Leaving the UK: residence checker

It's a simplified version of the statutory residence test. You choose how many days you expect to spend in the UK in the tax year of the sale, say whether your only home will still be in the UK, and tick the UK ties you'll have. It then shows whether you'd probably still be UK resident or may be non-resident.

It's for people who were UK resident in at least one of the previous three tax years and are planning to leave, for example for the UAE, before selling their company. The rules are stricter for leavers than for people arriving in the UK, so the checker uses the leaver figures throughout.

It depends on your UK ties. If you were recently UK resident, fewer than 16 days usually makes you non-resident, and 183 days or more makes you resident. In between, the more days you spend, the fewer ties it takes to stay resident: four ties at 16 to 45 days, three at 46 to 90, two at 91 to 120 and one at 121 to 182.

The family tie (a UK resident spouse, partner or child under 18), the accommodation tie (a UK place to live that's available to you and used), the work tie (substantial work in the UK), the 90-day tie (more than 90 days in the UK in either of the previous two tax years) and the country tie (spending the most days in the UK).

It's unlikely. If your only home is in the UK and you have no home overseas, you're likely to be UK resident automatically, whatever your days. The checker treats that answer as making you resident. If you're keeping a UK property, setting up a home abroad is an important part of the move.

It's the temporary non-residence rule. If you're non-resident for five years or less, gains on assets you held before leaving, such as your shares, can be taxed in the year you return. So selling while non-resident doesn't help if you come back too soon. The checker flags this if you might return within five years.

It covers the automatic 183-day and 16-day tests, the only home test and the sufficient ties table. It doesn't cover the full-time work abroad test, split year treatment, or the detailed rules on what counts as a day or a home. These can change the answer, so the result is an indication, not a conclusion.

Yes. Your residence is decided for each tax year, so what matters is your position in the tax year of the sale. For capital gains tax, the date of an unconditional contract usually counts as the date of sale, not completion. Signing before you've become non-resident can leave the gain taxable in the UK.

No. The checker runs in your browser, and your answers aren't stored or sent anywhere. If you accept analytics cookies, we record only that the tool was used, not what you entered. You don't need to give your name or email address to use it.

Plan the timing of the move and the sale together, and keep a careful record of your days and ties. The UAE doesn't charge personal income tax or capital gains tax, but the UK rules decide whether the UK can still tax your gain. Book a call or email taxadvisory@aswatax.co.uk, and we'll reply within one working day.