The UK Statutory Residence Test, one step at a time
The SRT is not a single day count. It is three tests applied in order: the automatic overseas tests, the automatic UK tests, and, for everything in between, the sufficient ties test, where the day threshold moves according to how many ties you have to the UK.
121 UK days in 2026/27. In the 121–182 day band, the sufficient ties test looks for 1 tie; you have declared 2.
Days counted at midnight, over the UK tax year (6 April to 5 April). The SRT is three tests, not one number: automatic overseas, automatic UK, then sufficient ties. Ties are declared by you and each has its own statutory definition.
Counted as a leaver — UK resident in at least one of the previous three tax years.
Saves to this device. No account, no email.
What goes wrong, in order of how often
The UK tax year starts on 6 April
Not 1 January, and not 1 April. Counting on a calendar year will put days in the wrong year and can change which band you fall into.
The threshold depends on your history, not just your days
If you were UK resident in any of the previous three tax years you are a 'leaver' and the thresholds are tighter: 16 days rather than 46 for the automatic overseas test, and a lower bar in every ties band.
Ties are defined in statute, not by intuition
Family, accommodation, work, the 90-day tie and, for leavers only, the country tie each have precise definitions. Miscounting your ties moves your threshold by 30 days or more.
Days are counted at midnight
You are generally present on a day if you are in the UK at the end of it. There are anti-avoidance rules for transit and exceptional circumstances that this counter does not attempt to model.
Questions people ask
Does this tell me whether I am UK resident?
No. It reports which test your recorded days engage and, in the ties band, the published threshold for the number of ties you declare. Residence status depends on facts about your life that an app cannot verify, and it is a question for a qualified adviser.
What if I spend 183 days or more in the UK?
That engages an automatic UK test, and the ties test never comes into it. Below 16 days as a leaver, or 46 as an arriver, an automatic overseas test is engaged instead. The ties test only decides the middle ground.
Does split-year treatment apply to me?
Possibly, and it is outside what this counter models. Split-year treatment can divide a tax year into resident and non-resident parts in specific circumstances, such as leaving to work abroad full time.
This rule is not the only one counting your days
The same trips are measured by every other rule you are subject to, and the counting conventions contradict each other — Schengen counts your arrival day, the US 330-day test does not. Driftly runs them all against one trip history.
- The Schengen 90/180 rule, counted properly
- The 330-day physical presence test, counted from your real trips
- The 183-day rule, on each country's own calendar
Driftly reports your recorded day counts against published thresholds. It does not determine your visa or tax status — confirm both with official sources or a qualified adviser.