Scottish Budget 2023-24 summary

Scottish Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced the draft Scottish Budget for 2023-24 on 15 December 2022. 

The announcement was delayed after it emerged that details of the Budget had been leaked to and published by BBC Scotland.

Scottish Income Tax has been payable by Scottish taxpayers on non-savings and non-dividend income since April 2016 and. This followed the 2015 introduction of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland.

Income Tax 

From 6 April 2023:

• The higher rate of Income Tax will increase from 41% to 42%.
• The top rate of Income Tax will increase from 46% to 47%.
• In line with the rest of the UK, the top rate threshold will decrease to £125,140.
• All other bands and thresholds are to remain at the 2022-23 level.

The proposed new rates and bands (assuming individuals are in receipt of the standard UK personal allowance) from 2023-24 are: 

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) 

• Rates and bands of LBTT will remain unchanged for 2023-24 for both residential and non-residential transactions. 
• First-time buyer's relief remains available and is unchanged.
• The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) will increase to 6% from 4% for transactions completing on or after 16 December 2022. 

Scottish Landfill Tax (SLT) 

• From 1 April 2023, the standard rate of SLT will increase to £102.10 per tonne and the lower rate of SLT will increase to £3.25 per tonne. 

Non-domestic rates

• The Basic Property Rate 'poundage' will be frozen at 49.8 pence from 1 April 2023. 
• The Intermediate Property Rate will remain at 51.1p and the Higher Property Rate remains at 52.4p.
• To encourage regeneration Fresh Start relief will be extended from 1 April 2023 by raising the rateable value threshold at which properties qualify for relief from £95,000 to £100,000. 
• The Small Business Bonus Scheme will also be extended. 100% relief will be available for properties with a rateable value of up to £12,000 and the upper rateable value for individual properties to qualify for relief will be extended from £18,000 to £20,000.
• A  new non‑domestic rating exemption is to be introduced for prescribed plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage in Scotland from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2035.

Useful guides on this topic

Scottish Income Tax: Am I a Scottish taxpayer?
To whom does the Scottish Income Tax apply? Am I resident in Scotland? What constitutes a residence and the 'main' residence?

Scottish Income Tax
What is Scottish Income Tax? 

Scottish Income Tax Rates
What is the Scottish rate of Income Tax? What is the rate of Scottish Tax?  

Scottish LBTT Rates
What are the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) rates?

External link

Scottish Budget 2023-24