Land and Building Transaction Tax

Who pays the tax?

LBTT is payable by the purchaser in a land transaction occurring in Scotland. Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) applies to land transactions in England and Northern Ireland and Land Transaction Tax (LTT) applies in Wales.

¿Qué es una transacción de tierras?

A transaction will trigger liability if it involves the acquisition of an interest in land. This includes a simple conveyance of land such as buying a house, creating a lease or assigning a lease.

¿Cuándo se paga el impuesto?

El impuesto debe pagarse cuando el contrato se ha cumplido sustancialmente. En los casos en que el comprador toma posesión de la propiedad al finalizar la obra, esa será la fecha. Sin embargo, si el comprador toma posesión efectiva antes de la finalización (lo que se conoce como "reposo contractual"), se considerará que esto genera el impuesto.

Residential rates of LBTT

The rates of LBTT which apply from 1 April 2021 are set out in the following table:

The rates apply to the portion of the total value which falls within each band.

First-time buyer relief

A LBTT relief applies for first-time buyers of properties up to £175,000. The relief raises the zero tax threshold for first-time buyers from £145,000 to £175,000. First-time buyers purchasing a property above £175,000 also benefit from the relief on the portion of the price below the threshold. All first-time buyers will benefit from a relief of up to £600.

Higher rates for additional residential properties

Higher rates of LBTT are charged on purchases of additional residential properties (above £40,000), such as buy to let properties and second homes.

The main target of the higher rates is purchases of buy to let properties or second homes. However, there will be some purchasers who will have to pay the additional charge even though the property purchased will not be a buy to let or a second home. The 36 month rules set out below will help to remove some transactions from the additional rates (or allow a refund). The 36 month timeframe was extended from 18 months with effect from 1 April 2024. Care will be needed if an individual already owns, or partly owns, a property and transacts to purchase another property without having disposed of the first property.

The higher rates are 8% above those shown in the table above, having increased from 6% from 5 December 2024. The higher rates potentially apply if, at the end of the day of the purchase transaction, the individual owns two or more residential properties.

Some further detail:

• Los compradores tendrán 36 meses para reclamar un reembolso de las tasas más altas si compran una nueva residencia principal antes de deshacerse de su residencia principal anterior.
• Purchasers will also have 36 months between selling a main residence and replacing it with another main residence without having to pay the higher rates, if they also own another property which is not their main residence.
• Una pequeña parte de una propiedad que haya sido heredada dentro de los 36 meses anteriores a una transacción no se considerará como una propiedad adicional al aplicar las tasas más altas.
• No habrá exención de las tasas más altas para los inversores importantes.

Non-residential rates of LBTT

The Scottish government has LBTT calculators which work out the amount of LBTT payable. The calculators can be found at www.revenue.scot/land-buildings-transaction-tax/tax-calculators.