Professional witness allowance

Hi I received a professional witness allowance from a court overseas. Is this allowance taxable? Do I need to report this allowance in my Self Assessment tax return? Thank you!

Hi ktym
It's not clear from the question, but I assume you are carrying on a profession based in the UK.
Obviously each individual case would need to be looked at based on the facts of that case, but in general, we would look at what quality the payment has in the hands of the recipient.
So if the payment for appearing as a professional witness has come to them by way of their profession then it's likely that this would be classed as a professional trading receipt.
If there were then any expenses incurred in carrying this out then they may be claimed to set off against the income received using the normal wholly and exclusively rules.
If it does not fall to be included as a trading receipt then the miscellaneous income provisions would likely apply, again allowing any expenses incurred wholly and exclusively.
BIM40051 - Receipts: general: whether trading income
This guidance covers receipts of the trade in a general sense.
Thank you. 

 

Thank you so much for replying to my query. I would like to provide a bit more information and would be grateful if you provide more clarification. The “professional witness allowance” I received from the overseas court is like the one provided in the UK as described on this Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) webpage about “witness expenses and allowances”: https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/witness-expenses-and-allowances. On that webpage it is stated: “ A ‘professional witness’ is defined by The Crown Prosecution Service (Witnesses' etc. Allowances) Regulations 1988 at section 3 as ‘a witness practising as a member of the legal or medical profession or as an accountant, dentist or veterinary surgeon.’ Only professionals defined in the regulation may be reimbursed as a professional witness and this is to compensate them for leaving their practice to attend court. Accordingly, a Doctor who gives evidence in a professional capacity (e.g. regarding the extent of injuries suffered by their patient) is giving professional evidence. Whereas, if they give evidence as an ordinary witness of fact (e.g. as a witness to an assault on the way home) they can only be reimbursed as an Ordinary witness. These witnesses may receive: * either a compensatory allowance or a sum to reimburse the cost of employing a locum. “ I would be grateful if you could advise if a similar allowance granted by an overseas court would be counted as a taxable foreign income. Thank you!

Hi,
If the payment for appearing as a professional witness has come to you by way of your profession then it's likely that this would be classed as a professional trading receipt. if no tax has been deducted on the income, you would include this as part of your self employment turnover.
If tax has been deducted, then yes you need to show it as foreign income to claim foreign tax credit relief.
Thank you.

Thank you so much for your reply. I would like to further clarify my situation and would be grateful for your advice. I have not been in any employment since 3 months before I gave evidence as a professional witness in the court overseas. Therefore, the professional witness allowance from the court overseas I received was given while I was not in any employment. Where in the self assessment tax return should I enter this income? Thank you!

Hi ktym,
You would declare this as other income received.
If no foreign tax has been deducted you do not need to show it on the foreign section.
Thank you. 

Thank you so much for your reply. It would be a great help to me if you could confirm that it is Boxes 17 ("Other taxable income") and 21 (the place for entering what the income in box 17 is) of the SA100 which should be filled in? Thank you!

Hi ktym,
Other UK income not included on supplementary pages, is entered in boxes 17 to 21 on page TR3 of SA100 and the equivalent boxes in the online version.
Thank you.