The Statutory Residence Test And COVID-19 Restrictions

Because of travel restrictions, lockdowns and quarantines, an individual may stay in the United Kingdom longer than they planned. This could be problematic due to the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) as it looks at the total days an individual has spent here during a tax year ...

Certain changes to the SRT because of COVID-19 have been enacted into UK tax law. It has been amended so that any days spent in the UK between the 1st of March 2020 and the 1st of June 2020 will not be counted in most cases.

"HMRC has recently given further details regarding the impact of the pandemic on SRT qualification days!"

Now, certain non-UK residents are allowed to be present in the UK due to COVID-19 without it impacting their tax status. These changes are specifically related to the 2019/20 and 2020/21 tax years and only make changes to the rules around what constitutes a 'day' of presence in the United Kingdom under the Statutory Residence Test regulations.

Careful consideration should be given to these new allowances, and they will only apply under exceptional circumstances. They will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and it's always a good idea to seek expert advice if you think SRT applies to you.

So, if you are self-isolating in the UK or have been advised not to travel, you may be able to exclude certain days you were in the United Kingdom under the Statutory Residence Test regulations.

If you'd like to find out more about anything I've written here, do call me on 01908 774323 or leave a comment below and let's see how I can help you.