Do I Have UK Ties? A Practical Checklist

Not sure whether you have UK ties? Work through each checklist question below. For each tie, a single "yes" answer means you have that tie. Count your ties at the end and match the total against your day limit.

This checklist covers all five UK ties assessed under the sufficient ties test — the stage of the Statutory Residence Test that applies once you have cleared the automatic UK and automatic overseas tests. The more ties you have, the fewer days you can spend in the UK before becoming tax resident.

If you want a full determination rather than a self-check, the free SRT questionnaire works through every tie and gives you a complete residence assessment in about 10 minutes.

Before you start: are you a leaver or an arriver?

The five ties apply differently depending on which table governs your assessment.

• Leaver (Table A): you were UK resident in at least one of the three preceding tax years. Up to five ties apply. Stricter day thresholds.
• Arriver (Table B): you were not UK resident in any of the three preceding tax years. Up to four ties apply — the country tie does not apply to arrivers.

Not sure which applies? See Table A vs Table B explained.

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Tie 1: The family tie

Full detail: The family tie explained

Answer yes to any of the following and you have a family tie:

• My spouse or civil partner is UK resident this tax year, and we are not legally separated (by court order or deed of separation)
• My unmarried partner — someone I have lived with as if married — is UK resident this tax year
• I have a child under 18 who is UK resident this tax year, and I have spent 61 days or more in person with them in the UK this tax year

Common traps:

• Informal separation — living apart, seeing other people — does not break the family tie. Only a court order or formal deed of separation counts.
• The 61-day threshold for children counts any part-day in person with the child in the UK. Days spent with them outside the UK do not count.
• A child in full-time UK boarding school who spends fewer than 21 days in the UK outside term-time is not regarded as UK resident, so no family tie arises from that child.

Family tie result: ☐ Yes — I have a family tie    ☐ No — I do not

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Tie 2: The accommodation tie

Full detail: The accommodation tie explained

Answer yes to either of the following and you have an accommodation tie:

• I have a UK property (owned, rented, or otherwise available to me) that has been available to me for a continuous period of 91 days or more this tax year, and I have spent at least one night there
• I have access to a close relative's home in the UK (parent, grandparent, sibling, or adult child) that has been available to me for a continuous period of 91 days or more, and I have spent 16 or more nights there this tax year

Common traps:

• Hotels do not count — only residential accommodation.
• Letting your UK property does not automatically remove the tie. If the property was available to you at the start of the tax year and you spent at least one night before a tenancy began, the tie exists for that year.
• A short break in availability of fewer than 16 days does not interrupt the 91-day continuous period.

Accommodation tie result: ☐ Yes — I have an accommodation tie    ☐ No — I do not

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Tie 3: The work tie

Full detail: The work tie explained

Answer yes to the following and you have a work tie:

• I have worked more than 3 hours in the UK on 40 or more days this tax year (employment, self-employment, director duties, client work — any productive activity counts)

Common traps:

• Exactly 3 hours does not count. It must be more than 3 hours.
• Cabin crew and cross-border workers: any day on which your cross-border journey starts in the UK counts as a qualifying day, regardless of actual UK working hours.
• Working remotely for a UK employer from overseas does not count — only days you are physically in the UK working more than 3 hours.

Work tie result: ☐ Yes — I have a work tie    ☐ No — I do not

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Tie 4: The 90-day tie

Full detail: The 90-day tie explained

Answer yes to either of the following and you have a 90-day tie:

• I spent more than 90 days in the UK in the tax year immediately before the year being assessed
• I spent more than 90 days in the UK in the tax year two years before the year being assessed

Common traps:

• The two preceding years are assessed independently — the days are not combined. 50 days one year and 50 days the next does not trigger the tie. 91 days in either year does.
• Exactly 90 days does not trigger the tie. It must be more than 90.
• This tie is backward-looking. There is nothing you can do in the current tax year to remove it. To clear it for future years, you need to keep UK days below 91 in the preceding years.

90-day tie result: ☐ Yes — I have a 90-day tie    ☐ No — I do not

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Tie 5: The country tie (leavers only)

Full detail: The country tie explained

This tie applies under Table A only. If you are an arriver assessed under Table B, skip this section.

Answer yes to the following and you have a country tie:

• The UK is the single country where I spent the most midnight nights this tax year — no other individual country has a higher count than the UK

Common traps:

• The comparison is against each individual country — not against all overseas days combined. The UK can have fewer than half the year's days and still be the single-highest country.
• If the UK and another country are tied on midnight days, the UK wins — the country tie applies.
• Splitting time across many countries without a clear primary base means the UK often wins by default.

Country tie result: ☐ Yes — I have a country tie    ☐ No — I do not

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Your tie count and day limit

Count up your "yes" answers and match them against your table below.

Table A (leavers)

UK days in the tax year	Ties needed to be UK resident
16–45	4 or more
46–90	3 or more
91–120	2 or more
121–182	1 or more

Table B (arrivers)

UK days in the tax year	Ties needed to be UK resident
46–90	4
91–120	3 or more
121–182	2 or more

If your UK days and tie count land on or above the threshold for your table, you are UK resident for that tax year.

For the full picture, see the day limits reference table or the article on how many days in the UK before becoming tax resident. If you want to track your remaining UK days in real time against your threshold, the Day Budget Dashboard updates as you log visits.

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Common questions

Can I have more than one accommodation tie?

No — the accommodation tie is binary. You either have it or you don't. Multiple UK properties can each independently meet the conditions, but the outcome is still one accommodation tie, not several.

I haven't decided whether my separation is permanent — do I have a family tie?

Possibly. HMRC's definition of separation requires a court order, a deed of separation, or circumstances that are objectively "likely to be permanent" — not just your subjective view. If no formal steps have been taken and the situation could plausibly resolve, HMRC is likely to treat you as not separated. The family tie applies.

I work remotely for a UK employer from overseas — do I have a work tie?

Not automatically. The work tie is based on days you are physically in the UK working more than 3 hours. Working for a UK employer from overseas does not create a work tie. Only UK-present working days count.

Does the 90-day tie reset each year?

It is reassessed each year, but it does not automatically reset. It persists as long as either of the two preceding years shows more than 90 UK days. To clear it, both preceding years must be 90 days or fewer.

I'm an arriver — which ties apply to me?

Arrivers under Table B can have up to four ties: family, accommodation, work, and 90-day. The country tie does not apply. Table B thresholds are also different from Table A — generally allowing more UK days before residency is triggered. See Table A vs Table B for the full comparison.

What if I'm not sure whether I'm a leaver or an arriver?

A leaver is someone who was UK resident in at least one of the three preceding tax years. An arriver was not. This single question determines which table applies and therefore both the number of ties in play and your day thresholds. See Table A vs Table B explained.

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For a full SRT determination — automatic tests, ties, day count, and final status — use the free SRT questionnaire. It works through your position step by step, applies the correct table, and produces a full residence determination referencing the HMRC rules at each stage. No account required.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. For complex situations, professional advice from a qualified tax adviser is recommended.