HMRC has launched an online tool to help expats and professionals - who travel internationally but still spend substantial time in the UK - determine their residency status for tax purposes.

The Tax Residence Indicator (TRI) which asks people a number of questions before telling them what their status is, has been introduced as part of the statutory residence test, introduced in April 2013. The test gives people who may move in and out of the UK greater clarity and certainty over their residence status.

The new tool allows people to go onto the HMRC website, input their personal details, and quickly establish whether they should be paying tax in the UK.

Those potentially affected include expatriates, pilots, cabin crew and cruise workers, rig workers, foreign students, health workers, seasonal workers and others.

Specialist personal tax director, Mary Aiston, said that the tool was important for those who come and go from the UK, so they can keep records that are readily available.

'Their residence status is assessed according to time spent in the UK, in conjunction with their other ties to the country.

'The old statutory residence rules were complex and lacked clarity, with the definition of tax residence resting on legal cases decided in the courts over a long period. The new residence test is clearer.'

The residence status of most people is expected to remain the same under the new residence test.

To help people with more complex living and working arrangements, HMRC has published guidance HERE