Non residence and the new guidance in HMRC6

The Revenue has published new guidance for anyone considering establishing non UK residence, in HMRC 6. The previous guidance (which was in IR20) has been withdrawn. The new guidance was supposed to be just that - ie guidance and was not supposed to bring any actual changes in practice or procedure. It was purely supposed to provide clearer guidance and cover various questions/issues which had been left out of the original IR20. Of course the new guidance needs to reflect the various changes that have been brought in from April 2008 (eg the change to the counting of days spent in the UK),but it also brings a couple of very welcome clarifications. Firstly it pretty much hammers home the importance of ensuring that you actually leave the UK and have no 'ongoing substantial connection' with the UK. Secondly it gets rid of the category of non residence where you go abroad for a settled purpose lasting at least a complete tax year. The changes make it even more important to ensure that you clearly establish your new life overseas and to sever your connections with the UK (where possible). This is however in line with the approach we've always taken, and simply relying on being in the UK for less than 90 days per tax year will not, in itself, be sufficient. You can see much more detail on the changes in our article Non residence after the new guidance in HMRC6