LBTT At a glance

The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) is a tax on land transactions in Scotland. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on 1 April 2015.

• LBTT is payable in respect of land transactions.
• A land transaction requires the acquisition of a chargeable interest in land and/or in buildings situated on the land, including leases, options and interests in property holding partnerships.
• Chargeable consideration is anything given in money or money's worth, including VAT, non-monetary consideration such as debt, consideration which is postponed or payable by instalments and a reasonable estimate of contingent consideration.
• LBTT is payable by the buyer.
• Joint buyers have joint and several liability.
• The effective date of a transaction is usually the date that the land transaction is completed. For a standard house purchase this is the date that the purchase price is paid.
• Since 1 April 2016, an Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) of 3% will be applied to purchases of additional dwellings and buy-to-let properties. This increases to 4% from 25 January 2019, see LBTT: Additional Dwelling Supplement.
• The first purchase of any residential property by a company will be subject to the ADS.

Since 1 April 2018 SDLT only applies to properties in England and Northern Ireland.

• Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced SDLT for properties in Scotland since 1 April 2015.
• Welsh Land Transaction Tax (LTT) applies since 1 April 2018 for properties in Wales.

Coronavirus: Temporary increased nil rate band

• Between 15 July 2020 to 31 March 2021 the basic LBTT nil rate band has been extended due to the coronavirus.
• Rates for the ADS and non-residential LBTT remain unchanged.
• The Scottish Parliament temporarily extended its ADS refund period for land and buildings transaction tax from 18 months to three years.

Time limits and penalties

• A return is required within 30 days of the effective date of the transaction unless the transaction is one that is specifically defined as exempt or the consideration is below the applicable nil-rate band.
• The tax is payable on the same date that the return is made, no more than 30 days after the effective date.
• If the return is filed ahead of the 30-day deadline the tax must be paid on the same date.
• Any applicable reliefs or exemptions must be claimed on the return.
• A £100 penalty is issued for a late return and if it is more than three months late daily penalties of £10 per day may be charged for up to 90 days.

Small print and links

Useful guides on this topic

LBTT: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax

LBTT: Additional Dwelling Supplement
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for properties in Scotland from 1 April 2015.

SDLT: Stamp Duty Land Tax (subscriber's guide)
What are the SDLT rates? What is exempt from SDLT? What reliefs are available?

External links

The Revenue Scotland guidance on LBTT

The primary legislation is The Land And Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013