Example 6: Rent Thresholds for Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculation

Archived SDLT rent example for Scotland and when it still matters

This archived HMRC page has very limited practical use because it does not include the actual “Example 6” calculation. Its main point is historical: SDLT stopped applying to Scottish land transactions from April 2015, when LBTT replaced it, so the page may only help when checking older Scottish transactions or current SDLT cases in England and Northern Ireland.

• The page is only an archive notice and does not give the actual rent threshold rule or worked example.
• SDLT can apply to lease transactions where rent forms part of the chargeable consideration.
• For Scottish land transactions from April 2015 onwards, LBTT applies instead of SDLT.
• For land in England or Northern Ireland, SDLT may still be the relevant tax.
• Before relying on old HMRC guidance, check the land location, the transaction date, and whether the source contains the real operative rule.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SDLT on rent: archived Example 6 and what it means now

This page relates to an archived HMRC manual entry about SDLT on rent. The source itself contains almost no substantive content beyond identifying the page as “Example 6” under rent thresholds and noting that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland. The practical value of the page is therefore mainly historical: it signals that older SDLT rent examples may still matter for pre-April 2015 Scottish transactions, but not for later Scottish transactions.

What this rule is about

The underlying topic is the calculation of SDLT where a lease involves rent. Under SDLT, rent can affect the tax charge on the grant of a lease. HMRC’s manual section heading shows that this particular page sat within guidance on rent thresholds and examples of how those rules worked.

However, the supplied source does not include the actual example or any calculation. It only preserves an archive notice.

The other important point is jurisdiction. SDLT applies to land transactions in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland left SDLT for devolved land transactions from April 2015, when LBTT took over.

What the official source says

The source says two things:

• this was an archived HMRC manual page in the SDLT manual, under calculation of SDLT for rent thresholds; and
• from April 2015, SDLT no longer applies to land transactions in Scotland, because those transactions are instead subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

The source does not set out the content of Example 6 itself, so it does not provide a rule, threshold, or worked computation that can be summarised further from this extract alone.

What this means in practice

The main practical point is to identify which tax regime applies before looking for SDLT rent examples.

If the land transaction is in Scotland and the effective date is on or after the start of LBTT in April 2015, SDLT is not the relevant tax. You would need to consider LBTT instead.

If the transaction is in England or Northern Ireland, SDLT may still be relevant.

If the transaction is in Scotland but is an older transaction from before LBTT took effect, archived SDLT material may still matter historically.

Because the actual Example 6 text is missing from the supplied source, you should not rely on this page alone for any rent calculation. It is only a signpost to a topic area, not a usable statement of the computational rules.

How to analyse it

When you see an archived SDLT page about rent thresholds, work through these questions first:

• Where is the land located: England, Northern Ireland, or Scotland?
• What is the effective date of the transaction?
• Is the transaction a lease where rent forms part of the chargeable consideration?
• Are you looking at current law, or a historic transaction that still falls under an older regime?
• Does the source actually contain the operative rule, or is it only an archive stub like this one?

If the transaction is Scottish and post-April 2015, move out of the SDLT framework and into LBTT. If it is not, you will need the substantive SDLT rules on lease rent and any relevant thresholds from a complete source.

Example

Illustration: a person reviews an old HMRC manual page on SDLT rent thresholds while dealing with a lease of Scottish commercial property that took effect after April 2015. The archive notice tells them that SDLT is no longer the relevant tax for that Scottish transaction. The correct next step is to consider LBTT rules, not to try to apply SDLT rent examples.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Archived tax material can be misleading if read without checking date and jurisdiction. A reader may assume that a page inside the SDLT manual still states the current rule for all UK land transactions. That is not so.

The difficulty here is increased because the supplied page does not include the actual worked example. It names the topic, but does not give enough content to reconstruct the calculation. That means the page has very limited standalone legal or practical value.

There is also a broader point: SDLT, LBTT and LTT are separate taxes with different legislation and administration. Even where they cover similar subjects, one regime’s examples should not be assumed to carry across automatically to another.

Key takeaways

• This archived page does not contain the actual Example 6 calculation or rule.
• Its clear substantive message is that SDLT stopped applying to Scottish land transactions from April 2015, when LBTT took over.
• Before using any SDLT guidance on rent, check the location of the land, the transaction date, and whether you are looking at current or historic law.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Example 6: Rent Thresholds for Stamp Duty Land Tax Calculation

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