United Kingdom: tax residency & income tax rates

Tax residency rules in United Kingdom

As of 2026, United Kingdom’s tax-residency test centres on a presence threshold of 183 days^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“you spent 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year”View source · accessed 2026-08-20. Statutory Residence Test (SRT) automatic UK test: spending 183 or more days in the UK in a tax year makes you automatically UK tax resident, full stop. This is the clearest headline number, but the SRT also has two other automatic UK tests (a 91-day only-home test and a 365-day full-time-work test), automatic overseas tests, and a sufficient-ties test for borderline cases below 183 days — see the related facts on this page. The SRT has applied since 6 April 2013.

Srt only home test

91 days (as of 2026)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“your only home was in the UK for 91 days or more in a row - and you visited or stayed in it for at least 30 days of the tax year”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — One of the SRT's automatic UK tests: you are automatically UK resident if your only home is in the UK for 91 days or more in a row, and you were present in it on at least 30 days of the tax year.

Srt full time work test

365 days (as of 2026)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“you worked full-time in the UK for any period of 365 days and at least one day of that period was in the tax year you’re checking”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — Another SRT automatic UK test: working full-time in the UK for any 365-day period, with at least one day of that period falling in the tax year being checked. 'Full-time' broadly means averaging at least 35 hours a week with no significant breaks.

Srt automatic overseas test

16 days (as of 2026)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“you spent fewer than 16 days in the UK (or 46 days if you have not been a UK resident for the 3 previous tax years)”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — You are usually automatically non-UK resident if you spent fewer than 16 days in the UK in the tax year (extended to 46 days if you were not UK resident in any of the 3 previous tax years), or if you worked full-time overseas, spent fewer than 91 days in the UK, and no more than 30 of those days involved UK work.

Srt sufficient ties test

When neither the automatic UK tests nor the automatic overseas tests resolve the question, the sufficient ties test decides borderline cases: the more days spent in the UK, the fewer of the five UK 'ties' (family, accommodation, work, 90-day presence, country) are needed for you to count as resident. This is the mechanism that handles cases the headline 183-day rule doesn't cover. [source]HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“You may also be resident under the sufficient ties test if you spent a number of days in the UK and you have additional ties to the UK, like work or family.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20

Split year treatment

When you move to or from the UK partway through a tax year, the year is normally split into a non-resident part and a resident part, so foreign income is only taxed for the UK-resident portion rather than the whole year being taxed as fully resident or fully non-resident. It is not automatic: for example, it does not apply if you live abroad for less than a full tax year before returning to the UK, and other conditions must be met. [source]HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“When you move in or out of the UK, the tax year is usually split into 2 - a non-resident part and a resident part.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20

Income tax rates in United Kingdom

As of 2026, the headline personal income tax rate in United Kingdom is 45%^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“Additional rate over £125,140 45%”View source · accessed 2026-08-20. The 45% additional rate applies to taxable non-savings/non-dividend income above GBP 125,140 for the 2026/27 tax year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is a progressive system, not a flat tax. Scotland sets its own income tax rates and bands for this type of income via the Scottish Parliament (a separate, higher top rate applies there), so this figure does not apply to Scottish taxpayers.

Personal allowance taper

The Personal Allowance is progressively withdrawn once adjusted net income exceeds GBP 100,000 (GBP 1 lost for every GBP 2 of income above that line), reaching zero at GBP 125,140 — which is exactly where the 45% additional rate band begins, producing an effective marginal rate well above 45% in the GBP 100,000-125,140 band. [source]HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“Your personal allowance goes down by £1 for every £2 that your adjusted net income is above £100,000. This means your allowance is zero if your income is £125,140 or above.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20

Personal allowance

GBP 12,570 (as of 2026)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“The standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, which is the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — Standard tax-free Personal Allowance for 2026/27; income up to this amount is untaxed. Thresholds and the allowance have been frozen for several consecutive tax years, with the freeze currently extending to at least April 2031.

Pit higher rate

40% (as of 2026)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“Higher rate £50,271 to £125,140 40%”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — 40% higher rate band for the 2026/27 tax year (England, Wales, Northern Ireland).

Pit basic rate

20% (as of 2026)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20%”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — 20% basic rate band for the 2026/27 tax year (England, Wales, Northern Ireland).

Special tax regimes in United Kingdom

4 years (as of 2025)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“On 6 April 2025 the 4-year foreign income and gains regime replaced the remittance basis”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — The UK abolished the historic non-domiciled ('non-dom') remittance-basis regime and replaced it, from 6 April 2025, with a residence-based 4-year Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) regime. This ended the centuries-old concept of domicile-based tax status for new arrivals and is the single biggest change to UK personal tax in the mid-2020s.

Fig allowances lost

Electing into the FIG regime is a trade-off: for any tax year you claim it, you lose the tax-free Income Tax Personal Allowance and the Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount (plus the Married Couple's, Marriage, and Blind Person's Allowances if you would otherwise qualify for them). The foreign income you claim relief on still counts toward 'adjusted net income' for things like tax-free childcare and the High Income Child Benefit Charge. [source]HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“You’ll get tax relief on the foreign income or gains you claim for, but you’ll lose the following allowances:”View source · accessed 2026-08-20

Fig relief max duration

4 years (as of 2025)^ⓘHM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“If you make a claim under the regime, you’ll not pay tax on your eligible foreign income and gains.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — Qualifying new residents who make a claim pay no UK tax on the eligible foreign income and gains they claim relief for. The relief is capped at a maximum of 4 consecutive tax years starting from when UK tax residency began; unused years cannot be rolled over, and the clock is not paused if the person temporarily leaves the UK during the window.

Fig qualifying new resident

To qualify for the FIG regime you must be UK tax resident under the Statutory Residence Test and still within your first 4 years as a UK tax resident, having been non-UK tax resident for at least the preceding 10 consecutive tax years. Because the 4-year window is measured from when UK residency actually started, people who arrived as early as the 2022/23 tax year could already be partway through — or past — their eligible window when the regime itself launched on 6 April 2025. [source]HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)“still within your first 4 years as a UK tax resident following at least a 10-year period as a non-UK tax resident”View source · accessed 2026-08-20

Digital nomad visa in United Kingdom

No (as of 2026)^ⓘCitizen Remote“The United Kingdom does not currently offer a digital nomad UK visa, and there has been no indication that a remote work visa UK is planned for the near future.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20 — The UK has no dedicated digital-nomad or remote-worker visa route, and there is no indication one is planned. Remote workers who want to stay longer or work for a UK employer must use a general immigration category instead (e.g. Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Youth Mobility Scheme, High Potential Individual), or rely on the Standard Visitor Visa for short stays — see the related fact.

Standard visitor visa remote work

In the absence of a nomad visa, remote workers commonly visit the UK on the ordinary Standard Visitor Visa (up to 6 months). It does not prohibit continuing to work remotely for a non-UK employer or clients while visiting, but it does not permit working for a UK-based employer. Crucially, time spent in the UK this way still counts toward the Statutory Residence Test day-count tests above, so a long enough stay can trigger UK tax residency even without ever holding a work visa. [source]Citizen Remote“the UK has a generous tourist visa scheme, known as the Standard Visitor Visa, which allows individuals from most countries to stay in the UK for up to six months.”View source · accessed 2026-08-20

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) guidance / check if you can claim the 4 year foreign income and gains regime · tax_authority, accessed 2026-08-20
• HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) tax foreign income / residence · tax_authority, accessed 2026-08-20
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries individual / residence · big4, accessed 2026-08-20
• HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) income tax rates · tax_authority, accessed 2026-08-20
• Citizen Remote visas / uk digital nomad visa · other, accessed 2026-08-20

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When to talk to an advisor

This page maps United Kingdom’s general rules — it cannot weigh your treaty position, your family and asset ties, or the timing of a move. If meaningful money depends on the answer, have a qualified advisor in United Kingdom (and in your home country) review your situation before you act.