LSR Partners LLP

LSR Partners LLP Bringing UK tax clarity to global clients

03/06/2026

In theory, an arriver with just one tie to the UK can spend up to 182 days here without becoming UK tax resident.

In practice, spending 182 days in the UK while avoiding an accommodation tie requires moving between hotels and short-term rentals constantly, never staying anywhere consistently for more than 90 nights. It is possible in principle. It is burdensome and logistically complicated in practice.

Simon references the controversy around Sean Connery and the claim that he only ever spent 182 days in the UK. The point is not the number. The point is that the Statutory Residence Test is designed to make this kind of arrangement genuinely difficult to sustain. The ties and day counts interact in a way that closes off the obvious routes to manipulation.

Watch Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

02/06/2026

How many days can you spend in the UK without becoming UK tax resident?
The answer depends entirely on how many ties you have to the UK.

Four or five ties: 15 midnights maximum before triggering UK tax residency.
No ties: up to 282 days.

But almost nobody with any connection to the UK genuinely has zero ties. And spending close to the upper day count limit creates a tie for the following year, reducing the days available in year two.

The sufficient ties test does not reset cleanly between years. What you do in one tax year affects the thresholds that apply in the next.

Watch Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

29/05/2026

Many non-residents assume that after enough time outside the UK, capital gains tax on UK property eventually stops applying. It does not. There is no time limit after which the liability disappears.

But if you owned UK property before April 2015, reliefs are available that can significantly reduce what you owe. Rebasing allows you to treat the April 2015 value as your base cost. Time apportionment relief taxes only the proportion of the gain that arose after April 2015. You choose whichever produces the better outcome.

There is also a trap that catches people out regularly. Return to the UK within five years as a temporary non-resident and any gain that was not fully taxed during your period of non-residence can fall back within the scope of UK capital gains tax. Most people understand this rule in relation to shares. Far fewer realise it applies to UK property gains under the non-resident CGT rules as well.

If you are a non-resident with UK property and you are considering selling, or thinking about returning to the UK, get the full picture before you act.

Book a call with us on our website. LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time.

There is no time limit after which non-residents stop paying capital gains tax on UK property.We get asked this regularl...
28/05/2026

There is no time limit after which non-residents stop paying capital gains tax on UK property.

We get asked this regularly. The assumption is that after enough years outside the UK, the liability simply goes away. It does not. Non-resident capital gains tax on UK property applies with no expiry date.

But if you owned the property before April 2015, there are reliefs available that can significantly reduce what you owe. Rebasing allows you to treat the April 2015 value as your base cost, meaning only the gain from that date onwards is taxable. Time apportionment relief looks at the full ownership period and taxes only the proportion that falls after April 2015. You choose whichever produces the more favourable outcome.

There is also a trap that catches people out regularly. Return to the UK within five years as a temporary non-resident and any gain that was not fully taxed during your period of non-residence can fall back within the scope of UK tax. Most people understand this rule in relation to shares and investments. Far fewer realise it applies to UK property gains under the non-resident CGT rules as well.

If you are a non-resident with UK property and you are considering selling, or if you are thinking about returning to the UK, get the full picture before you act.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at on our website.

27/05/2026

Most people know about the 183 day rule. Spend more than six months in the UK and you are automatically UK tax resident. It is familiar because most countries operate a similar threshold.

But the Statutory Residence Test has two other automatic UK tests that catch far more people and operate on much shorter timescales.

The only home in the UK test can make you UK tax resident after just 30 days in the tax year. The full-time work in the UK test can make you UK tax resident after just one day of full-time work in the UK during the year.

Both tests are designed specifically to catch people who are in the process of leaving or arriving. They are the ones that require the most careful planning for anyone in that position.

Watch Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

26/05/2026

A musician client asked Simon whether he should record his practice sessions to prove his overseas work days to HMRC. He practices alone in a room. No timesheet. No building access data. No employer records.

Simon's answer: yes. But the library would need to be very large.

This is the part of the Statutory Residence Test most people overlook. The test is fact-based and HMRC can come asking. When they do, contemporaneous records are what matter. Not a reconstruction of what you think you were doing several months ago.

Keep real-time records. Use apps that track your location and day count. Take photos with GPS data. Keep a diary updated as you go.

And get documented professional advice that you can demonstrate you followed. A detailed written report from a specialist adviser is one of the most effective ways of closing down an HMRC enquiry before it gains momentum.

Watch Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

21/05/2026

HMRC makes it hard to leave the UK and easy to arrive. And the Statutory Residence Test reflects that design.

Under the test, everyone is either a leaver or an arriver. If you have been UK tax resident in any of the previous three tax years, you are a leaver. If you have not, you are an arriver. The rules that apply to each are different, and arrivers get considerably more wiggle room.

The day count threshold shows the imbalance clearly. Leavers get 15 midnights in the UK before risking residency. Arrivers get 45. That three to one difference runs through the entire test.

If you are planning to leave the UK, understanding which category you fall into and what limits apply to you is essential before you do anything else.

Watch Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

20/05/2026

Three days too many in the UK. A £20,000 tax bill. Nothing to appeal and nothing to unwind.

The Statutory Residence Test is entirely fact-based. It does not care about your intentions. It does not offer retrospective relief because you miscounted. Once those days are spent in the UK, the position is fixed.

This is a real situation from a real LSR Partners client. Three days over the limit cost him £20,000 in tax that proper planning beforehand would have avoided entirely.

If you are leaving the UK, arriving in the UK, or already overseas and unsure where you stand, get specialist advice before you act. Not after.

Watch Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

19/05/2026

Here is something you rarely hear from a tax adviser: we are deliberately not going to tell you everything we know about this.

The Statutory Residence Test is one of those areas where a little knowledge can be genuinely dangerous. Every situation is different. The test is fact-specific and unforgiving. Drawing the wrong conclusion from a general overview can cost significantly more than getting proper advice would have.

Simon and Laura are honest about this in Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast. They give a clear high-level picture of how the test works. But they are equally clear that going beyond that in a general context risks sending people away with the wrong impression of how it applies to their own situation.

If you are leaving the UK, arriving in the UK, or already overseas and unsure where you stand, speak to a specialist before you act.

Watch here: https://buff.ly/6u90LCm or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

One client spent three days too many in the UK.It cost him £20,000.The UK Statutory Residence Test is one of the most co...
15/05/2026

One client spent three days too many in the UK.

It cost him £20,000.

The UK Statutory Residence Test is one of the most consequential and least understood areas of UK personal tax. It determines whether HMRC taxes you on your worldwide income and gains or only on your UK sources. That distinction shapes everything about your tax position if you live, work or invest across borders.

Episode 20 of the Tax Compass Podcast is a plain English guide to how it works. Simon and Laura cover the automatic overseas tests, the automatic UK tests, the sufficient ties test, split year treatment, and the interaction between the Statutory Residence Test and double tax treaty residence.

The single most important message of the episode: if you are leaving the UK or arriving in the UK, have the conversation before you go. Not after.

Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts (link in comments).

LSR Partners help you pay the right tax in the right place at the right time. Book a call at lsrpartners.com.

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