This archived page does not explain turnover lease stamp duty

In short

The supplied HMRC page does not explain turnover lease stamp duty. It only records that Scottish land transactions moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.

• Do not use it to calculate variable rent.
• Check the property’s location first.
• Use current material that addresses the lease terms.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

This archived page does not explain turnover lease stamp duty

If you need to work out stamp duty on a turnover lease, this HMRC page will not give you the answer. The page says only that Scotland replaced SDLT with LBTT from April 2015.

What this rule is about

A turnover lease is one in which some rent may depend on the tenant’s sales, so the amount can remain uncertain whenever those sales vary over time. That makes rent unpredictable. It gives no calculation for that rent.

The title promises calculation; the page provides none.

What the official source says

HMRC’s archived manual page makes a short statement about Scotland. It does not set out a turnover-rent test or a tax calculation.

• From April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland.
• Scottish land transactions are instead subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
• The page gives no further detail about leases or rent.

What this means in practice

Do not use this page to calculate stamp duty on a shop, pub or other turnover lease. For land in England or Northern Ireland, SDLT applies only to land interests within that area under the Finance Act 2003.

• Check where the property is.
• Check which land tax applies before looking at rent.

How to analyse it

Start with location and date. Then use material that actually addresses the lease and its rent terms.

• Is the land in Scotland, England or Northern Ireland?
• What tax applied on the relevant date?
• Does the lease make rent depend on sales, and how?

Example

Sam takes a lease of a café in Scotland after April 2015. The rent includes a share of café sales. This page tells Sam only that SDLT is not the Scottish tax to consider. The page does not explain how tax applies to the sales-based rent.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Because the title may lead readers to expect an SDLT answer for variable rent, they may assume that this archived page contains calculation guidance, although it does not. Readers can easily miss this.

• A page title is not evidence of the rule itself.
• Scottish and English lease taxes must not be mixed up.

Key takeaways

• This page is archived and very limited.
• It gives no turnover lease calculation.
• Scotland moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.

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 — land interests within SDLT’s geographic scope

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.

• SDLTM18555

Where this is not settled

• This archived page cannot answer how stamp duty applies to a turnover lease in England or Northern Ireland.
• The page does not give the detailed Scottish LBTT rules for a turnover lease.

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 lease location and relevant transaction date.
• The current legislation or guidance for the tax that applies in that location.
• The lease terms, including how any turnover-based rent is calculated.

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.

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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
This archived page does not explain turnover lease 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 - land interests within SDLT's geographic scope
  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/48/2025-11-17

Guidance page from HMRC on this topic (guidance, not law):
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm18555

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 cannot answer how stamp duty applies to a turnover lease in England or Northern Ireland.
- The page does not give the detailed Scottish LBTT rules for a turnover lease.

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: This archived page does not explain turnover lease stamp duty

View all HMRC SDLT Guidance Pages Here