Scottish LBTT Rates

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.

• 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, a 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) has been applied to purchases of additional dwellings and buy-to-let properties.
  • This was originally 3%, but increased to 4% from 25 January 2019 and 6% from 16 December 2022, 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 has only applied 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 was extended due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
• Rates for the ADS and non-residential LBTT remained unchanged.
• The Scottish Parliament temporarily extended its ADS refund period for LBTT from 18 months to three years where the 'effective date' of the purchase of the new house was between 24 September 2018 and 24 March 2020.

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.

Residential property rates

From 1 April 2021

From 15 July 2020 – 31 March 2021

From 1 April 2015 – 14 July 2020

First-time buyers

From 30 June 2018 – 14 July 2020 and 1 April 2021 onwards

Non-residential property transactions on or after 25 January 2019

Non-residential property transactions before 25 January 2019

Useful guides on this topic

LBTT: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax
What is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT)? What are the rules?

LBTT: Additional Dwelling Supplement
What is the Additional Dwelling Supplement for the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax? When does it apply? 

SDLT: Stamp Duty Land Tax, start here
What is SDLT? What are the SDLT rates? What is exempt from SDLT? What reliefs are available? When are returns due? When can you amend a return?

External links

The Revenue Scotland guidance on LBTT

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