HMRC has issued draft technical guidance on how Scottish taxpayer status should be decided for the purposes of income tax.
The Scottish rate of income tax (SRIT) was introduced by the Scotland Act 2012. It will be charged on the non-savings and non-dividend income of those defined as Scottish taxpayers, and will start from April 2016.
The definition of a Scottish taxpayer is focused on where an individual lives or resides in the course of a tax year. Scottish taxpayer status applies for a whole tax year. It is not possible to be a Scottish taxpayer for part of a tax year.
For most individuals, the question of whether they are a Scottish taxpayer is simple: they either live in Scotland and are a Scottish taxpayer, or live elsewhere in the UK and are not a Scottish taxpayer. The draft guidance addresses instances where this question is not simple. It provides initial detail on the way in which HMRC will interpret some of the terms used in the sections of the
Scotland Act 2012 which set out the definition of a Scottish taxpayer.
HMRC, Scottish Rate of Income Tax – Technical Guidance on Scottish Taxpayer Status, 12 June 2015
