International accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens says the introduction by the UK of a statutory residence test will bring much greater certainty to an area previously decided largely on the basis of case law and government practice.

The UK is introducing the statutory residence test with effect from 6 April, 2013. Gill Smith, a tax partner with Moore Stephens, explains, “At present, there is no statutory definition of residence, but rather case law and HMRC practice. This has resulted in residence being a rather grey area, but the new test should bring much greater certainty.”

Under the new test, individuals will always be resident if they spend 183 days in the UK. As is the case now, a day counts if the individual is in the UK at midnight. Automatic residence is also achieved if individuals are working in the UK full-time or, broadly, have their only home there.

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