Deposits and loans: what this archived stamp duty page actually says

In short

The supplied HMRC page is archived and contains no rule on deposits or loans. It only says that SDLT stopped applying to Scottish land transactions from April 2015.

• It does not explain deposit treatment.
• It does not explain loan treatment.
• Current, location-specific material is needed.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

Deposits and loans: what this archived stamp duty page actually says

This HMRC page will not answer a question about deposits, loans or stamp duty. Its text is only an archive notice about Scotland. That matters because using it to work out your tax could give the wrong answer.

What this rule is about

The page title suggests it explains the amount you pay for a property transaction involving deposits or loans. But the supplied page contains none of that guidance. The text only records a change affecting Scotland.

What the official source says

HMRC’s archived manual says that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applied to land transactions in Scotland. Instead, HMRC says Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applies there.

• HMRC marks the page as archived.
• The page refers to Scotland, not England or Northern Ireland.
• No rule on deposits appears on the page.
• No rule on loans appears on the page.

What this means in practice

If your property is in England or Northern Ireland, this page does not explain how to treat money paid as a deposit or borrowed under a loan. For a property in Scotland, the page points away from SDLT altogether.

• Do not treat the page title as the answer.
• You should check where the property is located.
• Find the full terms of the payment arrangements.

How to analyse it

Start with the documents, not the label used for a payment. A sum called a loan may still need close review in the context of the whole purchase.

• List each amount connected with the purchase.
• Record who pays it and who receives it.
• Check whether it is a deposit, loan or repayment.
• Use current rules for the relevant UK nation.

Example

Amir pays a £20,000 deposit and obtains a £180,000 loan to buy a home. The archived page does not say how to treat either sum. No basis for a stamp duty calculation appears on it.

Why this can be difficult in practice

People often find this page through its title and assume the detailed guidance is still there. Detailed guidance is not there. The missing detail is the key problem, not a minor gap.

• The title and page content do not match.
• Old guidance may not reflect current law.
• Different UK nations have different land taxes.

Key takeaways

• This is an archived notice, not deposit guidance.
• SDLT stopped applying in Scotland from April 2015.
• Do not calculate tax from this page alone.

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.

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

• This archived page does not say whether a deposit, loan, or repayment counts as part of the amount paid for a property.
• It cannot be used alone to work out the stamp duty position for a particular transaction.

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 full agreement for the property purchase
• Details of every deposit, loan, repayment and other payment
• The completion date and the location of the property
• Any missing or replacement official guidance page

Explore this with an AI

An AI will give you plenty of information. It will not take responsibility for any of it. When a conveyancing solicitor asks for professional tax advice, responsibility is what they are really asking for: a named adviser who has looked at your facts and carries indemnity insurance for the view they reach.

Email me your circumstances and I will give you my honest opinion, free. About half the time that is the end of it. If your solicitor wants it in writing, a formal letter of advice starts at £350, no VAT.

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Nick Garner

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
Deposits and loans: what this archived stamp duty page actually says

[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.]

Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law):
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm18050

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
- This archived page does not say whether a deposit, loan, or repayment counts as part of the amount paid for a property.
- It cannot be used alone to work out the stamp duty position for a particular transaction.

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: Deposits and loans: what this archived stamp duty page actually says

View all HMRC SDLT Guidance Pages Here