Two devolved taxes, two revenue authorities
Scotland and Wales each have their own devolved tax on land transactions. Scotland has Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), administered by Revenue Scotland, and Wales has Land Transaction Tax (LTT), administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority. Stamp Duty Land Tax and the rules that apply elsewhere in the UK are outside the scope of this article. This article covers only the filing and payment deadlines for those two taxes, using guidance published by Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Government. It does not cover rates, which change, or reliefs. It is general information, not tax advice.
Scotland: the LBTT return
Revenue Scotland’s guidance on the duty to make an LBTT return says the buyer is legally responsible for making it, although in almost every land transaction the buyer’s agent is likely to make the return on the buyer’s behalf. It says the return must be submitted within 30 days of the day after the effective date of the transaction, and calls that deadline the filing date.
On payment, Revenue Scotland’s page “How to pay LBTT”, last updated on 11 September 2024, says the tax is due by the earlier of the date the return is submitted or the filing date. It also says interest is chargeable on any outstanding tax that is not paid by the filing date, and that late submission may incur penalties, with delayed payments triggering interest and potentially further penalties.
The Revenue Scotland guidance says a buyer who fails to make a return by the filing date is liable to a penalty and refers to separate penalty guidance for the amounts. Those amounts are not repeated here, and the penalty guidance should be checked directly.
Wales: the LTT return
Welsh Government technical guidance, last updated on 26 November 2024, says a taxpayer must submit a return within a 30-day period beginning on the day after the effective date of the transaction, and stresses that these are calendar days and not working days. It says the effective date typically corresponds to when a transaction completes or is substantially performed, not when contracts are signed. Tax must be paid no later than the filing date, so the payment deadline is the same as the return deadline.
Late penalties in Wales
The Welsh Government’s page “Tax penalties: filing or paying late”, last updated on 16 March 2022, sets out the penalty amounts. The initial penalty for failing to send a required return on or before the filing date is a £100 fixed penalty. Further late-filing penalties apply from 6 to 12 months late, of an extra £300 or 5 per cent of any unpaid tax, whichever is greater, and again at 12 months or more, of another £300 or 5 per cent of unpaid tax, whichever is greater.
For late payment, the page gives a penalty of 5 per cent of the amount of unpaid tax, with a further 5 per cent within six months and another 5 per cent within 12 months of the penalty date. Daily interest continues to be charged throughout. Because the page was last updated in March 2022, readers should check it for changes before relying on the figures.
What the effective date means for movers
Both sets of guidance run the clock from the effective date of the transaction, not from moving day or from the date a removal is booked. The Welsh guidance says the effective date is typically completion or substantial performance, which is usually the date of the property change of hands. Where completion and moving day differ, or where a purchase completes earlier than expected, the deadline is counted from the effective date, so the return timetable should be agreed with the solicitor or conveyancer.
That is a practical reason to keep in touch with the buyer’s solicitor after completion. In Scotland, Revenue Scotland says the buyer’s agent will usually make the return. In Wales, the guidance says the taxpayer must file, so the arrangement should be confirmed in writing where a solicitor is acting.
Where a move crosses the border
Revenue Scotland’s guidance covers land transactions in Scotland, and the Welsh Government’s guidance covers land transactions in Wales. Anyone buying in one of those nations after a purchase elsewhere in the UK is therefore dealing with a different revenue authority, each with its own guidance and its own filing window.
The bottom line
Both LBTT in Scotland and LTT in Wales require the return and payment within 30 days counted from the day after the effective date, which is usually completion. In Scotland the buyer’s agent usually files. In Wales the Welsh Revenue Authority publishes a £100 fixed late-filing penalty as of its March 2022 guidance, plus escalating penalties and interest. Buyers should confirm early who is filing the return and check the current penalty guidance before any deadline is at risk.