01
Start the process
Tell us where you are moving, when you are leaving and the basic facts of your UK departure.
Leaving the UK, without the full-service bill
Save £1,000s
in professional fees.
Get clarity for £397.
Stop paying accountants and solicitors premium hourly rates to organise paperwork you can prepare efficiently. ExitTheUK walks you through the Statutory Residence Test day by day and tie by tie, organises your evidence, compiles your split-year and P85 or SA109 position, and puts it in front of an experienced reviewer before you tell HMRC.
Guided preparation / SRT file compiled / Human legal review
Your next chapter, organisedExample
🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇦🇪 Dubai
One move. One organised file.
Your documents, without the guesswork.
Example checklist3 of 4 added
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New-country leaseA home for your next chapter
✓🪪
Residence documentYour status abroad
✓🏦
Bank statementYour everyday financial ties
✓🚗
Driver's licenceAdd it when available
PENDINGKnow what you have. See what's next.Less scattered paperwork. More room for what's next.
Built around your move
Where are you headed?
🇦🇪 Dubai (UAE)🇲🇹 Malta🇨🇾 Cyprus🇵🇦 Panama🇵🇾 Paraguay
Need a new residence too?
Leaving the UK is one step.
Establishing somewhere new is the next.
Exit Global can help evaluate practical residency pathways in Dubai, Malta, Cyprus and Panama and beyond. Some routes can be completed relatively quickly depending on your circumstances. Each destination has its own site — click through.
🇦🇪
Dubai (UAE)
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇲🇹
Malta
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇨🇾
Cyprus
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇵🇦
Panama
Explore residency pathways ↗
🇵🇾
Paraguay
Explore residency pathways ↗
Immigration eligibility, processing times and government requirements vary by route and applicant.
The £397 guided departure package
Do the simple work once.
Pay experts for judgment — not administration.
Traditional full-service departure engagements get expensive when an accountant, a solicitor and a wealth adviser each bill hourly to establish the same facts. Software handles the day counts, the ties and the drafting; experts handle the parts that require judgment.
£397Prepared SRT file + written review
Start the process →02
Upload your documents
Add evidence of your new life abroad and the UK ties you have changed, ended or retained.
03
Answer the questionnaire
Work through structured questions covering homes, family, work, UK days, accommodation and the other ties the Statutory Residence Test counts.
04
We compile your SRT file
The software organises your answers into a structured file: which automatic test or ties table applies, your split-year case, and your P85 or SA109 route.
05
Expert review + written evaluation
Our team reviews the file and evidence, provides a written evaluation of your residence position and flags what to fix before you notify HMRC.
06
You decide how to proceed
You receive the prepared file and review. You decide whether to submit on that basis or obtain specialist advice first.
No open-ended hourly meter.
The core guided preparation and review is £397. Complex tax, valuation or specialist work is scoped and quoted separately, only if your situation requires it.
Your information is sensitive. We treat it that way.
Documents are stored privately when you explicitly save them. We use restricted access and do not sell or share your information.
01 / Understand the rules
The Statutory Residence Test,
in plain English.
Since 2013 UK residence has been decided by statute, not by feel. Three automatic overseas tests, three automatic UK tests, and — if neither settles it — a table that matches your UK days against your UK ties. Your file needs to show which one you pass.
Automatic overseas
Fewer than 16 days, or full-time work abroad.
If you were UK resident in any of the last three tax years, you are automatically non-resident in a year you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK. If you work full-time abroad (35+ hours a week on average, no significant break), the limits rise to fewer than 91 UK days and fewer than 31 UK working days. Pass one of these and nothing else matters.
HMRC RDR3: the SRT ↗Sufficient ties
Otherwise, days against ties.
Five ties: family, accommodation, work, 90-day, and — for leavers — country. For someone resident in any of the previous three years: 16–45 UK days needs 4 ties to be resident, 46–90 needs 3, 91–120 needs 2, over 120 needs just 1. Every tie you keep lowers the number of days you can spend back home.
HMRC RDR3: sufficient ties ↗Split-year treatment
Non-resident from the day after you leave — if a case fits.
The UK tax year runs to 5 April. Split-year treatment lets the year divide at your departure so only the UK part is taxed as resident. Case 1 is starting full-time work abroad; Case 2 is accompanying a partner who does; Case 3 is ceasing to have a UK home — after which you must spend fewer than 16 UK days and, within six months, become resident abroad or have your only home there.
HMRC manual: Case 3 ↗Telling HMRC
P85 or SA109 — one or the other, not both.
If you don't file Self Assessment, you tell HMRC with form P85 — online once you've left, by post if you haven't yet. If you do file Self Assessment, you don't use P85: you complete the residence pages SA109 with your return. HMRC's own online service can't file SA109; it goes by post by 31 October or through commercial software by 31 January.
gov.uk: leaving the UK (P85) ↗Why this matters
A flight changes
your location.
The facts tell the rest.
UK residents pay tax on worldwide income and gains; non-residents pay UK tax only on UK-source income such as rent and on UK land. But the UK keeps three long tails on people who leave — and each one is decided by facts you can document now.
gov.uk: tax if you leave the UK ↗Where is your home?
Keeping a UK home available to you is an accommodation tie — and, under Case 3, it can stop split-year treatment altogether.
Where is your family?
A spouse, civil partner or minor child resident in the UK is a family tie, and it counts every year they stay.
How many days, and what were you doing?
Midnights in the UK, working days, and the 90-day look-back over two prior years are counted precisely. Travel records matter.
02 / A simple way forward
From scattered documents
to a clear next step.
You don't need everything on day one. Start with what you know and keep track of the gaps.
01
Tell the story of your move
Choose your destination and record the key facts, dates and UK ties.
02
Build your document file
Keep new-country evidence and changes to UK ties in separate, labelled sections.
03
Get reviewed before you notify HMRC
Our team reviews your SRT file and evidence, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions before you submit P85 or SA109.
Guided preparation. Human review.
You do the groundwork.
Our team reviews the final file.
You should not have to start from a blank page, or pay a professional to chase every document. Build the file yourself; have it reviewed before you rely on it.
A reviewed SRT file
Our team reviews your day counts, ties, split-year case, supporting documents and departure narrative, provides an advisory opinion and recommends revisions.
A human review of the facts and evidence, not just a completed checklist.
Less administration. Lower preparation costs.
You gather documents and answer the guided questions. We focus professional time on reviewing your prepared file rather than assembling it from scratch.
Designed to cost less than having a firm manage every preparation task.
Specialists for the complex parts
Have a company, a trust, a pension you're thinking of moving, or UK property you'll keep? We can connect you with chartered tax advisers and STEP practitioners for the pieces that need them.
The right specialist for the work your situation actually requires.
A more focused way to get there
Do not pay full-service rates
for paperwork you can organise.
Complex, full-service UK departures can run into thousands of pounds in combined tax, legal and wealth-planning fees once the residence position, a property, a pension transfer and the inheritance-tax tail are all in play.
This refers to broader, multi-specialist engagements, not SRT preparation alone. Actual fees and savings vary.
Beyond the residence test
No exit tax —
but three long tails.
The UK does not tax you on the way out. Instead it follows you. Temporary non-residence: leave for five years or less and gains on assets you owned before departure are taxed in the year you return. Inheritance tax: since 6 April 2025, anyone UK-resident for 10 of the last 20 years stays exposed on worldwide assets for up to 10 years after leaving. UK property: non-residents still pay CGT on UK land and must report a sale within 60 days. Each tail has a date on it — and your file should know all three.
HMRC HS278: temporary non-residents ↗CTA
Tax analysis and filings
A Chartered Tax Adviser can model your temporary non-residence exposure, the inheritance-tax tail, split-year treatment and your final Self Assessment.
STEP / IFA
Pensions, trusts and estates
A STEP practitioner or regulated adviser can handle pension transfers (QROPS and the overseas transfer charge), trusts, and the inheritance-tax position on assets you keep.
Prepare it yourself. Get it reviewed. Bring in specialists when needed.
Start my guided departure →Team review is a separate, agreed professional engagement. Our advisory opinion is not a determination by HMRC.
03 / Know what to gather
Two sides of the move.
One practical checklist.
These are suggested evidence categories, not a universal HMRC document requirement. Include what's relevant to your situation.
Your new country
Establishing your life abroad
- Lease or proof of housingNames, address, dates and the living arrangement.
- New driver's licenceIf issued and applicable to your situation.
- Residence or immigration documentThe visa or permit that applies to your status.
- Local bank statementEvidence of an account in your new country.
Other useful context: employment, utilities, health coverage and travel records.
United Kingdom
Documenting what changed
- Sale, letting or end of tenancy of your UK homeExplain what happened to it and whether it remains available to you — the accommodation tie turns on this.
- Council tax, electoral register and GPClose the council-tax account, tell the electoral registration office, and deregister from your GP. Keep the confirmations.
- P45 and employer detailsYour P45 parts go with the P85. If you keep working for a UK employer from abroad, record the arrangement.
- Student loan notificationTell the Student Loans Company if you'll be abroad for more than 3 months, or arrears accrue regardless of income.
- Bank, ISA, DVLA and National InsuranceUpdate your bank to a non-resident address; stop ISA contributions; tell DVLA; decide on voluntary Class 2 or 3 NI via form CF83.
Keeping a UK bank account is not itself a tie under the SRT. See which ties count ↗
Still waiting on a document? Mark it pending and keep going.
Start my departure file — £397 →Your file grows as your move does.
04 / When you're ready
You prepare here.
You notify HMRC.
This app does not connect to your HMRC account. Once your file is reviewed, one of two routes tells HMRC you've left — and each has a form, a channel and a deadline.
gov.uk: tax if you leave the UK ↗01
Choose your routeNot in Self Assessment? Use form P85. In Self Assessment? Don't use P85 — complete the SA109 residence pages with your return for the year you leave.
02
Submit P85Online through your Government Gateway once you've left the UK. If you haven't left yet, print and post it. Include your P45 — or say why you don't have one.
03
Or file SA109 with your returnHMRC's free online service can't file the residence pages. Post the paper return by 31 October, or use commercial software by 31 January.
04
Keep the fileHMRC can query residence for years afterwards, and the five-year and ten-year tails run from your departure date. Keep the day counts, tie evidence and every submission receipt.
Good questions. Clear answers.
Before you
get started.
You can organise your evidence before deciding how far to take it.
Will your team review my final file?
Yes. Under an agreed review engagement, our team reviews your SRT file and supporting package, provides a written advisory opinion and recommends revisions. That is our opinion — not an HMRC determination.
Is there a UK equivalent of Canada's NR73?
Not as a ruling. The Statutory Residence Test is mechanical: you count days and ties and the answer follows. Form P85 (or SA109) is how you tell HMRC the result. HMRC does not issue residence opinions on request. RDR3 ↗
Is there an exit tax when I leave the UK?
No deemed disposal on departure for individuals. But if you were resident in 4 of the 7 years before leaving and come back within 5 years, gains on assets you held when you left are taxed in the year you return. HS278 ↗
Does leaving take me out of UK inheritance tax?
Not immediately. Since 6 April 2025 IHT is residence-based. If you were UK-resident for 10 of the last 20 tax years you are a 'long-term UK resident' and your worldwide estate stays in scope for up to 10 years after you leave — shortened to 3 years if you were resident 10–13 years, scaling up from there. gov.uk guidance ↗
Can I be non-resident from the day I leave?
Often, through split-year treatment — but only if one of the leaving cases fits. Ceasing to have any UK home (Case 3) is the common one, and it requires fewer than 16 UK days afterwards and becoming resident or solely-homed abroad within six months. HMRC manual ↗
What happens to my ISA and my pension?
You can keep an ISA but can't pay into it while non-resident. Pensions stay put unless you transfer; moving one abroad is a QROPS transfer and may trigger the overseas transfer charge — get advice before you touch it. ISA rule ↗
Should I keep paying National Insurance?
Possibly. Voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 contributions from abroad protect your State Pension record and are often cheap. You apply with form CF83. CF83 ↗
Do I have to close every UK account?
No blanket rule requires it. A bank account is not one of the five SRT ties. Keep what you need, record it, and be able to explain it.
The next chapter starts with a plan
Get clarity before you spend
thousands more on professional fees.
Start my departure file — £397 →Dubai (UAE) / Malta / Cyprus / Panama / Paraguay
The Exit network
One process. Every country.
Each site covers one departure, in that country's own rules. The destination sites cover where you're going. All reviewed by the same team at Exit Global.
Leaving
🌐Exit GlobalPortfolio home🇨🇦Exit CanadaNR73 + departure file🇺🇸Exit USAExpatriation + Form 8854🐻Exit CaliforniaFTB residency🗽Exit New YorkDomicile + statutory residency🇬🇧Exit the UKStatutory Residence Test🇮🇪Exit IrelandOrdinary residence tail🇫🇷Exit FranceArt. 167 bis exit tax🇧🇪Exit BelgiumSpecial departure return🇳🇱Exit NetherlandsM-form + conserverende aanslag🇪🇸Exit SpainArt. 95 bis + quarantine rule🇮🇹Exit ItalyAIRE + black-list presumption🇩🇰Exit DenmarkFraflytterskat🇳🇴Exit NorwayUtflyttingsskatt🇸🇪Exit SwedenTen-year share rule🇦🇺Exit AustraliaCGT event I1🇿🇦Exit South AfricaSection 9H exit charge🇩🇪Exit Germany§ 6 AStG Wegzugsbesteuerung🇦🇹Exit Austria§ 27 (6) Wegzugsbesteuerung🇫🇮Exit FinlandThree-year rule🇧🇷Exit BrazilSaída definitiva🇯🇵Exit JapanExit tax on ¥100m+ assets🇮🇱Exit IsraelCentre of life + s.100A🇳🇿Exit New Zealand325-day rule + IR886🇵🇹Exit PortugalArt. 16 CIRS residency🇰🇷Exit South KoreaExit tax on large shareholders🇦🇷Exit ArgentinaPérdida de residencia + baja🇮🇳Exit IndiaSection 6 residency + RNOR🇨🇭Exit SwitzerlandWegzug + pension withholding
Arriving
🇵🇦Move to PanamaTerritorial tax, Friendly Nations🇦🇪Move to DubaiNo personal income tax🇲🇹Move to MaltaRemittance basis, EU🇨🇾Move to Cyprus60-day rule, non-dom🇵🇾Move to ParaguayTerritorial tax, fast residency🇺🇾Move to UruguayTax holiday for new residents🇨🇷Move to Costa RicaTerritorial tax🇧🇸Move to BahamasNo income tax🇵🇹Move to PortugalD7, D8, Golden Visa, IFICI🇹🇭Move to ThailandLTR visa, remittance basis🇲🇾Move to MalaysiaMM2H, territorial tax🇮🇩Move to IndonesiaSecond Home visa, Bali🇬🇪Move to GeorgiaForeign income exempt, 1% SBS🇵🇷Move to Puerto RicoAct 60 for US citizens🇮🇹Move to ItalyFlat tax, 7% pensioner regime🇬🇷Move to GreeceGolden Visa, non-dom flat tax🇭🇰Move to Hong KongTerritorial, no CGT🇸🇬Move to SingaporeForeign income exempt, no CGT