SE65900 - Tax treatment of Local Government Councillors and Civic Dignitaries: arrangement of guidance - DETR guidance

The guidance on the taxation of Local Government Councillors and Civic Dignitaries is arranged as follows:

DETR guidance (England and Wales only)

In August 1997 the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) issued a guidance note to Local Authorities in England and Wales explaining the income tax and National Insurance treatment of Members' allowances. The note is in three parts:

• Part One: Members' allowances in England and Wales (see SE65960)
• Part Two: Taxation of Members' allowances and expenses (see SE65970)
• Part Three: Members' allowances and the Social Security System (see SE65980).

The information in Part One provides further useful background regarding the types of allowances that Members may receive, and the circumstances in which they are paid.
The notes in Parts Two and Three were written in consultation with officials from the Revenue and the Department of Social Security. They confirm and expand on the guidance at SE65920 to SE65950 (see table above). You may find it useful to refer to them if you become involved in correspondence about the tax or National Insurance treatment of allowances paid to Members and Civic Dignitaries in England and Wales.
Note though that the DETR guidance has not yet been updated to take account of the new statutory scheme for taxing mileage allowance payments which applies from 6 April 2002 (see SE31250 onwards). That scheme applies to mileage allowances paid to Council Members and Civic Dignitaries in the same way as it does to other employees and office holders.

The DETR guidance does not apply to Local Authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and you should not quote it when dealing with an Authority in either of those countries.