Split-year treatment: the year you leave the UK

Leave in August and, by default, HMRC treats you as UK resident until next April; split-year treatment is how you stop that.

The short version

Under the Statutory Residence Test you're resident or non-resident for a whole tax year. Split-year treatment divides the year you leave into a UK part, taxed as a resident, and an overseas part, taxed for most purposes as a non-resident[1][2].
For leavers there are three cases: Case 1 (starting full-time work overseas), Case 2 (the partner of someone in Case 1) and Case 3 (ceasing to have a UK home) [1].
All three need you to be UK resident in the year you leave and the year before, and non-resident in the following year [3][4][5].
You claim it on the SA109 residence pages of your Self Assessment return [6].
If you meet more than one case, priority rules pick the one that applies [1].

Why it matters

Without a split, a UK resident is taxed on worldwide income and gains for the full tax year (6 April to 5 April). So if you move to Spain in September and start earning there, the UK could in principle tax your Spanish salary from September to April as well. You'd then lean on the double taxation treaty to avoid paying twice, which is a faff and doesn't always come out even.

With a split year, the overseas part is taxed, for most purposes, as if you were non-resident [2]. UK income, such as rent from your old flat, stays taxable in the UK all year. Foreign income in the overseas part generally drops out of the UK net.

The three cases for leavers

Case 1: starting full-time work overseas

This is for people leaving to take a job abroad. The conditions are [3]:

You're UK resident in the tax year you leave.
You were UK resident in the previous tax year.
You're non-UK resident in the following tax year because you meet the third automatic overseas test (full-time work abroad).
You meet the overseas work criteria for a "relevant period" that starts on a day in the tax year and runs to its end: you work full time overseas, without a significant break, and you stay within the permitted limits for UK days and UK workdays [7].

The overseas part starts on the first day of that relevant period. The permitted limits shrink the later in the year you go. HMRC's table gives them by the month the relevant period begins [7]:

Relevant period starts in	Max UK days	Max days working 3+ hours in the UK
6 to 30 April	90	30
June	75	25
August	60	20
October	45	15
December	30	10
February	15	5
1 to 5 April	0	0

The full table has a row for every month. Start in September and you can spend no more than 52 days in the UK, and work more than three hours on no more than 17 of them, before 5 April [7].

Case 2: the partner who follows

Case 2 covers the spouse, civil partner or partner who moves abroad to live with someone who falls within Case 1. You need to have lived together in the UK at some point in the tax year or the one before, and to move so you can live together while your partner works overseas [4].

From your "deemed departure day" to the end of the tax year, you need either to have no UK home or, if you have homes in both countries, to spend the greater part of the time in the overseas one. You also have to stay within a permitted limit of UK days, and like everyone else you must be UK resident in the year you leave and the year before, and non-resident the year after [4].

Case 3: ceasing to have a UK home

This is the case for most retirees and anyone who isn't moving for a job. The conditions are [5]:

You're UK resident in the tax year and the previous one.
You have one or more UK homes at the start of the tax year.
At some point in the year you stop having any UK home, and you have none for the rest of the year.
From then until 5 April, you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK.
You're non-resident in the following tax year.
Within six months of the day you stop having a UK home, you become tax resident in a particular country, or you're present there at the end of every day for six months, or your only home (or all your homes) are in that country.

The overseas part starts on the day you stop having a UK home. The practical sting is in condition 3. If you keep your house and it stays available to you, you probably still have a UK home. Selling, or letting it on a proper tenancy so you can't just move back in, is usually what ends it. Our guide on keeping or selling your UK home covers the choices.

And the 16-day limit is strict. One trip back for a family Christmas, plus a long weekend at Easter, can tip you over.

What happens in each part of the year

	UK part	Overseas part
UK employment income	Taxed	Taxed for UK workdays only
Foreign employment income	Taxed	Generally not taxed in the UK
UK rent, interest, pensions	Taxed	Still taxed in the UK
Foreign investment income	Taxed	Generally not taxed in the UK
Personal Allowance	Full year's allowance, not cut down for the split: HMRC confirms it isn't pro-rated [11]

The detail varies by type of income, and HMRC's residence manual points to its RDR1 booklet for a broad guide [2]. One quirk: the special limit on tax for non-residents' savings and dividend income only applies if you're non-resident for the whole tax year, so it doesn't help in the overseas part of a split year [8].

How to claim it

You claim split-year treatment on your Self Assessment return. The SA109 residence pages are where you record your residence status and claim it, alongside the main SA100 return [6].

Work out which case fits. Check the conditions for Cases 1, 2 and 3 against your dates. If more than one applies, HMRC's priority rules decide which one, and so when the overseas part starts [1].
Pin down your date. For Case 1 it's the start of your relevant period; for Case 3, the day you stopped having a UK home.
Register for Self Assessment if you don't already file. The deadline is 5 October after the end of the tax year; for 2025/26 that was 5 October 2026 [9].
File with the SA109. Make sure whatever you file with supports the SA109. GOV.UK's options for people abroad are a paper return by post (due 31 October), commercial software that supports the SA109, or a tax professional [10].
Keep the evidence. Your employment contract abroad, a new rental agreement or deeds, sale or letting papers for your UK home, flight records and a day count.

A wrinkle: every leaving case requires you to be non-resident in the following tax year. If you file early, you're claiming on what you expect to happen. If the next year doesn't turn out that way, for example because you come back sooner, you'll need to correct the return.

If you don't qualify

If none of the cases fits, you're UK resident for the whole year and taxed on your worldwide income for it. You can still claim relief for foreign tax under the relevant double taxation agreement, which we explain in double taxation agreements and reliefs. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check whether a different timing, for instance ending your UK home a little earlier, would change the result.

Split-year treatment: cutting your leaving year in two