SDLT Calculation: Deposit & Loan Arrangements Example Archived, See SDLT11055

SDLT and Deposit Loan Arrangements: Archived HMRC Page

This HMRC manual page does not contain the SDLT example on deposit and loan arrangements anymore. It is an archived signpost only, and HMRC says the example has been moved to SDLT11055, which should be used instead for the current guidance and context.

• The issue relates to how SDLT is calculated when a property purchase involves a deposit, a loan, or both.
• The main SDLT question is what counts as chargeable consideration for the land transaction.
• This archived page gives no worked example, rule, or detailed analysis.
• HMRC directs readers to SDLT11055 as the new location of the example.
• Archived pages may be out of date or incomplete, so they should not be relied on as the main source.
• The SDLT result can depend on the legal substance of the arrangement, including whether sums are refundable, separate loans, or part of the purchase price.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SDLT and deposit loan arrangements: where this example has moved

This page concerns an HMRC manual entry about how Stamp Duty Land Tax is calculated where a transaction involves deposit and loan arrangements. The archived page itself no longer contains the example. Instead, HMRC states that the example has been moved to another manual page.

What this rule is about

The topic is the calculation of SDLT where the financial arrangements around a property purchase include a deposit and a loan. In SDLT, the key issue in this area is usually what counts as chargeable consideration for the land transaction. That matters because SDLT is charged by reference to the consideration given for the acquisition.

Although this archived page does not set out the underlying example, its heading shows that HMRC treated the example as part of its guidance on deposit and loan arrangements. That suggests the example was intended to illustrate how particular funding arrangements affect the SDLT calculation.

What the official source says

The official source says only that the page is archived and that the example has been moved to SDLT11055.

So, this page does not itself provide any substantive rule, worked example, or analysis. Its practical effect is simply to redirect the reader to the current location of the example within HMRC’s SDLT manual.

What this means in practice

If you were relying on this page for HMRC’s explanation of deposit and loan arrangements, you should not use this archived page as the substantive source. You need to look at the replacement page HMRC identifies.

This matters for two reasons:

• first, archived manual pages may be incomplete or outdated
• second, where HMRC has moved an example, the surrounding context may also have changed, which can affect how the example should be read

In other words, this page is only a signpost. It does not tell you how HMRC analyses the SDLT consequences of a deposit or loan arrangement.

How to analyse it

From this source alone, the sensible approach is:

• identify that the issue concerns SDLT calculation and chargeable consideration
• treat this page as archived only, not as operative guidance
• go to the replacement manual page named by HMRC, namely SDLT11055
• read the example there together with the surrounding manual material, rather than in isolation
• check whether the point you are considering turns on the legal treatment of a deposit, a loan, or both

That last point matters because, in SDLT, the label attached to a payment or funding arrangement does not always determine its tax treatment. The legal and commercial substance of the arrangement may matter.

Example

Illustration: a buyer pays a deposit on exchange and part of the purchase funding is structured through a connected loan arrangement. An adviser searching HMRC’s manual finds this archived page. This page does not explain whether the deposit, the loan, or any release of indebtedness forms part of the chargeable consideration. It only tells the adviser that HMRC’s example has been moved. The adviser therefore needs to consult SDLT11055 to see HMRC’s current worked example and reasoning.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Archived HMRC manual pages can be misleading if they appear in search results without showing that the substantive content has been removed. A reader may assume the page still contains operative guidance when it does not.

There is also a wider difficulty with deposit and loan arrangements in SDLT. The tax result can depend heavily on the exact legal structure: who pays what, when they pay it, whether a sum is refundable, whether a loan is genuinely separate from the purchase price, and whether any debt is assumed, released, or satisfied as part of the transaction. This archived page does not answer any of those points.

Key takeaways

• This HMRC page is archived and contains no substantive example.
• HMRC says the example has moved to SDLT11055.
• For the actual SDLT analysis of deposit and loan arrangements, you need the replacement page and its surrounding context.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: SDLT Calculation: Deposit & Loan Arrangements Example Archived, See SDLT11055

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