also called BFR test
An alternative US test qualifying you for the foreign earned income exclusion by showing you are a genuine resident of a foreign country for a full tax year.
One of two ways Americans abroad qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, by showing they are a genuine, settled resident of another country for a whole tax year. It leans on the real texture of your life abroad rather than a strict day count, so it can allow more trips back to the US than the day-counting route. That other route is the physical presence test, purely about days outside the country.
An American who has properly settled in another country, with a home and a life there, uses this test to claim the exclusion even though work took them back to the US several times that year. A constant traveller with no fixed base could not lean on it and would have to count days instead.
It suits settled expats better than constant travellers and can allow more US visits than the day-count test.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the tests a single country uses to decide it can tax you, mostly by counting days.
The 183-day rule is the rough guideline that more than half a year makes you resident, and the 183-day myth is the mistaken belief that staying under it always keeps you safe.
The US substantial presence test, the UK Statutory Residence Test, and the US Physical Presence and Bona Fide Residence tests are formal versions, tax residency by day count vs ties names the underlying choice, time-in-country tracking is keeping the precise record, and residence is simply where you actually live.
183-day rule · Physical Presence Test · Substantial presence test · Time-in-country tracking
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