STTG3700 - Place of residence: meaning of 'main place of residence'

Where, in a tax year, an individual has two or more ‘places of residence’ in the UK, Scottish taxpayer status will be dependent on whether a ‘close connection’ with Scotland or another part of the UK exists. Central to that test is establishing an individual’s ‘main place of residence’.

A ‘main place of residence’ is not necessarily the residence where the individual spends the majority of their time, although it commonly may be. A ‘main place of residence’ is the ‘place of residence’ with which the individual can be said to have the greatest degree of connection.

Whether a place constitutes a ‘main place of residence’ is a matter of fact and all of the facts and circumstances of the particular case must be considered to arrive at a conclusion.

The following points, although not exhaustive, may be useful in establishing whether a place constitutes a ‘main place of residence’ for a given tax year.

In using the list it is important to remember that the factors appear in no particular order; that the relevance of points will vary from individual to individual and that the list does not form a ‘box-counting’ guide to Scottish taxpayer status:

• If the individual is married, in a civil partnership or a long-term relationship, where does the family spend its time?
• If the individual has children, where do they go to school?
• Location of social/non-work activity ie club membership/participation, hobbies, etc?
• How is each residence furnished?
• Where are the majority of the individual’s possessions kept?
• Where is the individual registered with a doctor /dentist/optician?
• Which address is used for correspondence?
• Banks & Building Societies, credit cards, utility bills, etc
• At which address is the individual’s car registered and insured?
• Which address is the main residence for council tax?
• At which residence is the individual registered to vote?