Split-Year Date Finder

How does the Split-Year Date Finder work?

Direct answer: It takes two things — why you left (an overseas job, joining a partner who took one, or giving up your UK home) and when the trigger happened — and applies HMRC's split-year rules to return your likely Case (1, 2 or 3) and the exact split date that divides your tax year into a UK part and an overseas part. From that date, foreign income and gains in the overseas part fall outside UK tax; UK-source income still doesn't (HMRC RFIG21010–21140; 2026/27).

It is a first-pass compass, not a sign-off. It runs entirely in your browser, stores nothing, and never guarantees a Case or a date — your real position turns on whether you genuinely met the Case conditions, which is a question of fact HMRC can test. Where more than one Case applies, Case 1 beats Case 2 beats Case 3 (HMRC RFIG21030).

What is a split-year "Case", and why does it matter?

Direct answer: Under the Statutory Residence Test you're normally UK resident or non-resident for a whole tax year — there's no part-year residence in the test itself. Split-year treatment is a relieving overlay that, in the year you leave, divides the year into a UK part (taxed as resident) and an overseas part (taxed, for most purposes, as non-resident) — but only if you meet one of three leaver Cases. The Case you meet fixes your split date (HMRC RFIG21010; RDR3; 2026/27).

There are eight Cases in total; three are for leavers:

• Case 1 — starting full-time work overseas. The relocating employee, the Dubai mover on an employment contract — the cleanest exit.
• Case 2 — partner of someone starting full-time work overseas. The trailing spouse / partner who follows the Case 1 worker.
• Case 3 — ceasing to have any home in the UK. The retiree, the self-employed / portfolio worker, the digital nomad, the emigrant with no qualifying overseas job.

You only reach the Cases after the SRT has already made you resident for the whole year and you'll be non-resident the following year. If the SRT makes you non-resident for the year, there's nothing to split. The full walkthrough is in our split-year treatment guide.

How is my split date (deemed departure date) worked out?

Direct answer: Each Case fixes the split date differently. Case 1: the first day you did more than 3 hours of work overseas. Case 2: the later of the day you joined your partner abroad and your partner's Case 1 split date. Case 3: the day you ceased to have any home in the UK. Everything from 6 April to the day before is your UK part; the split date to 5 April is your overseas part (HMRC RFIG21080, RFIG21110, RFIG21140; 2026/27).

1. Case 1 — the "relevant period" runs from the first day of more-than-3-hours overseas work to 5 April. The overseas part begins on that first day (HMRC RFIG21050, RFIG21080). It is not the day you flew out or signed the contract — it's the day the qualifying overseas work begins.
2. Case 2 — the deemed departure day is the later of (a) the day you join your partner to live together overseas and (b) the first day of the overseas part of your partner's Case 1 split year (HMRC RFIG21110).
3. Case 3 — the overseas part starts on the day you cease to have any home in the UK for the rest of the year (HMRC RFIG21140). In HMRC's worked example the year splits on the day the UK home is given up.

What are the conditions for each leaver Case?

Case 1 (starting full-time work overseas) — all must hold: UK resident this year; UK resident the previous year; non-resident the following year by the third automatic overseas test; and a "relevant period" throughout which you work sufficient hours overseas (≈35 hrs/week average), with no significant break (31+ days), within the pro-rated UK-day and UK-workday limits (HMRC RFIG21040–21070). The limits scale down by the whole months you stayed before leaving — leave after 7 whole months and you get 37 UK days / 12 UK-work days in the overseas part.

Case 2 (partner of a Case 1 worker) — all must hold: UK resident this year and last year; non-resident next year; a partner whose situation falls within Case 1 this year or last; you move overseas to keep living together; and from your deemed departure date you have no UK home (or spend most of your time in the overseas home) and stay within the pro-rated UK-day limit (no separate UK-workday limit) (HMRC RFIG21090).

Case 3 (ceasing to have a UK home) — all must hold: UK resident this year and last year; non-resident next year; a UK home at the start of the year that you then cease to have for the rest of the year; fewer than 16 days in the UK from that date; and, within 6 months, a sufficient link to one overseas country — become tax resident there, or be present there at the end of every day for 6 months, or have your only home(s) there (HMRC RFIG21130). The 16-day cap is a hard, low limit, counted at midnight, running only from the day the home goes. There is no 91-day test inside Case 3 — that belongs to the SRT, not to Case 3.

What if more than one Case fits — which one wins?

Direct answer: The rules apply a fixed priority: Case 1 has priority over Case 2 and Case 3; Case 2 has priority over Case 3 (HMRC RFIG21030). A year can be a split year at most once — one Case, one split date. So if you both started an overseas job and gave up your UK home, you're on Case 1, and your split date is your overseas-work start date, not your home-cease date (FA 2013 Sch 45 para 54; 2026/27).

This matters because the Cases can fix different split dates, and the date drives what income leaves UK tax and when. The finder always applies the highest-priority Case that fits and tells you which one won and why.

Does the split date make my overseas income tax-free?

Direct answer: Not entirely. From the split date, the overseas part removes the worldwide basis of charge — so foreign income and gains arising then fall outside UK tax. But UK-source income stays taxable even in the overseas part: earnings for UK workdays, UK rental income (the Non-Resident Landlord rules apply — withholding at 20% unless HMRC approves gross payment), UK pensions, and gains on UK land and property (residential CGT at 18%/24%, with the £3,000 annual exempt amount and the 60-day report-and-pay deadline). Split-year changes when the clock starts, not whether UK-source tax applies (HMRC RFIG21010; RDR3; 2026/27).

And the overseas part isn't a safe harbour if your absence is short: the temporary non-residence rule can claw back income and gains banked while away if you return within five years or less, taxing them in your year of return. A clean break means staying non-resident for more than five full tax years (HMRC HS278, 2026). See when do you stop paying UK tax.

How do I claim split-year treatment once the finder shows my Case?

Direct answer: You claim it on the SA109 residence pages, filed with your Self Assessment return — it is not automatic, and you don't use a P85 for it. Tick box 3 to claim split-year, tick box 3.1 if more than one Case applies, and enter your split date in box 6; explain which Case in the free-text "Any other information" box (HMRC SA109 (2026) form and notes; 2026/27).

The SA109 can't go through HMRC's free online service — file the SA100 + SA109 on paper by 31 October, or online with commercial software / an agent by 31 January. Keep evidence to support the claim: travel dates and day counts, your overseas-work start date or home-disposal date, and proof of overseas residence or tax registration. The mechanics, with the P85-versus-SA109 fork, are in our P85 form guide.

Is this finder tax advice?

No. Quit UK Tax is an educational resource, not a regulated tax, legal or financial adviser. The finder gives a general estimate from published HMRC rules; it doesn't assess your circumstances, speak for HMRC, or guarantee a Case, a date or a tax outcome. Whether you genuinely met a Case's conditions is a question of fact HMRC can test. Becoming non-resident is a status you qualify for in statute and report openly — the opposite of evasion. For your own situation, and for anything complex, consult a qualified adviser and use the official HMRC route.