Work out if you're a UK tax resident

A simple step-by-step guide.

This tool walks you through three checks, in order:

  1. Easy rules that mean you're not UK resident
  2. Easy rules that mean you are UK resident
  3. Connections to the UK, if the easy rules don't apply

About splitting the year

If you moved to or from the UK part way through the year, the year can be split into a UK part, where you're taxed as a UK resident, and an overseas part, where you're mostly only taxed on UK income. Finish the check above and you'll be offered this as a next step.

Worth knowing

  • A split year isn't optional and you can't pick the date — the rules set which day the split falls on.
  • Day limits for the part of the year concerned are scaled down month by month, and always rounded down.
  • Keep evidence of the move: flight tickets, a tenancy or sale of your UK home, a new employment contract, and local registration abroad.
  • Splitting the year affects income tax and capital gains tax. It doesn't change your residence for most tax treaty purposes, and it doesn't apply to National Insurance.

Leaving the UK for a short time? Watch the five-year rule

Most people are not caught by this. If you leave the UK, work abroad and pay tax on your salary or self-employment income there, that income is not suddenly taxed again just because you later return to the UK. The five-year rule is about specific things such as capital gains, dividends, pension lump sums and income that was deliberately delayed until you got back.

If you leave the UK and become non-resident, but then come back within five full tax years, HMRC may look again at certain income and gains you received while you were away. This is called temporary non-residence. It matters most for things you received during the overseas period but only deal with after you return.

The five-year clock is counted in whole tax years you were not UK resident. For example, if you left part-way through a tax year and became non-resident, that partial year is not a full non-resident year and doesn't count. Likewise, the year you return part-way through only counts as a UK-resident year, so it doesn't count as a non-resident year either. You need five full tax years in the middle where you are genuinely non-resident.

Income and gains that can be caught on return include: certain lump sums from pensions, dividends from UK companies, capital gains, and some income that was deliberately delayed until you came back. If you set up a company abroad to hold investments, the rules on close companies can also pull profits back into the UK tax net when you return.

Worth knowing

  • The five years are counted as complete tax years, not calendar years or 365-day blocks. Partial years at the start and end do not count towards the five.
  • If you're out for fewer than five full tax years, don't assume you have escaped UK tax on dividends, gains, or lump sums received while away.
  • Keep records of the exact dates you left and returned, and the tax residence status for each year, plus bank statements and investment records for the overseas period.
  • A double-tax treaty may change the result, but the temporary non-residence rule can still apply in many cases.
  • This is a common place to trip up: people count five years from the date they left and miss the partial-year rule.

For companies

A company is UK tax resident if it is registered in the UK, or if its key management decisions are made in the UK. If a company is treated as resident in the UK and another country at the same time, a tax treaty usually decides which country counts.

A UK-resident company pays UK corporation tax on its profits and gains from anywhere in the world. Dividends paid by one UK company to another are usually exempt from corporation tax, so they can be passed around within a group without an extra tax charge.

Worth knowing

  • "Key management decisions" means where the real decisions are actually taken, not where the paperwork is signed.
  • Keep board minutes, and hold board meetings where the directors genuinely are — this is the evidence that gets asked for.
  • If a majority of directors live in the UK and dial in from here, the company is likely to be treated as UK managed.
  • Dividends taken out by an individual shareholder are still taxed on that person — the exemption is for company-to-company dividends.

Frequently asked questions

Can I set up a company in Dubai and draw dividends down tax-free as a UK resident?

No. If you are a UK resident, dividends paid to you from a company in Dubai — or anywhere else — are normally taxable in the UK. The company-to-company exemption only applies when one UK company pays another UK company. It does not apply to money you take out personally.

If the Dubai company has no real staff or office and mainly holds your investments, HMRC may also treat it as a “personal company” and tax the profits directly on you instead.

Does being non-resident mean I never pay UK tax?

No. Non-residents still pay UK tax on UK income, such as rent from a UK property, some UK dividends and bank interest. They are also still within UK capital gains tax on UK residential property and certain other UK assets.

If I spend fewer than 16 days in the UK, am I definitely not resident?

Usually yes, but only if you were UK resident in at least one of the previous three tax years. If you were not resident in any of those years, the same rule lets you spend up to 45 days here without becoming resident.

Do I have to file a UK tax return if I’m not resident?

Not always. You only need to file if you have UK income that needs reporting, you have capital gains on UK property, or HMRC has asked you to. If you have no UK income, you usually do not need to file.