The Statutory Residence Test looks more mechanical than many residence rules, but the inputs still need care: UK midnights, automatic overseas tests, automatic UK tests, sufficient ties, transit days, exceptional circumstances and tax-year boundaries.
Why “183 days” is not enough
Many people begin with the 183-day headline. For UK-connected individuals, that is only one part of the picture. The SRT can turn on shorter thresholds once family, accommodation, work, 90-day history or country ties are relevant.
That is why a generic travel calendar is weak evidence. It rarely explains which days counted, which trips were transit, which evidence supports each journey, and which assumptions the adviser used.
Common failure points
- Counting arrival and departure days incorrectly for UK midnight-based rules.
- Mixing calendar years with the UK tax year from 6 April to 5 April.
- Ignoring changed flights, cancellations and last-minute routing changes.
- Keeping evidence separately from the journey it supports.
- Using one spreadsheet for several family members with different ties.
The Atrium approach
Atrium keeps journeys as user-confirmed facts and attaches evidence to each trip. Tickets, boarding passes, receipts and GPS checks support the record, but they do not silently override the confirmed journey. The result is a cleaner pack for advisers and HMRC enquiry readiness.
Useful search intents
UK Statutory Residence Test, SRT calculator, UK tax residence calculator, sufficient ties test, UK residence day count, HMRC travel evidence.