PAYE: ‘S’ tax code defines Scottish income tax rate payers

It is tax code season again, only this year it is slightly different because the Scottish rate of income tax (SRIT) will apply for 2016/17 onwards to any ‘Scottish taxpayer’.

The rules for deciding who is a Scottish taxpayer are not those used in the UK statutory residence test, nor the same as the old pre-2013 rules: they boil down to where your main home is over the course of the tax year. Note also that there is no effect on NICs, which remain a UK-wide matter.