SA109 residence pages: non-residents, split years and the FIG regime

Who needs it

• Non-UK residents filing a return for UK income, including those claiming UK personal allowances.
• People who arrived in or left the UK during the tax year, who may qualify for split-year treatment.
• Dual residents, and non-residents claiming relief under a double-taxation agreement.
• New UK residents in their first four years after at least ten years as non-residents who want to claim the FIG regime.

What you need before you start

• The days you spent in the UK during the tax year, and the days you worked here.
• Details of your homes in the UK and abroad.
• Your UK residence history for earlier years, including how long you were non-resident if you're claiming the FIG regime.
• Details of the foreign income and gains you want the FIG regime to cover.

How to file SA109

1. 1Work out your residence for the tax year under the Statutory Residence Test.
2. 2If you moved to or from the UK, check whether split-year treatment applies; it does only if you meet its conditions.
3. 3If you're newly resident, check whether you qualify for the FIG regime and which foreign sources to claim it for.
4. 4Complete the residence section of your online return, or the SA109 PDF with your paper SA100, using HMRC's notes and helpsheets.

How UK residence is decided

Residence depends mainly on how many days you spend in the UK in the tax year. You're resident if you meet one of the automatic UK tests or the sufficient ties test and none of the overseas tests. Spending 183 or more days here makes you resident; spending fewer than 16 days usually makes you non-resident.

It matters because non-residents pay UK tax only on UK income, while residents normally pay UK tax on everything, including foreign income. Capital Gains Tax follows the same split. If you move in or out of the UK, split-year treatment may divide the year into a resident and a non-resident part.

The 4-year FIG regime

From the 2025 to 2026 tax year, people in their first four years of UK tax residence, after at least ten years as non-residents, can claim that eligible foreign income and gains aren't taxed in the UK. Eligible income includes trade profits made wholly outside the UK, overseas property profits, dividends from non-UK companies and interest. Foreign employment income isn't covered. You choose which sources to claim for.

The claim has a price: you lose your tax-free allowances for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and the foreign income still counts towards adjusted net income for things like the High Income Child Benefit Charge. HMRC renamed the SA109 to reflect the regime from the 2026 form onwards.

Common mistakes

• Assuming residence follows nationality or where you call home. The Statutory Residence Test turns mainly on days spent in the UK.
• Assuming split-year treatment applies automatically on arrival or departure. It applies only if you meet its conditions.
• Claiming the FIG regime without checking the cost: you give up tax-free allowances for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
• Using an old remittance basis claim. The FIG regime replaced the remittance basis on 6 April 2025.