RDRM11950 - Residence: The SRT: Deceased persons: What is a sufficient amount of time

If the deceased was either:

  • present in their overseas home for a total of at least 30 days, either consecutively or intermittently, in the tax year
  • present in their overseas home on every day of the tax year until, and including the day of their death

they will have spent a sufficient time in that overseas home for the purposes of the automatic UK test for deceased persons, and so will not be UK resident under the test.

Example 1

Fred has lived and worked in the UK his whole life. On 10 April 2015 Fred dies whilst on a 2 week holiday to Spain. Fred:

  • does not meet any of the automatic overseas tests
  • does not meet any of the first 3 automatic UK tests
  • was resident for each of the previous 3 tax years, and would not meet the criteria for split year treatment for 2014-2015
  • had his home in the UK at the time he died
  • did not have an overseas home

Fred is therefore resident under the fourth automatic UK test.

Example 2

Freda has lived and worked in the UK, and has been UK resident for the 5 years up to 2015-2016. In June 2016 Freda retires, buys a home in France and leaves the UK to live there. Freda keeps her UK home, which she uses as a base on return trips to the UK.

Freda dies in July 2017. Apart from a 2 week visit to the UK in May 2017, where she stayed in her UK home, Freda spent every night in her French home. In the year of her death Freda has spent a sufficient amount of time in her overseas home, and so is not UK resident under the fourth automatic UK test.