Allowances and reliefs
Some tax reliefs are different in Scotland from the rest of the UK due to the different rate of Income Tax. You can find out about all other tax allowances and reliefs on GOV.UK including:
- Married Couple's Allowance
- Blind Person's Allowance
- Personal Allowance if your income is over £100,000
Tax-free Personal Allowance
Your Personal Allowance is the amount of income you do not pay tax on. Most people's Personal Allowance is £12,570 for 2024/25.
Example
Earnings
You earn £17,000 per year with a personal allowance of £12,570.
Tax
You'll pay tax on £4,430 of your income.
Donating to charity (Gift Aid)
Gift Aid lets charities claim back 25p for every £1 donated. Scottish taxpayers can claim back the difference between the tax you paid on the donation and what the charity got back.
Find out about Gift Aid and how to claim it on GOV.UK.
Example
You donate £100 to charity. The charity claim Gift Aid of an extra 25p for every £1 you gave, to make your donation £125 (£125 x 20%). As you pay 42% tax, you can claim back an additional £27.50 in tax to reflect your highest rate of tax (£125 x 22%).
Tax relief on pension contributions
You can get tax relief on private pension contributions worth up to 100% of your annual earnings. You may get the tax relief automatically or you may need to claim it yourself. It depends on the type of pension scheme you’re in and the rate of Income Tax you pay.
There are 2 main types of pension schemes:
Net pay arrangement scheme
Your employer takes workplace pension contributions out of your pay before deducting Income Tax. This means you get all your tax relief automatically.
Relief at source arrangement scheme
Your pension provider claims tax relief from the government at the basic 20% rate and adds it to your pension pot. This means that you need to make a claim yourself for any tax relief above the basic rate of 20%.
Claiming additional tax relief
If you pay Income Tax above the Scottish Basic Rate (20%) you can claim additional tax relief. You can claim:
- 1% relief up to the amount of any income you have paid 21% tax on
- 22% relief up to the amount of any income you have paid 42% tax on
- 25% relief up to the amount of any income you have paid 45% tax on
- 28% relief up to the amount of any income you have paid 48% tax on
If your highest rate of tax is 19% then you'll continue to get 20% tax relief automatically.
You can claim this either:
- on your Self Assessment tax return on GOV.UK
- through your tax code for the money you put into a private pension
You can call or write to HMRC to claim if you do not fill in a Self Assessment tax return.
Example
You earn £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year and you pay:
- 42% higher rate tax on income between £42,663 to £50,000
- 21% intermediate rate tax on income between £26,562 to £42,662
You put £15,000 into a private pension. You automatically get tax relief at source on the full £15,000 at 20%.
Through your Self Assessment tax return you can also claim:
- 22% tax relief on £6,338 – the amount you paid higher tax rate on
- 1% tax relief on £8,662 – the amount you paid intermediate rate tax on
Finance Cost Relief
The tax relief landlords of residential properties get for finance costs is at the rate of 20%. It's the same for residential landlords across the UK.
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