Your household goods to Scotland: tax-free with the ToR1, if you apply in time

Yes, your household goods can come to Scotland tax-free, but not automatically. Since Brexit a move from the Netherlands to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) is formally an import. Duty and VAT are due on anything not covered by a relief.

This is how you avoid that:

• The relief is called Transfer of Residence (ToR).
• You apply for it with the ToR1 form at HMRC, the British tax and customs authority.
• HMRC wants the application before the import, and gives you a unique reference number on approval.

The trap is the order. If your removal company cannot quote a valid reference number at the border, you may be billed for import duties and administration charges on your own belongings.

There is no separate scheme for Scotland: HMRC treats England, Scotland and Wales as one. The boat from the Netherlands arrives at an English port, such as Newcastle, and that is where your goods cross the British border. The lorry then drives on to your new address.

Who qualifies?

The relief is for people who genuinely make the UK their home.

Condition	Period
You lived outside the UK	at least 12 consecutive months before the move
Your goods were in your possession and use	at least 6 months before the move
You bring the goods in	within 12 months of coming to live in the UK, also in several consignments
You do not lend, hire out, pledge or sell them	12 months from your move
You use them for the same purpose as before	throughout

The relief covers:

• your household and personal effects;
• bicycles, motorcycles and your car with trailer;
• a caravan, a pleasure boat or a private aircraft;
• household provisions;
• pets and saddle animals;
• portable instruments for your trade or profession.

Outside the relief are alcohol and tobacco, commercial vehicles and non-portable instruments for your trade. Anything from a second home or holiday home does not count. And the relief does not remove the need for licences for restricted goods, such as firearms.

Anyone who has lived in the Netherlands for years meets the first condition. The second is harder: anything you bought in the last six months before the move falls outside it. If circumstances beyond your control mean you cannot meet a condition, you can ask HMRC for an exception in the ToR1 form, with evidence. A lack of funds or of space in your new home does not count as a reason for the 12-month limit.

What do you need for the application?

The application runs online at HMRC, with an account you create at the start. You provide:

• A list of what you are bringing. It may be practical: you need not name every book or item of clothing, and numbers may be estimated. A typed document, a spreadsheet or a photo of a handwritten list is fine. Purchase prices, values and brands are not needed.
• The photo page of your passport.
• Proof of your UK address no more than 3 months old: a bank statement, utility bill, mortgage or rental agreement. If you have no address yet, a statement from the person you will live with plus their proof of address will do, or a booking of temporary accommodation, such as a hotel.
• Proof of your Dutch address no more than 6 months old.
• For each animal the number of its passport or health certificate.
• For each vehicle year of manufacture, make, model, VIN, registration number, the date and country of the registration certificate, and the purchase date.

After submitting you can add to an application, but no longer amend it. So check it before you press send. If you do not yet have an animal's passport number, you can already submit the application for your goods and add the animal later.

First the number, then the lorry. HMRC puts it plainly: apply for the reference number before your goods are shipped. If your remover cannot quote a valid number on the import declaration, you may be billed for import duties and administration charges.