Section 75A SDLT: when linked property deals can be taxed as one
Section 75A at a glance
Section 75A can recalculate SDLT where linked steps produce less tax than a direct sale from the original owner to the final buyer.
- It has three conditions, all of which matter.
- Several transactions alone are not enough.
- The documents, timeline and tax comparison are key evidence.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Section 75A SDLT: when linked property deals can be taxed as one
Section 75A SDLT: when linked property deals can be taxed as one
HMRC can recalculate stamp duty where a property deal uses several linked steps and produces less SDLT than a direct sale would have done. This is the point of section 75A. It can matter even where the final buyer ends up with the land they wanted.
What this rule is about
Property deals may follow a route in which a lease is granted first, another person takes an interest, and agreements that are not land transfers also shape the path to the final buyer. The route need not be simple.
Section 75A is an anti-avoidance rule. It asks whether the real sequence has produced less SDLT than a direct transfer from the original owner to the final buyer.
That comparison matters. A deal may appear ordinary when each step stands alone, but the result can differ once all the steps are considered together.
What the official source says
HMRC’s manual says that section 75A applies only where all three parts of its test are met. The manual is HMRC’s view of the law. The legal test itself is in the Finance Act 2003.
- One person must sell or give up a land right covered by SDLT.
- Another person must end up with that right, or a right derived from it.
- There must be a number of transactions connected with that sale and purchase.
- The connected steps must include the original sale and the final purchase.
- The total SDLT on those steps must be lower than SDLT on an assumed direct transfer.
A land transaction is broadly a purchase of a land right covered by SDLT. That can include more than buying a freehold house. You therefore need to check the exact right being transferred.
People often call the assumed direct transfer a notional transaction. Put simply, the law imagines the original owner transferring the relevant land right straight to the final buyer.
What this means in practice
You do not decide this point by looking at one contract. You need the whole arrangement. The review must include steps that appear secondary and can also extend to agreements or arrangements which, although connected with the route taken, are not themselves sales of land. Their form is not decisive.
You might think several steps automatically trigger section 75A. They do not. The tax comparison is essential, as is the link between the steps and the change from the original owner to the final buyer.
- List every step that helped move the land right from the original owner to the final buyer.
- Check who owned the right at the start and who held it at the end.
- Compare the SDLT result for the actual steps with the direct-transfer result.
- Keep the papers that explain why each step happened.
Where section 75A applies, the law disregards the relevant land steps for SDLT and substitutes the assumed direct transfer, which becomes the transaction used to calculate SDLT under its own rules. That replacement matters.
How to analyse it
Start with the route the land right took. Then test the three conditions together. Do not begin by asking whether the arrangement carries an unpleasant label or whether anyone meant to avoid tax, because those questions do not themselves resolve the statutory conditions. Start with the route.
- Identify the original owner, called V in the legislation.
- Identify the final buyer, called P in the legislation.
- Describe the land right V held and the right P eventually obtained.
- Map every connected step, including agreements and non-land steps where relevant.
- Calculate the SDLT due on all the actual scheme steps.
- Work out what SDLT would be due if V transferred the relevant right directly to P.
- Ask whether the actual total is lower than that direct-transfer amount.
The order matters. A calculation without a complete map of the arrangement may leave out a step that changes the answer.
Example
Imagine Priya owns land. Through a series of connected steps, Daniel ends up with a right derived from Priya’s original right. Assume the SDLT on all the actual land steps is £10,000. Assume a direct transfer from Priya to Daniel would produce SDLT of £15,000.
On those assumptions, the third condition is met because £10,000 is less than £15,000. If the first two conditions are also met, section 75A can apply. The figures are only an illustration, not SDLT rates or a calculation for a real deal.
Change one fact and the result may change. When the actual steps produce £15,000 or more of SDLT, so that they match or exceed the amount produced by the assumed direct transfer, this part of the section 75A test is not met. The comparison fails.
Why this can be difficult in practice
This rule is fact-sensitive because the key word is “connection”. Although a document may describe a step as separate, that description does not determine whether, in the context of every connected action and agreement, it forms part of the wider arrangement. Context decides.
The money can also be hard to trace. One person may pay for several things at once. Rights can be created, varied, or ended during the process. Small details can have a large tax effect.
- A side letter or option may be relevant even if it does not transfer land itself.
- A later step can still form part of the arrangement.
- The final buyer may receive a derived right rather than the exact right first held.
- Adding up SDLT returns alone may not show the correct direct-transfer comparison.
This is the part people get wrong: section 75A is not a tax on complicated deals. It is a specific comparison rule with three conditions that must all be satisfied.
Key takeaways
- Section 75A looks at the whole connected property arrangement.
- All three statutory conditions must be met together.
- The central comparison is actual SDLT against a direct assumed transfer.
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 43 — what counts as a land transaction
- FA 2003 section 48 — land rights that are within SDLT
- FA 2003 section 75A — when the anti-avoidance rule applies; the replacement notional land transaction; how the notional transaction amount is worked out
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 steps are connected with the sale and purchase can depend heavily on the documents and facts.
- Working out the assumed direct transaction may need detailed analysis where money, rights, or land interests differ across the steps.
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.
- contracts, transfer documents and any side agreements
- a timeline showing each step in the arrangement
- details of every person involved and their role
- a calculation of SDLT paid or due on each step
- details of all money, property or other value given or received
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: when linked property deals can be taxed as one [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 43 - what counts as a land transaction https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/43/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 48 - land rights that are within SDLT https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/48/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 75A - when the anti-avoidance rule applies https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75A/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 75A - the replacement notional land transaction https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75A/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 75A - how the notional transaction amount is worked out https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/75A/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/sdltm09100 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 steps are connected with the sale and purchase can depend heavily on the documents and facts. - Working out the assumed direct transaction may need detailed analysis where money, rights, or land interests differ across the steps. 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: when linked property deals can be taxed as one
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