Archived SDLT lease example: Scotland moved to LBTT
Archived Scottish SDLT material
This HMRC page contains only an archive notice. It says that Scottish land transactions moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- No former lease example is available on the page.
- It gives no calculation or filing step.
- Check the land location and transaction date first.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Archived SDLT lease example: Scotland moved to LBTT
This HMRC page does not now give a usable stamp duty lease example. The page now says only that Scottish land transactions moved away from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
What this rule is about
The page seems once to have covered notifying HMRC about a new lease, but that material is no longer shown and HMRC archives it because it concerns Scotland. It is unavailable now.
Location matters first. SDLT applies to interests in land in England and Northern Ireland, not Scotland.
What the official source says
HMRC’s archived notice makes two points about Scotland. No old example, tax calculation or filing step appears in it.
- The page is archived.
- From April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to Scottish land transactions.
- Scottish land transactions are instead subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
What this means in practice
If your lease is over land in Scotland, do not use this page to work out SDLT or a notification requirement. It gives no answer to either question.
- Check where the leased land is.
- Check the date of the transaction.
- Use the Scottish tax rules for a Scottish transaction.
- Do not rely on the missing Example 1 facts.
How to analyse it
Before considering what may need to be filed or which tax rules may apply to the transaction, start by asking whether the land is in Scotland. Begin there. If it is, this archived SDLT page points you to LBTT instead.
- Identify the country where the land sits.
- Confirm whether the transaction was from April 2015 onwards.
- Keep the lease documents and transaction date.
- Find the current LBTT material before deciding what must be filed.
Example
Sam takes a lease of a shop in Scotland after April 2015. This page says SDLT does not apply to that land transaction. It does not say how Sam’s LBTT position should be calculated or reported.
Why this can be difficult in practice
The title points to a worked notification example. The archived version contains none. Because the title suggests a worked notification example while the archived version contains none, you cannot safely infer an old rule, deadline or figure from a title alone. That distinction matters.
- A page heading is not evidence of the missing example.
- The notice does not explain LBTT rules.
- The date and location remain essential facts.
Key takeaways
- This is an archived HMRC page.
- It gives no usable lease-notification example.
- Scottish transactions moved to LBTT from April 2015.
Technical analysis
For advisers, and for anyone who wants to check the law behind this page. You do not need this section to understand the guidance above.
Legislation
- FA 2003 section 48 — SDLT interests in land in England and Northern Ireland
Official guidance
The pages below are HMRC’s guidance. Guidance is not law. It sets out how HMRC reads the legislation, and it is not binding on you, on a tribunal or on a court. Where guidance and the legislation differ, the legislation wins. HMRC can also change or withdraw guidance, and it may not cover your facts.
Where this is not settled
- The archived page provides no facts for its former Example 1, so its intended lease-notification point cannot be reconstructed from this source.
Evidence you would need
This kind of case is decided on the facts of the individual property. These are the records that usually settle it, and the ones an adviser would ask you for.
- The property’s location.
- The transaction date.
- The lease and any separate current LBTT guidance, if the land is in Scotland.
Explore this with an AI
Readers often want to test their own situation. Copy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It hands the model the actual legislation for this page rather than letting it answer from memory, and tells it to be explicit about what is uncertain. What comes back is information, not advice – check it against the links above.
I am researching UK Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), which applies in England and Northern Ireland. MY QUESTION Archived SDLT lease example: Scotland moved to LBTT [Replace this with your own situation: what you are buying, the price, the dates, who the buyer is, and what you plan to do with the property.] THE LAW THIS TURNS ON - FA 2003 section 48 - SDLT interests in land in England and Northern Ireland https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/48/2025-11-17 HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm18215 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. HMRC guidance is HMRC's view of the law, not the law, and does not bind a tribunal or a court. 2. Tell me what the rule actually requires, in plain English. 3. Tell me which facts decide the answer, and which facts would change it. 4. Tell me what evidence I would need to support the position. 5. Be explicit about anything unsettled or fact-sensitive. Do not guess. 6. Your training data has a cutoff and SDLT rates and reliefs change at fiscal events. Say so if you are not sure the law is current. POINTS ALREADY KNOWN TO BE UNCERTAIN ON THIS TOPIC - The archived page provides no facts for its former Example 1, so its intended lease-notification point cannot be reconstructed from this source. Do not give me a conclusion you cannot support from the provisions above.
Legislation links show Finance Act 2003 as it stood on 2025-11-17. The law may have changed since, and the rules that apply are those in force on the date of your transaction. The official guidance this page is based on is here.
This page was last updated on 1 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Archived SDLT lease example: Scotland moved to LBTT
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