRT also uses automatic-overseas tests and a sufficient-ties test, and split-year treatment can apply in the year of arrival or departure.
- Notable regime
- Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime, from 6 April 2025 — replaced the old non-dom remittance basis. New arrivals who were non-UK-resident for the prior 10 consecutive tax years can claim up to 4 years of relief from UK tax on foreign income and gains (losing personal allowances/CGT annual exempt amount when claimed); after 4 years they are taxed on worldwide income and gains.
Official source
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). View the primary guidance ↗
Rule last checked against this source on 2025-09-01.
Count your days in United Kingdom
The day count is the one test you can actually calculate — the home, family and ties tests above, you can’t. Use a free calculator to see exactly how close you are to United Kingdom's 183-day threshold — or let Yuravia track it automatically across every country at once and warn you before you cross a line.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can I stay in United Kingdom without becoming a tax resident?
According to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), United Kingdom treats you as a tax resident at 183 days in the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April) (the "Automatic UK resident (183 days in tax year)"). Staying under that is necessary but not sufficient — a permanent home, family, or your centre of vital interests can make you resident on fewer days.
Is the day count the only way to become a tax resident of United Kingdom?
No. Beyond the day count, United Kingdom can treat you as resident through only-home test (automatic uk), full-time work in the uk, uk ties (family, accommodation, work, 90-day, country), domicile / long-term residence — any one of these can apply even if you stay well under 183 days. They don't depend on counting days, so confirm them against your own circumstances.
Does United Kingdom have more than one day-count test?
Yes — United Kingdom has 2 day-based tests on this page (Automatic UK resident (183 days in tax year); Sufficient-ties test alert (90 days)). Any one of them can make you resident, so track against the lowest threshold that could apply to you.
What counts as a day of presence in United Kingdom?
In most jurisdictions any day on which you are physically present — including the arrival and departure days — counts as a full day. Treating both as counted is the conservative assumption. Always confirm the exact rule with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
What is the official source for United Kingdom's tax-residency rule?
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The rule on this page was last checked against that source on 2025-09-01. Thresholds and tests change, so confirm before relying on it.
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