Archived HMRC notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty
In short
The supplied HMRC page has no Example 2 content. Its only substantive message is that Scottish land transactions moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- It cannot answer a lease notification question.
- Property location is the first fact to check.
- Use Scottish LBTT material for Scottish land.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Archived HMRC notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty
Although the page is headed as an HMRC notice on Scottish leases and stamp duty, it contains no promised lease example and says only that stamp duty land tax, or SDLT, stopped applying to land transactions in Scotland from April 2015. Nothing more appears.
What this rule is about
Although the page title refers to a lease continuing by tacit relocation, the supplied page gives no explanation of that phrase or of its tax effect. This is an archive notice, not a usable worked example.
What the official source says
HMRC’s notice makes one point about jurisdiction: Scottish land transactions moved away from SDLT and became subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, known as LBTT.
- The notice is marked as archived.
- It refers to Scotland.
- It says the change took effect from April 2015.
What this means in practice
Where the property is in Scotland, and where the issue concerns a lease or any continuing arrangement, this page cannot provide the tax result. Instead, it directs you away from SDLT. Under the Finance Act 2003, SDLT land interests are now defined by reference to England and Northern Ireland.
- Do not use this page to calculate tax on a Scottish lease.
- Do not treat its missing example as a notification rule.
- Check which country the property is in first.
How to analyse it
Begin with the map, then consider the date. Those two facts decide whether this old SDLT material is even relevant.
- Find the property’s location.
- Record when the lease continued or changed.
- Check whether the event was before or from April 2015.
- For Scottish land, find the relevant LBTT material.
Example
Suppose a page heading promises “Example 2”, but, instead of setting out facts for a calculation, the page displays only this archive notice, with no dates, rent figures, or lease terms to apply. Consequently, no tax amount or filing result can be worked out from it.
Why this can be difficult in practice
A title of this kind can make the page look more useful than it is. Readers may easily assume that it contains a rule on a lease rolling on. The supplied content does not support that assumption.
- A Scottish property needs Scottish tax material.
- A lease date may matter as much as its wording.
- An archived manual page may omit the detail you need.
Key takeaways
- This source is an archive notice, not a worked example.
- It says Scotland moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- Check the property’s location before using SDLT guidance.
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 48 — SDLT land interests in England and Northern Ireland
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
- The archive notice does not say when the lease continued, where the property was, or what the missing Example 2 facts were.
- It gives no detail from which to work out whether any return, payment, or notification was required.
- Current Scottish LBTT rules are outside the supplied source material.
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 location of the property.
- The date on which the lease continued or changed.
- The full lease terms and the missing example facts.
- A current Scottish LBTT source if the property is in Scotland.
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 Archived HMRC notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty [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 48 - SDLT land interests in England and Northern Ireland https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/48/2025-11-17 HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm18275 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. HMRC guidance is HMRC's 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 - The archive notice does not say when the lease continued, where the property was, or what the missing Example 2 facts were. - It gives no detail from which to work out whether any return, payment, or notification was required. - Current Scottish LBTT rules are outside the supplied source material. 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: Archived HMRC notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty
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