Guide

Irish tax residence by days

Ireland's day tests are simple to state and easy to get wrong near the edges. This is how Revenue counts them.

The two tests

Under section 819 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 you are resident in Ireland for a tax year (the calendar year) if you are present in the State for:

• 183 days or more in that year, or
• 280 days or more over that year and the year before, taken together. Revenue calls this the look-back rule.

A year in which you spend 30 days or fewer in Ireland can't make you resident, and its days are left out of the 280. The Irish day counter works out both tests from your stays.

What counts as a day

Any part of a day in the State counts as a day: arriving at 11pm counts, and so does leaving at 6am. This is stricter than the UK, which counts only the days you are there at midnight. Northern Ireland is not part of the State, so a day spent wholly there isn't an Irish day; see Northern Ireland and the border.

Two kinds of day don't count:

• Airside transit: arriving and leaving without passing out of the part of an airport or port that the public can't reach.
• Force majeure: if severe weather, an aircraft breakdown or a strike, say, stops you leaving on the day you meant to, the day after that intended day doesn't count, as long as you are only here because of it.

Electing to be resident

You can also choose to be resident for a year in which you arrive, if you satisfy Revenue that you'll be resident the next year. People usually do this to get full personal tax credits. The election is made in writing and can't be withdrawn.

Ordinary residence

After three tax years in a row as a resident you become ordinarily resident from the start of the fourth, whatever your days that year. It ends only after three tax years in a row as a non-resident. While you are ordinarily resident but not resident, much of your worldwide income can still be taxed in Ireland, so leaving Ireland has a tail of three years. That's why Revenue may ask about days several years back.

Where this comes from

Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual Part 34-00-01 sets out each rule above, and its tax residence pages explain them for individuals. Days are only part of the picture: double taxation treaties, split-year relief for employment income and your own circumstances matter too, so take your day count to a qualified adviser.