Understanding Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT)
The Scottish rate of income (SRIT) is payable on the non-savings and non-dividend income of those defined as Scottish taxpayers. This means that Scottish taxpayers who also have savings and dividend income need to consider the UK rates as well as the Scottish rates when calculating their Income Tax bill.
Criteria for Status
Scottish taxpayer status applies for a whole tax year, It is not possible to be a taxpayer for part of a tax year. The definition of a Scottish taxpayer is a taxpayer that has a ‘close connection’ with Scotland or the UK.
The idea of being treated as a Scottish taxpayer is not based on nationalist identity. It isn’t based on location of work or source of a person’s income, e.g., receiving a salary from Scottish businesses.
For the vast majority of individuals, the question of whether or not they are defined as a Scottish taxpayer is a simple one – they either live in Scotland and are a Scottish taxpayer or live elsewhere in the UK and are not a Scottish taxpayer.
Determining Scottish Taxpayer Status
More specifically, an individual will generally be defined as a Scottish taxpayer if they satisfy any of the following tests:
- They are a Scottish Parliamentarian.
- They have a ‘close connection’ to Scotland, through either:
i) having only a single ‘place of residence’, which is in Scotland; or
ii) where they have more than one ‘place of residence’, having their ‘main place of residence’ in Scotland for at least as much of the tax year as it has been in any one other part of the UK. - If no ‘close connection’ to Scotland (or any part of the UK) exists then residence is decided through day counting. This is either through not being able to identify a main residence or place of residence in Scotland.
In most cases these tests will help identify a taxpayer’s status. However, there is further technical guidance available where the answer is not clear.
