Archived notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty
In brief
The supplied HMRC page is archived and contains no tacit-relocation example. It says that Scottish land transactions moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- It is not a substantive lease guide.
- It concerns Scotland.
- Current Scottish sources are needed for a tax answer.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Archived notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty
This HMRC page does not explain stamp duty on a lease continued by tacit relocation. Rather, it is an archive notice explaining that Scottish land deals moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015 when the transaction concerned land in Scotland. That is all.
What this rule is about
The page title refers to a lease continuing by tacit relocation. However, the supplied text gives no example, test, or calculation for that situation.
Because a page heading can appear helpful when a reader is seeking lease guidance, even though the page itself offers no answer, it may create a misleading expectation. Readers need more.
What the official source says
HMRC’s archived notice makes one limited point about Scotland: from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions there, while LBTT applies instead. That is its message.
- The notice is marked as archived.
- It refers to land transactions in Scotland.
- It gives April 2015 as the change point.
- It names LBTT as the replacement tax.
What this means in practice
Do not use this page to work out whether tax is due on a continued Scottish lease. The page supplies none of the facts or rules needed for that answer.
- Check where the property is located.
- Check when the relevant lease event happened.
- For Scotland, look for LBTT material rather than SDLT material.
- Do not assume the page title contains a usable example.
How to analyse it
Begin by asking whether this is a Scottish land transaction; if it is, the notice directs the reader away from SDLT after the stated change. Check LBTT.
- Identify the property’s location.
- Record the date of the lease event.
- Read the lease and any continuation arrangements.
- Use current Scottish sources for the tax question.
Example
When Sam finds this page while checking a Scottish lease, it does not say whether Sam must pay tax, because it only says that SDLT is not the relevant Scottish tax from April 2015. The next step is to check LBTT material.
Why this can be difficult in practice
A reader might infer from the title that HMRC has published a worked lease example, but the supplied version contains no such example and presents only the archive message. That is the whole content.
- An archived page may omit the material its title suggests.
- A Scottish tax question needs the correct tax regime.
- A lease continuation can depend on its precise documents and dates.
Key takeaways
- This page is an archive notice, not a lease example.
- It says Scotland moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- It cannot answer a current Scottish lease tax question on its own.
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
- The archived page does not give enough detail to explain the tax treatment of a lease continued by tacit relocation.
- The page should not be used as current guidance for a Scottish lease 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 date and place of the land transaction.
- The lease terms and the events said to continue the lease.
- Current Scottish land tax guidance or legislation if the transaction 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 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.] Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm18280 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 - The archived page does not give enough detail to explain the tax treatment of a lease continued by tacit relocation. - The page should not be used as current guidance for a Scottish lease 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: Archived notice: Scottish leases and stamp duty
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