Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 31

Receipt of money earnings

Section 31 establishes the rules for determining when money earnings are treated as received for tax purposes, providing a single unified rule applicable to all forms of money earnings.

• This section provides a single, consistent rule for determining when all types of money earnings are treated as received.
• The timing of receipt is important because it determines the tax year in which the earnings fall to be taxed.
• The rule applies broadly to all money earnings, removing the need to apply different timing rules depending on the type of payment.
• This section works alongside section 18, which contains the equivalent receipt rule for UK-resident employees taxed under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Act.