UK Dual Resident HS302 Records: What To Keep Before Treaty Review

Checked against HMRC and GOV.UK sources on September 28, 2026.

Dual residence is where day counts stop being enough on their own.

Short answer: HMRC says an individual can be resident in the UK and another country under domestic tax law. HS302 explains how double taxation agreements may resolve dual residence and how UK tax relief may be affected. If this is your situation, keep day records, home records, habitual-abode facts, nationality details, and any certificate of overseas residence organized for a qualified tax professional.

Jetseen helps you track days - always consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.

What is HS302?

HS302 is HMRC's dual-residents helpsheet.

GOV.UK says the dual-residency helpsheet and claim form for the 2026 tax year were added on April 6, 2026. The 2026 helpsheet explains relief claims, residence tie-breaker rules, certificates of overseas residence, and how to claim relief.

Do not treat HS302 as a DIY decision tree for treaty residence. It is a framework for claims and records, not a shortcut around professional advice.

Can you be resident in the UK and another country?

Yes. HMRC's Residence and FIG Regime Manual says an individual can be regarded as resident in the UK and in another country under domestic tax law.

That is the first split in the record:

Question	Record type
Are you UK resident under UK domestic rules?	UK SRT and UK tax-year records
Are you resident somewhere else under that country's domestic law?	Overseas residence evidence
Does a DTA apply?	Treaty and advisor review
Which country wins under the treaty tie-breaker?	Fact-heavy professional analysis

Jetseen can help with the travel-day record. It does not decide treaty residence.

Why does the DTA matter?

HS302 says a dual resident can claim full or partial relief on UK tax if the two countries have a double taxation agreement that allows it.

HMRC's manual also says not all DTAs are the same, so the particular agreement must be checked.

That matters because there is no universal dual-residence answer. Two people can have similar travel patterns but different results because the relevant treaty, income type, home facts, and certificate evidence differ.

For your records, keep:

countries involved
tax years involved
source of income being reviewed
UK Self Assessment context, if relevant
DTA or advisor notes
copies of any claim form or certificate request

What tie-breaker facts does HS302 list?

HS302 lists residence tie-breaker concepts including permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, and nationality.

These are not just labels. They require facts.

What counts as a permanent-home record?

HS302 describes permanent home as accommodation that is always available for your personal use for the year in question. Ownership is not required.

Useful records can include:

lease or ownership documents
dates the accommodation was available
whether the home was available for personal use
utilities or local registration documents
calendar notes showing use
advisor notes about both countries, if you had homes in both

Do not reduce this to "I owned a flat." HS302's wording is about availability for personal use.

What should you keep for centre of vital interests?

HS302 describes this as the country where social, domestic, political, and cultural links are greater.

That is sensitive, fact-heavy territory. Keep factual notes rather than conclusions.

Examples of factual notes:

family location
main home and belongings
work pattern
club, civic, or community links
school or family-care facts, if relevant
dates that show the pattern

The tax professional makes the argument. Your job is to keep the raw facts clean.

What is habitual abode?

HS302 says habitual abode considers the frequency, duration, and regularity of stays that are part of a settled routine for each country.

This is where travel records matter.

Keep:

every UK arrival date
every UK departure date
every arrival and departure for the other country
nights or days by country, depending on what your advisor asks for
recurring travel pattern notes
work-location notes
evidence for unusual gaps or exceptional travel

A clean travel log will not decide the treaty question by itself, but a messy one can make the review harder than it needs to be.

What is a certificate of overseas residence?

HS302 says that if you want to claim relief from UK tax on UK income and the country where you live has a DTA with the UK, you will need this certificate.

HS302 also says the certificate must show that the other tax authority regards you as resident under its domestic laws for the period in question.

For that part of the file, keep:

certificate request date
tax authority contacted
period covered
certificate received
copy attached to claim form or return, if applicable
advisor notes on whether the certificate matches the claim period

Jetseen does not generate certificates of overseas residence.

What about U.S. substantial presence?

HS302 includes a U.S. substantial-presence section. It says part days in the U.S. count as whole days for that test.

If the U.S. is one of the countries in the dual-residence picture, do not rely only on a UK day count. Keep U.S. presence records separately and ask for qualified U.S. and UK tax advice.

Useful U.S.-linked records include:

U.S. arrival and departure dates
part-day presence notes
calendar-year presence totals
prior two-year U.S. presence records
permanent home or habitual abode facts, if your advisor asks for them

This guide is not a U.S. substantial-presence guide. It is flagging that HS302 itself includes the U.S. issue.

Where Jetseen fits

Jetseen can help you build the day-count layer behind the HS302 conversation.

Use Jetseen to keep:

UK entry and exit records
country-by-country travel history
custom calendar-year or UK tax-year notes
habitual-abode travel patterns
visa and passport notes
document attachments
CSV exports for advisor review

Jetseen does not determine treaty residence, prepare HS302 claims, generate certificates of overseas residence, decide DTA relief, or replace tax advice.

If you may be dual resident, Try Jetseen Free for 14 Days and keep the day record clean before treaty review starts.

References

1GOV.UKDual residency, Self Assessment helpsheet HS302
2GOV.UKDual residents 2026, HS302
3HMRC Residence and FIG Regime ManualRFIG50300, dual residence

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Tax residency rules change frequently. Consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.