Stamp Duty Land Tax Rules for Transactions After December 2006 and July 2007

When SDLT anti-avoidance rules in sections 75A to 75C begin to apply

Sections 75A to 75C of Finance Act 2003 are SDLT anti-avoidance rules for certain land transaction arrangements. Whether they apply depends mainly on timing: when the disposal, acquisition and all related scheme transactions took place, and whether there was an earlier contract entered into or substantially performed before the key start dates.

• Section 75A generally applies where the disposal, acquisition and all related scheme transactions took place after 2pm on 6 December 2006.
• A scheme transaction is excluded from section 75A if it relates to a contract that was substantially performed before 2pm on 6 December 2006.
• If the contract was entered into before 2pm on 6 December 2006, section 75A may still be disapplied, but only if the conditions in the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Variation of the Finance Act 2003) Regulations 2006 are met.
• Section 75C has a separate start date and generally applies from 19 July 2007.
• For transactions before 19 July 2007, section 75C can still apply if it gives a lower SDLT charge than the result under the 2006 Regulations.
• In practice, you need to identify each step in the arrangement, check the dates carefully, and review any earlier contract and the 2006 transitional regulations.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

When the SDLT anti-avoidance rules in sections 75A to 75C start to apply

This page explains the commencement rules for sections 75A to 75C of Finance Act 2003. These are important because section 75A is a major SDLT anti-avoidance provision. Whether it can apply often depends not just on what happened, but also on when the disposal, acquisition, and any connected scheme transactions took place.

What this rule is about

Sections 75A to 75C are designed to counter certain SDLT avoidance arrangements involving land transactions. The commencement rules decide whether those provisions can apply to a particular set of transactions.

The main issue is timing. The legislation does not simply ask whether the overall arrangement happened before or after the rules were introduced. It looks at the timing of the disposal, the acquisition, and all related scheme transactions. There are also transitional rules for contracts entered into, or substantially performed, before the key commencement time.

What the official source says

The official material states that sections 75A to 75C have effect for disposals and acquisitions, and all related scheme transactions, taking place after 2pm on 6 December 2006.

It then identifies two important exclusions from section 75A:

• If a scheme transaction takes place in respect of a contract that was substantially performed before 2pm on 6 December 2006, that scheme transaction is excluded from section 75A.
• If a scheme transaction takes place in respect of a contract entered into before 2pm on 6 December 2006, that scheme transaction may also be excluded from section 75A, but only if the conditions in the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Variation of the Finance Act 2003) Regulations 2006 are met.

The source also deals separately with section 75C. It says section 75C has effect for disposals and acquisitions, and all related scheme transactions, taking place on or after 19 July 2007. For transactions before that date, section 75C still applies if it produces a lower SDLT charge than would have arisen under the 2006 Regulations.

What this means in practice

The practical question is whether the anti-avoidance rules were in force for the transaction chain you are looking at.

For section 75A, the starting point is 2pm on 6 December 2006. If the disposal, acquisition, and related scheme transactions happened after that time, the provision can potentially apply.

But older contracts may fall outside section 75A. In particular:

• If the relevant contract was substantially performed before 2pm on 6 December 2006, the scheme transaction is outside section 75A.
• If the contract was entered into before that time, there may still be an exclusion, but only if the detailed transitional conditions in the 2006 Regulations are satisfied.

This matters because many SDLT arrangements involve a sequence of steps. A taxpayer cannot assume that the date of one document settles the point. The timing of the whole arrangement, and the status of any earlier contract, may be critical.

Section 75C has a different commencement position. The source says it applies from 19 July 2007, but can also affect earlier transactions if using section 75C gives a lower liability than would have applied under the 2006 transitional regulations. That is a technical saving rule. In practice, it means that for transactions in the period before 19 July 2007, you may need to compare the result under section 75C with the result under the earlier regulations.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to approach the issue is to work through these questions in order.

• What are the disposal and acquisition that matter for the arrangement?
• What are the related scheme transactions?
• When did each of those steps take place?
• Was there an underlying contract entered into before 2pm on 6 December 2006?
• If so, was that contract substantially performed before 2pm on 6 December 2006?
• If the contract was entered into before that time but not substantially performed before then, do the conditions in the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Variation of the Finance Act 2003) Regulations 2006 apply?
• If section 75C is in point, did the relevant transactions occur before 19 July 2007, and if so, does section 75C produce a lower tax result than the 2006 Regulations?

This framework helps separate three different issues that are easy to confuse:

• the commencement of section 75A generally
• the transitional exclusions for older contracts
• the separate commencement rule for section 75C

Example

Illustration: suppose parties entered into a land contract before 2pm on 6 December 2006, but the arrangement was completed through additional steps after that time. You cannot tell from that fact alone whether section 75A applies. You would need to ask:

• was the earlier contract substantially performed before 2pm on 6 December 2006?
• if not, do the conditions in the 2006 Regulations protect the later scheme transaction from section 75A?

If the answer to the first question is yes, the source indicates the scheme transaction is excluded from section 75A. If the answer is no, the position turns on the detailed transitional conditions in the regulations.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The source material is short, but the issue is not simple.

First, section 75A looks at disposals, acquisitions, and related scheme transactions. In a multi-step arrangement, identifying exactly which steps count, and when they took place, may require careful factual analysis.

Second, the concept of a contract being substantially performed can be legally significant and fact-sensitive. The source states the consequence if substantial performance occurred before 2pm on 6 December 2006, but does not explain on this page how substantial performance is determined. That analysis may need to be taken from the wider SDLT rules.

Third, the source refers to the 2006 Regulations without setting out their conditions. That means the commencement position for pre-6 December 2006 contracts cannot be resolved from this page alone. The regulations need to be checked directly.

Fourth, section 75C has its own commencement rule and a comparison exercise for certain earlier transactions. That creates an additional layer of technical analysis, especially for arrangements spanning the period from December 2006 to July 2007.

Key takeaways

• Section 75A generally applies to disposals, acquisitions, and related scheme transactions taking place after 2pm on 6 December 2006.
• Older contracts may be protected from section 75A, especially where they were substantially performed before that time, or where the 2006 transitional regulations apply.
• Section 75C has a separate commencement date of 19 July 2007, with a special rule for earlier transactions that requires comparison with the 2006 Regulations.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Stamp Duty Land Tax Rules for Transactions After December 2006 and July 2007

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