Dubai verlaten vanwege het conflict met Iran? De Britse belastingval waar u van moet weten

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You could be UK tax resident again, depending on how many days you spend here this tax year and what ties you have to the UK. There is a relief for days you were forced to stay, but it's narrow. As of October 2026, HMRC's manual says the most days you can ignore for exceptional circumstances in a tax year is 60, and only when the conditions are met. It also can't be used for every part of the residence test [1]².

I left the UAE suddenly: could I now be UK tax resident?

Yes, you could. UK residence is decided one tax year at a time, using HMRC's statutory residence testStatutory Residence Test (SRT)De Britse regels om te bepalen of u in een belastingjaar als inwoner van het Verenigd Koninkrijk belastingplichtig bent. Daarbij telt het aantal dagen dat u in het Verenigd Koninkrijk verblijft mee, samen met uw 'banden' met dat land., or SRT. Leaving the UAE in a hurry doesn't switch that test off.

The SRT is the official checklist HMRC uses to decide whether you count as UK resident for a given tax year. It looks at how many days you spend here and at your connections to the UK. Why you came back only matters in one narrow situation, which we'll get to.

So what does that mean for you? There are four questions to work through, in this order:

1. How many UK days count, and what do your ties say?
2. Can any of the days you were stuck here be ignored?
3. Does "split-yearGesplitst jaar (split-year)Een Britse regeling die het belastingjaar in tweeën kan delen als u naar het VK verhuist of het land verlaat. U wordt dan maar voor een deel van dat jaar als inwoner van het VK belast. treatment" help? That's where a tax year is cut in two, so only part of it counts as UK-resident.
4. Do the five-year "temporary non-residenceTijdelijke niet-inwoningEen Britse regel tegen belastingontwijking: als u vertrekt en te snel terugkomt, kan er bij terugkeer alsnog belasting worden geheven over bepaalde inkomsten en winsten die u in het buitenland hebt ontvangen." rules pull gains or income from your time abroad back into UK tax?

The rest of this guide covers all four, plus the evidence you'll need.

How many UK days count, and what do your ties say?

Your UK days and your Britse bandenBritse bandenVerbindingen die in de Statutory Residence Test tegen u meetellen, zoals familie in het Verenigd Koninkrijk, een Britse woning die u kunt gebruiken, werk in het Verenigd Koninkrijk of recent verblijf daar. for the year you came back work together to decide your residence. Fewer ties generally means you can spend more days here before you become resident. The exact thresholds are in HMRC's RDR3 guidance, so read the live version for them.

The test works in layers. Some tests can make you automatically non-resident, some can make you automatically resident, and if neither gives an answer, your UK connections are weighed against your day count. Check the detail against your own facts.

The day thresholds and tie definitions are set out in HMRC's RDR3 guidance note. That guidance was last updated on 3 October 2026, so read the live version for the current wording ¹. Like milk, a tax guide is best checked for its date before use.

What to do: count your UK days for the current tax year, which runs 6 April to 5 April. Then go through RDR3 tie by tie with your own facts in front of you ⁵. A UK home you kept while you were in Dubai is exactly the kind of thing to look at carefully.

Can the days I was stuck in the UK be ignored?

Sometimes, but only up to 60 days in a tax year, and only if circumstances beyond your control stopped you leaving and you intended to leave as soon as you could ¹. HMRC says the outcome depends on the facts of each case ¹.

You need all three of these conditions [1]:

• The circumstances were beyond your control.
• They prevented you from leaving the UK.
• You intended to leave as soon as the circumstances allowed.

That third condition is where you need to be careful. Choosing to come back from the UAE and stay a while is not the same as being prevented from leaving. The circumstances must be beyond your control and stop you leaving, and you must intend to go as soon as they let you ¹.

The rule comes from legislation: Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45, paragraph 22 ¹. HMRC's manual page RFIG22240 explains what counts as exceptional circumstances ⁶, so read it before you decide your situation fits. HMRC updated the page on 2 October 2026 ¹. Check the live wording rather than relying on a summary.

Waar zitten de grijze gebieden?

Most of this is rules-based, but a few points depend on facts or on wording you'll need to read for yourself. None of them is off-limits. They just need your eyes open before you rely on them.

What evidence will HMRC expect, and which tests does the relief not help with?

HMRC decides these claims on the facts ¹. You need records showing what kept you here and when you meant to leave. Even with good records, the relief can't be used for every part of the residence test ².

Start with the limits. HMRC's manual page RFIG22230 lists the tests where exceptional-circumstances days can't be taken into account ². So the 60 days aren't knocked off every day count in the SRT ². A day you've ignored for one test may still count for another. Check RFIG22230 against your own facts, as it was updated on 3 October 2026 ¹.

The evidence follows from the three conditions. You're showing what stopped you leaving, how long it lasted, and that you planned to go as soon as you could ¹. A good record makes that much easier than rebuilding it from memory a year later.

Keep everything with its date, and keep the originals. A screenshot of a cancelled flight is better evidence than a vague memory of "around March". If your days are close to a threshold, or you plan to rely on the relief, that's a sensible point to get advice on your own facts.

Does split-year treatment help if I'm back in the UK with a UK home?

Possibly, but don't count on it. Split-year treatment only applies if your facts fit one of the cases HMRC sets out in its RDR3 guidance, and each case has its own conditions. If you're back in a UK home you kept, check those conditions especially carefully.

Split-year treatment means one tax year can be divided into a UK part and an overseas part. You aren't treated as UK resident for the whole twelve months. After half a year in Dubai, it sounds like the obvious answer.

The catch is in the detail. The cases are tied to specific facts about your work and your home, and they're written in the precise language HMRC loves. Read the case wording on the live RDR3 page against your own situation before you assume one applies. The RDR3 guidance note was last updated on 3 October 2026, so check the current version rather than an old summary ¹.

If the residence answer is unclear, sort that out first. Split-year treatment only matters once you know you're UK resident for the year.

What is the 5-year temporary non-residence rule and who does it catch?

The temporary non-residence rule can tax some income and gains from your time abroad if you come back within five years. It can apply if you were solely UK resident for all or part of at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you left ³.

As of October 2026, the main rule can apply where all three of these are true [3]:

• You were solely UK resident for all or part of at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you left.
• A period of not being solely UK resident falls between two periods of sole UK residence.
• That period abroad lasted five years or less.

For this rule not to apply, the period abroad needs to be at least five years plus one day ³. If you're back within five years or less and you also meet the other conditions, such as having been solely UK resident for at least 4 of the 7 tax years before you left, an expat who moved to Dubai in 2023 and came back in 2026 would be well inside that window ³.

Here's what can happen on return. Where temporary non-residence applies, certain capital gains arising during the period abroad are treated as arising in the tax year of return ⁴. HMRC says this covers gains not already charged under other provisions, so it doesn't automatically catch every gain on every asset ⁴.

There's also a recent change. For people returning to UK residence on or after 6 April 2026, the exception for some dividends linked to profits earned after departure is removed ⁷. That changes the dividend rule. The general five-year test stays the same ⁷. If you own a company and paid yourself dividends while in the UAE, this one deserves a careful look.

HMRC's helpsheet HS278 covers temporary non-residents and Capital Gains Tax. The 2026 edition is dated 6 April 2026 and was updated on 2 October 2026 ⁷. If you traded as a business while away, HMRC has separate guidance on post-departure trade profits, dated 26 November 2025 ⁸.

Does the UK-UAE tax treaty rescue me if the UAE has no income tax?

Don't plan around it. Whether a treaty argument could help you depends on the treaty text and on your own facts, and this guide doesn't cover it. That is a point to take advice on.

A belastingverdragDouble tax treatyEen afspraak tussen twee landen over wie waarover belasting mag heffen, zodat u over hetzelfde inkomen niet twee keer volledig belasting betaalt. is an agreement between two countries about which one gets to tax what. It's tempting to treat it as a get-out-of-jail card. Without the treaty wording and HMRC's guidance in front of you, it's a gamble. If someone suggests relying on it, ask them to show you the clause and how your facts meet it, and get advice on your own position.

What should I do now? A checklist

Start your records today and work out your residence position before you file anything. The order matters: residence first, then split year, then the five-year rule.

None of this is glamorous. A spreadsheet of where you slept is about as thrilling as tax gets. It's also what makes every later step easier to prove.

FAQ

What is the maximum number of days that can be ignored for exceptional circumstances? HMRC's manual says the maximum number of days spent in the UK in any tax year that may be ignored due to exceptional circumstances is 60, and calls it "a limit, not an allowance or entitlement" ¹. Days beyond 60 count as days spent in the UK ¹.

Does the exceptional circumstances relief work for every SRT test? No. HMRC's manual page RFIG22230 lists tests where those days can't be taken into account ².

What is the 5-year non-resident rule in the UK? If you were solely UK resident for all or part of at least 4 of the 7 tax years before leaving, and your time abroad is five years or less, certain gains made while away can be taxed in the year you return [3]⁴.

Did anything change for temporary non-residence in April 2026? Yes. For people returning on or after 6 April 2026, the exception for some dividends linked to profits earned after departure has been removed ⁷.

Can I leave the UK and have split year treatment? Possibly, if one of the split-year cases in HMRC's RDR3 guidance fits your facts ⁵. Check the live wording, as it was updated in October 2026 ¹.