Exceptional circumstances days under the SRT

A day you spend in the UK at midnight can be left out of your statutory residence test (SRT) day count if you were only here because exceptional circumstances beyond your control stopped you leaving, and you meant to leave as soon as they allowed. No more than 60 days can be ignored in any tax year, however many separate events there are, and HMRC expects you to show what happened, why you could not leave and what you did to get away.

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Where does the exceptional circumstances rule come from?

The rule is in paragraph 22 of Schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013, the legislation that sets out the statutory residence test. Paragraph 22(1) says a day counts as a day spent in the UK if you are in the UK at the end of it. Paragraph 22(4) then takes a day out of the count where two conditions are both met:

you would not have been in the UK at the end of that day but for exceptional circumstances beyond your control that prevent you from leaving, and
you intend to leave the UK as soon as those circumstances permit.

Paragraph 22(5) gives two examples of circumstances that may be exceptional: national or local emergencies such as war, civil unrest or natural disasters, and a sudden or life threatening illness or injury. HMRC’s interpretation is in the Residence and FIG Regime Manual at RFIG22210 to RFIG22270. HMRC stresses that whether circumstances are exceptional always depends on the facts, your circumstances and the choices open to you.

What does HMRC accept as exceptional, and what does it reject?

HMRC’s test at RFIG22240 is that the event must be one over which you have no control or influence and which could not reasonably have been foreseen. It will usually only apply to events that happen while you are in the UK and stop you leaving. Situations HMRC describes as likely to qualify include:

local or national emergencies, civil unrest, natural disasters or the outbreak of war
a sudden serious or life threatening illness or injury to you
in limited situations, staying in the UK, or coming back to it, to deal with a sudden or life threatening illness or injury to your spouse, civil partner, partner or dependent child
a commercial flight forced to make an emergency stop in the UK with no onward flight for two days

RFIG22270 lists what is not normally exceptional: life events such as birth, marriage, divorce and death; choosing to come to the UK for medical treatment or elective services such as dentistry, cosmetic surgery or therapies; travel problems such as a delayed or missed flight caused by traffic, train delays or cancellations, or a car breakdown; and delays in obtaining visas.

Can coming back to the UK ever count?

Generally not, because the rule is about being prevented from leaving. The exception in RFIG22250 is where Foreign Office advice, now FCDO advice, is to avoid all travel to the region where you were living or working because of civil unrest or a natural disaster. Days spent in the UK while the advice stays at that level would normally be ignored, subject to the 60 day cap. RFIG22260 applies the same approach to people who returned from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine when the FCDO advised against all travel there. Advice against all but essential travel is a lower level and is not what the guidance relies on.

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How does the 60 day cap work?

Paragraph 22(6) limits the number of days that can be ignored to 60 in a tax year. Days are counted forward from 6 April, and once 60 have been ignored, any further exceptional days count as UK days, whether they arise from the same event or a different one. HMRC describes the 60 days as a limit, not an allowance or entitlement (RFIG22220).

HMRC’s examples show how this works. A woman airlifted to a UK burns unit after a boat explosion spends 202 days in the UK; 60 are ignored and 142 still count. An engineer who returns to the UK when the FCO warns against all travel to the country where he works spends 103 days here before the advice is lifted; 43 of those days count.

Only the extra days are ignored

The condition is that you would not have been here at midnight but for the circumstances. Days you had already planned to spend in the UK still count. In HMRC’s example at RFIG22240, a retired visitor planning to leave on 31 October is injured in a car crash on 29 September; only days from 1 November until he is discharged can be ignored. If he then agrees to stay on with a relative after leaving hospital, the intention to leave as soon as possible ends, and days from that point count again.

Which parts of the SRT can it reduce?

RFIG22220 lists the day counts where exceptional days can be taken out:

the 183 day automatic UK test
the first and second automatic overseas tests (fewer than 16 and fewer than 46 days)
the limit of fewer than 91 UK days in the full time work abroad test
the day counts in the sufficient ties tables and the 90 day tie
the day limits in the split year cases

RFIG22230 lists the tests where they cannot be taken out. These include the 30 day presence rule and 91 day period in the second automatic UK test (only home in the UK), everything in the full time work in the UK test, the 31 day significant break rule, the rule of fewer than 31 UK workdays when working full time abroad, the 61 days with a child and 21 days outside term time in the family tie, the accommodation tie, the 40 day work tie, the country tie and the deeming rule. So if you are stuck in the UK and work for more than three hours a day while waiting to leave, those days still build towards a work tie.

What evidence does HMRC expect to see?

The SRT is self assessed, so you work out your own status and must be able to support it. RFIG21910 says you will need records and documents to back up the statements you make. For exceptional circumstances, RFIG21930 says you should record what the circumstances were and what you did to mitigate them where that was possible, for example making alternative travel arrangements. RFIG21940 adds the general day counting records: your travel schedule, booking information, tickets and boarding cards.

In practice the evidence should show three things: the event itself, the dates it kept you here, and that you left once it ended. Contemporaneous documents are far more persuasive than a later account, so keep items such as hospital admission and discharge letters, a doctor’s note on fitness to travel, airline cancellation notices, a dated copy of the FCDO advice in force, and records of attempts to rebook. HMRC says at RFIG22240 that if you do leave once the circumstances end, it will usually accept that as evidence of your intention to leave. If HMRC opens an enquiry into your residence, these records are what it will ask for; our enquiry checklist covers how to organise them.

What does a worked example look like?

Illustration only. Mark was UK resident for many years and moved to Portugal in 2025. For 2026 to 2027 he has two UK ties: an accommodation tie and a 90 day tie. He plans 80 days in the UK. On his final planned visit he is seriously injured in a road accident and is kept in hospital for 30 days after his booked flight home. He flies back to Portugal the day he is discharged.

Step	Without the rule	With the rule
UK days	110	80 (30 days ignored)
Ties needed (resident in a previous 3 years)	2 for 91 to 120 days	3 for 46 to 90 days
Ties held	2	2
Result	UK resident	Not UK resident

Only the 30 days beyond his planned departure are ignored, well within the cap. Had he chosen to stay for elective treatment rather than being unable to travel, none of the days would qualify.

What mistakes do people make?

Treating the 60 days as a spare allowance for any unplanned stay. It only covers days you were prevented from leaving.
Claiming for ordinary travel disruption, such as a cancelled flight or a missed connection.
Ignoring days you had planned to be here anyway, which still count.
Carrying on claiming after deciding to stay, when the intention to leave has ended.
Assuming ignored days also reduce the work tie, significant break or family tie counts. They do not.
Relying on memory. Without dated records the claim is hard to defend in an enquiry.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.