HM Revenue and Customs have updated the guidance on residence, domicile and the remittance basis contained in HMRC6.
Since 6 April 2008, in determining how many days a person has spent in the UK for the purposes of the 183 day test and 91 day test, taxpayers have been able to exclude days in which they were not present at midnight.
However, the new guidance in HMRC6 suggests that where a person spends substantial time travelling to and from the UK, HM Revenue and Customs may seek to look at all the days in which a person was in the UK even where they were not present at midnight. This appears to build on the recent case of Mr Gaines-Cooper.
The 91 day test is now discussed comprehensively in the coming to the UK section and rather limitedly in the leaving the UK section (in fact it is only referred to here where a person leaves to work abroad full-time), thus the implication is that HM Revenue and Customs now see the 91 day test as a way of bringing people within the UK tax net rather than a way of letting people out of it.
Please call Eaves & Co, Specialist Tax Advisors if you have any UK tax residence issues.