Scottish Income Tax Board minutes: February 2026

Attendees and apologies

•    Deputy Director, Tax Strategy, Engagement, and Performance, Scottish Government (SG)
•    Head of Income Tax and Tax Strategy, SG
•    Income Tax Team Leader and the Single Point of Contact for Scottish Income Tax, SG
•    Economic Advisor, Fiscal Analysis, Office of the Chief Economic Adviser, SG  
•    Deputy Director, Income Tax Policy, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) (Chair)
•    Head of Income Tax: Structure, Devolution, and Strategy, HMRC
•    Senior Policy Advisor, Devolved Income Tax and the Single Point of Contact for Scottish Income Tax, HMRC
•    Head of Inheritance, International, and Devolved Analysis, HMRC 
•    Policy Advisor, Devolved Income Tax

Apologies:

•    Senior Policy Advisor, Scottish Income Tax Policy Team

Items and actions

Board Papers Update 

The Board approved the minutes of the 4 November 2025 meeting and the 2025-26 Q3 Financial Report. The Board discussed the Q3 Business Intelligence Report and SIT Analytical Workplan.

Third Party Data Assurance Exercise

The Board discussed the results of the 2025 third-party data assurance exercise. The Board agreed that the third-party data assurance exercise should be carried out every 2 years with the next exercise to be carried out in 2027.

The Board agreed to review the threshold to decide the frequency of the exercise.

Election Planning

The Board discussed the upcoming election including how HMRC and Scottish Government should work together before and after the election.

NAO Report and Compliance

The NAO have published their report into HMRC’s administration of Scottish Income Tax in 2024-25. The NAO recommended that HMRC completes its planned evaluation of the Scottish compliance approach as soon as possible and set out a clear plan of actions and deadlines for delivery of the evaluation. The NAO also stated HMRC should look for immediate areas of improvement to assess and manage compliance risks or improve the accuracy of revenue collection. 

The Board discussed planned and ongoing work and agreed the proposed activity is the correct approach. 

SIT GOV.UK Guidance

HMRC presented a review of key Scottish Income Tax GOV.UK pages with suggested changes. The Board agreed with the proposed changes and HMRC will seek views from external stakeholders.

Forward Look

The Board reviewed a Forward Look for the next meeting and agreed areas of interest.

AOB and Close 

There was no AOB.

The chair closed the meeting.