Tax Days vs. iReside: which residency tracker is right for you?
iReside and Tax Days both target privacy-conscious, internationally-mobile users. Here's an honest comparison on price, tracking method, jurisdictions, and privacy.
iReside is one of the newer residency trackers, and its pitch overlaps with Tax Days more than most in this category: broad jurisdiction coverage, a privacy-first marketing angle, and a focus on international as well as US travelers. The difference comes down to how each app actually gets your location, and how far that international coverage really goes.
Pricing
| Tax Days | iReside | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cost | $19.99/year | $34.99/year |
| Monthly option | $2.99/mo | $3.99/mo |
| Free tier | Yes (limited rules) | 30-day trial only |
Tracking philosophy
- iReside: background GPS tracking, marketed as privacy-conscious because the location data isn't shared with third parties, but it's still continuously collected and stored on iReside's servers.
- Tax Days: automatic background tracking on Pro, or manual trip entry, your choice. Automatic mode uses significant-change monitoring rather than continuous GPS, proposes trips for you to confirm, and keeps the location history on your iPhone.
Both apps can count your days without you lifting a finger, so the real distinction isn't automation, it's where the record lives and how granular it is. iReside answers the privacy question with a promise: it collects a continuous location trail, stores it on its servers, and commits to not sharing it with third parties. Tax Days answers it structurally: significant-change monitoring records far less than continuous GPS, the trail never leaves your device, and you can switch tracking off entirely and log trips by hand. A promise not to share is only as durable as the company making it; data that was never collected or never transmitted can't be breached, subpoenaed, or repriced.
Rule coverage
| Tax Days | iReside | |
|---|---|---|
| US states & territories | All 50 states with state-specific rules | All 50 states + territories |
| Canadian provinces | No | Yes |
| Schengen 90/180 | Yes | Not a named feature |
| UK SRT | Yes | Not a named feature |
| International | 30+ countries, 80+ rules | International tracking, rule depth unpublished |
iReside's one clear coverage advantage is Canadian provinces, which Tax Days doesn't currently track. On the other side, Tax Days names its international calculations explicitly (the Schengen 90/180 rolling window, the UK Statutory Residence Test), while iReside markets "international tracking" without specifying which named tests it actually runs.
Privacy and data
- Tax Days: all data on your iPhone (SwiftData), including the location history when auto-tracking is on. Optional iCloud sync via Apple CloudKit. No servers of our own, nothing to share even if we wanted to.
- iReside: data syncs to iReside's servers via background GPS; the company states it doesn't share that data with third parties.
Risk scoring and projections
iReside markets a dynamic risk-scoring system and predictive alerts layered on top of raw day counts. Tax Days' equivalent is a threshold-crossing projection: the exact date you'd cross a jurisdiction's limit if you keep your current travel pace, shown directly against the rule rather than as a separate score.
Platforms
- Tax Days: iPhone only (iOS 26+). Mac via Catalyst.
- iReside: iOS only.
Who each is for
iReside is best for: people who want fully automatic background tracking, Canadian snowbirds who specifically need province-level counts, and anyone who wants a built-in risk score on top of day counts.
Tax Days is best for: anyone who wants zero background location access, people who need the Schengen 90/180 or UK SRT handled explicitly, and anyone who'd rather have a permanent free tier than a 30-day trial.
If you need Canadian province coverage or iReside's risk scoring, it's a reasonable pick. If you want the same automation without a vendor holding your location trail, or the option to turn tracking off entirely, Tax Days is the better fit, and it's $15 a year cheaper.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tax Days cheaper than iReside?
Yes. Tax Days is $19.99/year with a free tier for limited rules. iReside runs $34.99/year (or $3.99/month) with a 30-day trial rather than a permanent free tier.
Does iReside use GPS like Tax Days?
Both can track automatically, but they draw the line differently. iReside uses background GPS to record your location continuously and stores that trail on its servers, while promising not to share it with third parties. Tax Days offers automatic tracking on Pro using significant-change monitoring rather than continuous GPS, proposes trips for you to confirm, and keeps the history on your iPhone. You can also turn location off entirely and log trips by hand.
Does iReside track Canadian provinces?
Yes, iReside supports province-level tracking in Canada, which Tax Days doesn't currently offer. If that's a hard requirement, iReside covers a gap Tax Days doesn't.
Does iReside cover the Schengen 90/180 rule or the UK SRT?
iReside advertises broad international tracking but doesn't name Schengen 90/180 or the UK Statutory Residence Test as specific supported calculations. Tax Days runs both explicitly, alongside 80+ rules across many countries.
Which app is more private, Tax Days or iReside?
Tax Days keeps all data on your iPhone and has no servers of its own, so even with auto-tracking enabled your location history stays on the device. iReside also markets itself as privacy-conscious, but it runs continuous background GPS and stores that history on its own servers, it just states the data isn't shared with third parties.