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Residence and Domicile
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Knowledge Bank > Personal Tax & Financial Planning > Residence and Domicile
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01: Introduction

Domicile, ordinary residence and residence are the main determinants of people’s basic liability to UK tax. The issues are complex and the rules changed radically from 6 April 2008. It is worth gaining a basic understanding of these concepts, especially if you are planning to leave the UK and go abroad, or if your background is overseas and you are aiming to live in UK.

The purpose of this briefing is to outline the main rules and how they impact on individuals.

Key definitions

The key definitions are as follows:

  • Your domicile is basically the country that you regard as your natural home. You can only have one domicile, which is usually, but not always, the country of your birth. You can change your domicile, but usually with some difficulty.
  • Ordinary residence is the country where you normally live or make habitual visits, ie visits of three months or more a year over four consecutive years.
  • Residence in the UK is normally established if you visit the UK for at least six months in any one tax year, or three months a year over a period of at least four consecutive years.
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