Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 26A

Section 26: requirement for 3-year period of non-residence

Section 26A sets out the requirement for a three-year period of non-UK residence that an employee must satisfy in order to benefit from the overseas workday relief rules under section 26.

• An employee qualifies if they have been non-UK resident for three consecutive tax years and the current tax year falls within the three years immediately following that period of non-residence
• The employee may have returned to UK residence for up to two tax years after the three-year non-resident period and still qualify
• A single intervening year of UK residence within the qualifying window does not break eligibility, provided it is sandwiched between non-resident years in the correct pattern
• The employee's residence status before the three consecutive years of non-UK residence is irrelevant