Ordinary residence does not require an intention to reside in the UK indefinitely or permanently; a settled purpose is sufficient.

Dr Andreras Tuczka was an Austrian national who worked for two investment banks in London.  During that three-year period, he purchased a flat in London and was joined by his girlfriend, whom he later married. It was always his intention to return to Austria, and he purchased a matrimonial home there. Dr Tuczka now splits his time between London and Vienna.

Dr Tuczka argued that as he originally did not intend staying permanently in London, he could not have been Ordinarily Resident in the UK during the three years he was resident here.   A later offer of employment tempted him to continue working here. The First Tier Tax Tribunal held that he had been Ordinarily Resident in the UK.  He appealed.

The Upper Tribunal (UT), like the FTT, decided that Ordinary Residence does not require an intention to reside in the UK indefinitely. “Once it is found or accepted that the taxpayer is Resident in the United Kingdom, the question whether he is also Ordinarily Resident here involves a factual evaluation to determine whether his residence has acquired a sufficiently settled purpose to be part of the ordinary pattern of his life.”

The UT decided that his work pattern and purchase of a home meant that residing in England (albeit on a part-time basis) amounted to a settled purpose regarding the ordinary pattern of his life:  so he lost the appeal.

Lynam Tax domicile specialists have decades of experience in dealing with tax residence and domicile issues.
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