This guidance covers Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), the collection process on transfer of title, and how it affects the application process for deeds submitted for registration in the Land Register and the Books of Council and Session (Books of C&S).
From 19 July 2019, Revenue Scotland has been responsible for the collection and management of LBTT. All manual returns and cheque payments must be sent to Revenue Scotland. Any manual returns and cheque payments received by RoS will be returned to the applicant.
You'll need to pay LBTT on notifiable transfers of property.
For more detailed guidance on LBTT, see the Revenue Scotland website.
Background
The Scotland Act 2012 provided the Scottish Parliament with devolved powers to replace Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). From 1 April 2015, LBTT replaced SDLT for property transactions in Scotland.
The introduction of LBTT resulted in some key changes to the collection of stamp duty on land and property transactions under SDLT provisions, and to the application process for deeds submitted for registration in the Land Register and the Books of C&S.
Application compliance
The provisions of section 43(1) of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 (LBTT Act) prevent us from accepting a document for registration that effects or evidences a notifiable transaction, unless a land transaction return has been made in relation to that transaction and any tax payable in respect of that transaction has been paid, or where arrangements satisfactory to Revenue Scotland have been made for payment of the tax.
Revenue Scotland provide us with details of all valid land transaction returns in order that we may assess whether the provisions of section 43(1) of the LBTT Act, in relation to relevant applications for registration, have been met. As a result, neither Revenue Scotland generated acknowledgements of electronic LBTT returns nor any other type of Revenue Scotland LBTT related documentation should be included when submitting related registration applications.
Application forms
To ensure we comply with our duties under s43(1) of the LBTT Act, the Land Register and Books of C&S application forms contain the following LBTT related questions:
"Is the transaction to which this application relates a notifiable transaction in terms of section 30 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013?
Yes or No
If yes, has a land transaction return been made, and have arrangements satisfactory to the tax authority been made for the payment of any tax payable in respect of the transaction?
Yes or No"
These LBTT related questions must be answered for all applications to register a document effecting or evidencing a notifiable transaction in either the Land Register or the Books of C&S.
Regarding the LBTT-related questions:
- From 1 April 2015, LBTT will be payable unless the application is for a type of transaction that is exempt from LBTT. Information on exempt transactions can be found on the Revenue Scotland website.
- Where LBTT is payable, the LBTT-related questions should be answered "Yes/Yes" only where either a valid LBTT return has already been made online to Revenue Scotland and any tax payable in respect of the transaction paid or arrangements satisfactory to Revenue Scotland made.
- When an application does not relate to a notifiable transaction but it is not evident from the face of the deed that this is so, the notifiable transaction question should be answered "No" and the Further Information box of the application form should be used to provide an explanation as to why.
Background guidance on the introduction of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax can be found on gov.uk.
Books of Council and Session
A Books of C&S application form (C&S1 form) must accompany any application to register a deed in the Books of C&S effecting or evidencing a notifiable transaction. The form is available for download from our Register of Deeds guidance page and as part of our online services portal.
Under the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Ancillary Provision) (Scotland) Order 2014, an application for registration of such a deed need not be accepted in the Books of C&S unless the application provides the information required to enable compliance with section 43(1).
Whilst use of the C&S1 form is mandatory only in respect of notifiable transactions, we strongly encourage applicants to use it for all Books of C&S applications. Where it is unclear from the terms of the deed that the transaction is not notifiable, it would be of assistance if the position was confirmed on the C&S1 form.