Guidance on Revenue Scotland Determinations for Late Tax Returns and Associated Penalties

Revenue Scotland determinations for late or missing tax returns

If a devolved tax return is not filed by the deadline, Revenue Scotland can issue its own estimate of the tax due, known as a determination. The amount must be paid straight away, interest usually runs from the original filing date, and late filing or late payment penalties may also apply. The determination itself cannot be challenged by the usual review or appeal process, so the main way to correct it is to file the missing self-assessed return within the legal time limit.

• Revenue Scotland may make a determination where it believes tax is due but no return was filed on time.
• The notice states the tax Revenue Scotland believes is due, and that tax and any interest are payable immediately.
• Interest is backdated to the original filing date, and separate late filing and late payment penalties may be added.
• Revenue Scotland must normally issue the determination within five years of the relevant filing date.
• The taxpayer can replace the determination by filing a valid self-assessed return within the statutory deadline, which is broadly the later of five years from the day after the filing date or three months from the determination notice.
• If the determination is too low and the taxpayer knows this, a further penalty may arise if they do not take reasonable steps to tell Revenue Scotland.

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Revenue Scotland determinations when no tax return is filed on time

This page explains what happens if Revenue Scotland believes devolved tax is due but no return has been filed by the filing deadline. In that situation, Revenue Scotland can issue its own assessment, called a Revenue Scotland determination. This matters because the amount becomes payable at once, interest can run from the original filing date, late filing and late payment penalties may apply, and you cannot challenge the determination by review or appeal in the usual way.

What this rule is about

The rule deals with non-filing. It applies where Revenue Scotland has reason to believe that a person is liable to pay a devolved tax, but that person has not made the required tax return by the relevant filing date.

Instead of waiting indefinitely for the taxpayer to file, Revenue Scotland can make a determination of the tax it believes is due. This is not the same as the taxpayer’s own self-assessment. It is Revenue Scotland’s estimate, based on the information available to it.

The guidance is about the power to make that determination, the time limits for doing so, what must be paid, and how the taxpayer can later replace the determination with a proper self-assessed return.

What the official source says

According to Revenue Scotland’s guidance on sections 95 to 97 and 233 of the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014:

• If Revenue Scotland has reason to believe devolved tax is payable and no return has been made by the relevant filing date, it will make a Revenue Scotland determination, subject to the statutory time limit.
• The notice of determination states, to the best of Revenue Scotland’s information and belief, the amount of tax due and the date the notice was issued.
• Interest is charged on tax due under the determination, backdated from the filing date of the return until payment.
• A late filing penalty also applies if a determination is issued because no return was filed on time.
• If the determination understates the true liability, and the taxpayer is aware of that, there may also be a penalty for failing to take reasonable steps to notify Revenue Scotland of the under-determination.
• The tax and any interest charged by the determination must be paid immediately on receipt of the notice.
• If it is not paid, the amount is enforceable as a debt in the same way as if it were the taxpayer’s own self-assessment.
• If any of the tax or interest remains unpaid 30 days after the date it had to be paid, a late payment penalty may arise.
• Revenue Scotland cannot make a determination more than five years after the relevant filing date.
• The taxpayer can displace the determination by filing a self-assessed return within the statutory time limit. If filed in time, that return supersedes the determination.
• No review or appeal can be made against the making of the determination itself.

What this means in practice

A Revenue Scotland determination is effectively a protective assessment used when no return has been filed. It allows Revenue Scotland to put a tax amount on record and begin collection action even though the taxpayer has not submitted a return.

For the taxpayer, the practical consequences are serious:

• The amount in the determination becomes payable immediately when the notice is received.
• Interest is not calculated only from the date of the determination. It runs back to the original filing date.
• Late filing penalties are separate from the tax itself.
• If payment is not made within 30 days of the due date for payment, late payment penalties may be added as well.
• You cannot challenge the determination simply by asking for a review or lodging an appeal against it.

The main route to correct the position is to file the missing self-assessed return within the statutory deadline. If that is done in time, the self-assessment replaces the determination.

This is important because a determination is only Revenue Scotland’s view based on the information it has. It may be too high or too low. Filing the actual return is the mechanism the legislation provides to put the correct figures in place.

How to analyse it

If a determination has been issued, the key questions are these:

• Was there a return that should have been filed, and what was the relevant filing date?
• Has Revenue Scotland made the determination within five years of that filing date?
• What amount of tax and interest does the notice say is due?
• Has a late filing penalty also been triggered?
• Is the determination likely to overstate or understate the true liability?
• If it understates the true liability, does the taxpayer know that, and have they taken reasonable steps to notify Revenue Scotland?
• Can the taxpayer still file a self-assessed return in time to displace the determination?

The filing deadline for a superseding return is the later of:

• five years after Revenue Scotland’s power to make the determination first arose, which the guidance explains as five years from the day after the relevant filing date, or
• three months after the date the determination was issued.

If a valid self-assessed return is filed within that period, it supersedes the determination. If debt recovery proceedings have already started but are not yet finished, those proceedings can continue on the basis of the tax shown as due under the self-assessment, to the extent it remains unpaid.

Example

Illustration: a taxpayer should have filed a devolved tax return by a particular filing date but does not do so. Revenue Scotland later issues a determination based on the information it holds. The notice states a tax amount and is dated on the day it is issued. That amount, plus interest, is payable immediately on receipt.

If the taxpayer believes the figure is wrong, they cannot challenge the determination itself by review or appeal. Instead, the practical step is to file the missing self-assessed return, provided the statutory deadline for doing so has not passed. If they file it in time, the self-assessment replaces the determination. If the self-assessment shows more tax than the determination, the taxpayer may also need to consider whether there was any obligation to notify Revenue Scotland of an under-determination once they became aware of it.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The rules are straightforward in outline, but several points can be sensitive in real cases.

First, everything depends on the correct relevant filing date. That date controls both Revenue Scotland’s five-year window for making the determination and the taxpayer’s deadline for displacing it with a return.

Second, a taxpayer may assume that an estimated determination can be formally appealed in the ordinary way. The guidance says that is not possible. The legislation instead directs the taxpayer to correct matters by filing their own return within time.

Third, an under-determination creates risk as well as an over-determination. A taxpayer might think they can remain silent if Revenue Scotland’s estimate is too low. The guidance warns that, depending on the facts, a penalty may arise if the taxpayer knows about the shortfall and does not take reasonable steps to notify Revenue Scotland.

Fourth, enforcement can continue even after a self-assessment is filed, if proceedings had already started and the tax shown by the self-assessment remains due and unpaid. Filing the return does not necessarily bring all collection action to an immediate stop.

Key takeaways

• If no return is filed on time, Revenue Scotland can issue its own determination of the tax it believes is due.
• The amount is payable immediately, interest runs from the original filing date, and late filing and late payment penalties may also apply.
• You cannot review or appeal the making of the determination itself, but you may replace it by filing a self-assessed return within the statutory time limit.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Guidance on Revenue Scotland Determinations for Late Tax Returns and Associated Penalties

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