Glossary / Tax and structure

Tax residency

Tax residency is the status that determines which country taxes your worldwide income, decided by each country's own statutory tests rather than by your nationality or your visa.

Day counts are the most common test but rarely the only one. Ties such as a home, family or business can make a country claim you on far fewer days than you expect.

It is possible to be resident in two countries at once, which is what treaty tie-breaker rules exist to resolve.

Where people get it wrong

Assuming leaving is enough. Several countries continue to treat departing residents as resident until specific conditions are met.

Related terms

Double tax treaty A double tax treaty is an agreement between two countries setting out which of them may tax a given kind of income and at what rate, so that the same income is not fully taxed twice. Situs Situs is the legal location of an asset for tax purposes, which for shares is generally the country of the issuing company and for funds the country of domicile, regardless of where the owner lives or where the asset is held. Stamp duty land tax Stamp Duty Land Tax is the tax paid on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland, charged in bands on the portion of price falling in each band, with surcharges for additional properties and for non-UK residents.

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