UK split-year treatment: leaving or arriving mid-year

The all-or-nothing problem

The Statutory Residence Test decides residency for the entire tax year — so someone who emigrates in September would, by default, be UK resident (and taxable on worldwide income) for the whole year. Split-year treatment is the relief that fixes this, dividing the year into a UK part and an overseas part.

When a year can be split

You must actually be UK resident under the SRT for the year, and fit one of eight cases. The common ones:

• Leaving: starting full-time work overseas (or accompanying a partner who does), or ceasing to have any UK home.
• Arriving: starting to have your only home in the UK, starting full-time work in the UK, or returning after full-time work abroad ends.

Each case has its own conditions, and when more than one applies there are priority rules deciding which case — and therefore which split date — wins.

Day counting doesn't stop when you leave

Most leaving cases impose strict limits on UK days during the overseas part (scaled from the 90-day and workday limits of the third automatic overseas test). Exceed them on visits home and the split can collapse, making you resident for the full year. The next year's position also leans on your counts — the 90-day tie looks back two years.

How TaxDin helps

TaxDin keeps counting after your move: UK midnights and workdays per tax year, visible per person, so you can watch the overseas-part limits in real time instead of discovering a breach in January. Split-year analysis is nuanced — take your log to a qualified adviser for the final call.