Section 75A: SDLT on linked property deals
Section 75A in brief
Section 75A can apply where linked steps move land to an eventual buyer with less SDLT than a direct sale would create.
- It is an anti-avoidance rule.
- It can create a deemed direct sale for SDLT.
- HMRC’s manual is guidance, not the law itself.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Section 75A: SDLT on linked property deals
Section 75A can matter when a property deal uses several steps rather than one direct sale. If those steps produce less stamp duty than a direct sale would have done, the law may treat the deal as a direct sale for SDLT. That can change the tax result.
What this rule is about
People sometimes focus on the final transfer document. Section 75A looks wider. It traces land from owner to buyer.
Extra steps do not automatically alter SDLT. What matters is how the whole arrangement works.
This is an anti-avoidance rule. It is not a separate rate of stamp duty.
What the official source says
HMRC’s page introduces its guidance on sections 75A, 75B and 75C of the Finance Act 2003. HMRC’s manual gives its view of the law. Only the legislation decides whether the rule applies.
Section 75A has three main parts. It applies where an owner sells an interest in land, another person ends up with that interest or one derived from it, and connected steps lead to less SDLT than a direct sale between them would produce.
- There must be an original owner, called V in the law.
- There must be an eventual buyer, called P in the law.
- P must obtain the same land interest, or an interest derived from it.
- A number of connected steps must be involved in the sale and purchase.
- The SDLT due on those steps must be lower than on the deemed direct sale.
- The connected steps can include arrangements, promises and non-land steps.
- A step after P obtains the land can still be relevant.
If the conditions are met, the land steps in the arrangement are ignored for this purpose. For this purpose, the law creates a deemed direct sale from V to P.
The amount used to work out tax on that deemed sale is generally the largest amount given by one person, or received by V or someone connected with V, for the connected steps. For the deemed sale, the effective date is the last completion date unless substantial performance occurs earlier, in which case that earlier date applies instead. Timing therefore matters.
What this means in practice
Do not assess each document in isolation. Even where every stage appears ordinary, Section 75A may require a wider comparison when the connected steps result in less SDLT than a deemed direct sale. That comparison is decisive.
That does not mean every multi-step deal is caught. The comparison matters. If the actual steps do not produce less SDLT than the deemed direct sale, this part of the test is not met.
- Map the whole deal, not only the final transfer.
- Include leases, sub-sales, options and rights to end an agreement.
- Include agreements not to take an action where they form part of the arrangement.
- Check payments made to every person involved, not just the sale price.
- Check whether SDLT relief was claimed on any step.
- Keep a clear record of why the chosen SDLT treatment was used.
Sections 75B and 75C add important limits and supporting rules. For example, Section 75B can leave out payment for a step that is merely incidental, meaning genuinely secondary, to the transfer. Section 75B cannot exclude payment where the relevant step, although presented as separate or secondary, forms part of the process through which the transfer occurs. That limit matters.
How to analyse it
Start with the real-world story: who owned the land at the start, and who ended up with it? Then test the legal conditions in order. Labels given to the arrangement will not settle the question.
- Identify V, the person who started with the land interest.
- Identify P, the person who ended up with it.
- List every step connected with the movement of the land.
- Put those steps in date order.
- Work out SDLT on the actual land steps.
- Work out the SDLT on the deemed direct sale from V to P.
- Compare the two results.
- Consider whether any payment relates only to a genuinely incidental step.
- Check whether a relief would apply to the deemed direct sale.
Commercial labels do not decide it. The question is whether the statutory conditions, taken together, are met.
Example
Illustration only: Maya owns land worth £600,000. A series of documents results in Leo obtaining the land, but a company and a short lease appear between Maya and Leo. The SDLT paid on the land steps is lower than the SDLT that would arise if Maya had sold directly to Leo.
Section 75A may then require a deemed direct sale from Maya to Leo. The correct answer would depend on the full steps, every payment and any available relief. The £600,000 figure alone does not decide it.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Working out what counts as connected with the sale and purchase is often the hard part. Legislation deliberately uses a wide description of transactions. It includes arrangements that might not look like a land sale at all.
Documents can also tell only part of the story. Money may move through loans, debt arrangements or related companies. Timing can matter too, especially where a contract is substantially performed before final completion.
- A share transfer may be ignored if it would otherwise be the first step in the series.
- Not every side agreement is incidental just because it is described that way.
- A payment may need a fair split if it covers land and something else.
- Relief on an earlier step does not by itself answer the deemed-sale question.
- Partnership, trust and company arrangements can add further statutory rules.
Key takeaways
- Section 75A can look through linked property steps.
- The law compares actual SDLT with a deemed direct sale.
- Facts, documents, payments and timing can all change the result.
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 75A — anti-avoidance rule for linked land transaction steps
- FA 2003 section 75B — when side steps can be ignored
- FA 2003 section 75C — extra rules for the deemed direct sale
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
- Whether separate steps are connected with the sale and purchase depends on the full facts and documents.
- The outcome can depend on payments, finance, ownership, timing and links between the people involved.
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.
- All contracts, transfers, leases and side agreements
- A timeline showing when every step was agreed, completed or substantially performed
- Details of every payment, debt, loan and other value given or received
- Ownership records and information about connections between the parties
- Details of any SDLT relief claimed on the individual steps
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 Section 75A: SDLT on linked property deals [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 75A - anti-avoidance rule for linked land transaction steps https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75A/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 75B - when side steps can be ignored https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75B/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 75C - extra rules for the deemed direct sale https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75C/2025-11-17 Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm09050 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. Guidance from HMRC is its 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 - Whether separate steps are connected with the sale and purchase depends on the full facts and documents. - The outcome can depend on payments, finance, ownership, timing and links between the people involved. 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 31 August 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Section 75A: SDLT on linked property deals
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