HMRC has confirmed the legal rules regarding council tax payments for individuals living on boats, following an admission by Green party leader Zack Polanski that he may have failed to pay the correct amount while residing on a London houseboat.
Polanski faced growing scrutiny over whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence. A spokesperson for the Green party described the situation as an “unintentional mistake” and confirmed that Polanski had “immediately taken steps” to pay any tax owed.
The Green party had previously told the Times newspaper that Polanski rented a room at another address where council tax was included in the rent, and that he stayed on the boat only “occasionally.”
Statement from the Green Party
On Monday, a Green party spokesperson said: “Until relatively recently, Zack was living on a houseboat, which came with its own unique practical circumstances and considerations. He has immediately taken steps to pay any council tax he may be found to owe. Zack apologises sincerely for the unintentional mistake.”
Expert Analysis
Dan Neidle, a tax lawyer and founder of Tax Policy Associates, commented: “If the boat was in fact Mr Polanski’s ‘sole or main residence’ then he and/or his partner should have registered for, and paid, council tax for those three years.”
HMRC rules state that whether you pay Council Tax while living on a boat depends entirely on where you are moored and whether that boat is your sole or main residence.
Two Categories of Boaters
The rules essentially split boaters into two categories: those with a permanent “postal address” and those who keep moving.
The Tax Policy Associates (TPA) explains: “The short answer is that if the boat was Mr Polanski’s sole or main residence then it should have been registered for council tax, and he and/or his partner should have paid council tax for three years.
“We think most people would expect council tax to be payable if you live on a permanently moored boat. That intuition is correct – but the way that the tax applies in such a case is surprisingly complex.”
Both the mooring and the boat become domestic property – but only if the boat is somebody’s “sole or main residence.”
The TPA says it poses two questions: “First: is the mooring sufficiently fixed and exclusive to be a ‘hereditament’ – i.e. a unit of property capable of being separately rated? Second: is the boat the occupant’s ‘sole or main residence’?”
It added: “If both are ‘yes’, the mooring and boat together are a council tax dwelling, and somebody is liable to pay the bill.”
