Your SOAS PhD Teaching Scholarship is not uniformly tax-exempt. The scholarship typically comprises two distinct components: a maintenance stipend for living costs, which is generally exempt from UK income tax under Section 776 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, and a salary for your actual teaching duties, which is treated as employment income and subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions. The tax treatment depends on the contractual breakdown between these two parts, so you should review your specific scholarship agreement to identify which portion is stipend and which is salary.

Your tax residency status is entirely independent of whether your income is taxable. You become a UK tax resident based on physical presence in the UK—typically if you spend 183 days or more in a tax year, or if your only home is in the UK—regardless of your income sources or their tax status. Simply residing in the UK and meeting the Statutory Residence Test criteria will make you a UK tax resident, even if all your income were tax-exempt.

Once you are UK tax resident, HMRC expects you to report your worldwide income, including the offshore interest mentioned in your earlier context. However, you will likely owe no tax if your teaching salary and interest fall within your Personal Allowance (£12,570) and Personal Savings Allowance (£1,000 for basic rate taxpayers). The Foreign Income and Gains regime introduced from 6 April 2025 may also provide relief on foreign interest for your first four years of UK residence if you qualify and make a claim. File a Self Assessment return if required by HMRC or if your income exceeds your allowances.