Tax residency
When United Kingdom taxes you
A visa lets you stay. It does not decide who taxes you. In United Kingdom that turns on a day count of about 183 days and the ties you keep, and it is the line that quietly reshapes what you take home.
When you become tax resident
Residency is decided by the Statutory Residence Test (automatic tests plus a ties test), NOT a simple day count; 183+ days is one automatic-resident trigger but far fewer days can make you resident via ties. Do NOT treat as a flat 183-day rule: the SRT can make someone resident on as few as ~16-45 days depending on ties.
The Statutory Residence Test weighs ties and workdays, not days alone; non-dom was replaced by the 4-year FIG regime on 6 Apr 2025.
How your income is taxed
Progressive income tax: 20% basic, 40% higher, 45% additional (Scotland differs). The non-dom remittance basis was abolished from 6 Apr 2025 and replaced by a residence-based 4-year Foreign Income & Gains (FIG) regime for new arrivals. FIG relieves most foreign income/gains for the first 4 UK-resident years for those non-resident the prior 10 years; claimants lose personal allowance and CGT annual exemption.
The trap below the day count
Staying under 183 days does not make you safe. A permanent home available to you, a partner or children living in United Kingdom, or your centre of vital interests can create residence well below the count. And where two countries both claim you in the same year, a tax treaty tie-breaker decides, on your permanent home first, then your centre of vital interests, then where you habitually live. This is the part worth taking to a specialist.
Count your days against the threshold
The tracker counts the days you spend in each country and shows which cross their tax-residency line, United Kingdom included.
Keep reading
Researched from public sources, checked Jul 2026. Not expert-reviewed, and not legal or tax advice. Rules change; the sources and dates above are how you judge whether to rely on this or take it to a professional.