Four automatic overseas residence tests

The automatic overseas tests are as follows:

• The taxpayer was resident in the UK for one or more of the three years preceding the relevant tax year, and
• The number of days in the relevant year that he/she spends in the UK is less than 16.

This provision ensures that a person dying between 6 April and 20 April in any tax year is not automatically non-resident.

• The taxpayer was resident for none of the tax years preceding the relevant year; and
• The number of days that he/she spends in the UK in the relevant year is less than 16.
• This applies even if he/she dies during the tax year.

• The individual works sufficient hours overseas in the year;
• There are no significant breaks from overseas work during the year;
• The number of days in the relevant year in which he/she does more than three hours work is less than 31;
• The number of days spent in the UK which are not ‘deemed days’ does not exceed 91 (see calculation as above for automatic UK residence test)
• The individual has a relevant job aboard a vehicle, aircraft or ship at any time in that year as part of that job are cross-border trips that either began in the UK, ended in the UK or began and ended in the UK.

The fourth

• The taxpayer dies in the relevant year
• He/she was UK resident for neither of the two tax years preceding that year, or
• He/she was not resident during the preceding tax year and the previous tax year was a ‘split year’.
• He/she was resident in the UK for neither of the two preceding years because he/she met the third automatic test for those years or was not resident for the preceding tax year and the year before that was a ‘split year’.

To access other articles in this series, visit the 'Statutory Residence Test' section on this page.

You can also access further information via the 'Related links' section on this page.