Scottish Land and Buildings Transaction Tax
From 1 April 2015, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will no longer apply to land transactions in Scotland. Land transactions will instead be subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act (LBTT Act), which received Royal Assent on 31 July 2013, contains fewer tax reliefs than are available under SDLT.
From April 2015, land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to which SDLT applies will be identified by the Local Authority code entered in the land transaction return. The list of valid codes will exclude Local Authorities in Scotland.
HMRC has recently published a guide for Scottish transactions that take place before the new tax comes into force. This guide outlines the main options for filing SDLT returns in Scotland – including the benefits of using the Automated Registration of Title to Land (ARTL) system. ARTL is the first system in the UK to combine online filing of the SDLT return with electronic registering of property.
In addition, there are special arrangements for two-day urgent Scottish SDLT certificates that may be required under certain circumstances for transactions prior to the devolution of SDLT to the Scottish Government. HMRC will no longer deal with land transactions in Scotland from 1 April 2015.