From 6 April 2019, Welsh rates of Income Tax will be devolved to Wales.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
This means that, for the first time, some of the money raised by Income Tax in Wales will stay in Wales to fund Welsh public services. So if you live in Wales and pay income tax, Welsh rates of income tax will apply to you.
The Welsh Government will use the money raised by Welsh rates of Income Tax to fund public services, like the NHS and schools.
From 6 April, the Welsh Government will set its own rates of Income Tax to be paid by Welsh taxpayers, which means that people living in Wales could pay a different rate to those living in other parts of the UK.
However, taxpayers in Wales will see no difference to the Income Tax they pay in the tax year 2019 to 2020, as the rates will remain the same. Welsh Ministers have made a commitment not to raise rates during this Assembly term.
Responsibility for collection of taxes will remain with HMRC in the same way as it does now. One change that will be noticeable is your tax code. All Welsh taxpayers will have a new tax code beginning with the letter ‘C’ for Cymru.
Finance Minister, Rebecca Evans said:
“This is a very important and exciting time for devolution in Wales. We have now reached another major milestone in our tax devolution journey.
“Some £5 billion of devolved and local tax revenue will now be raised in Wales and will stay in Wales. This gives us the ability to think more widely about how tax policy can work with the Welsh Government's wider ambitions for Welsh public services such as schools, hospitals and roads.”
So, the message for Welsh taxpayers is, there is no need to do anything unless you have recently moved home or your home address is out of date. If so, contact HMRC to update your details.