SE63630 - Tax treatment of firefighters: part-time firefighters ("retained members") - long service bounty scheme

A long service bounty scheme provides for part-time members of fire brigades to receive bounty payments on completion of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years' service. Part-time members who have completed 15 years' service and who leave between “bounty points” receive a proportion of the next bounty due.

The bounty payments are chargeable to tax in the year of assessment in which they are paid. They are emoluments from employment chargeable under Section 19(1)1 ICTA 1988 (see generally SE00510 onwards). The scheme does not satisfy the requirements of Extra Statutory Concession A22 which exempts some long service awards from a charge to tax (see SE01500).

Regarding the application of PAYE in the case of part-time firefighters see EP9596.