This archived lease page does not answer your stamp duty question
Archived Scottish notice
The supplied HMRC page does not explain the stamp duty result of replacing a lease. It says only that SDLT ceased to apply to Scottish land transactions from April 2015, when LBTT applied instead.
- Do not rely on the title alone
- The page gives no lease calculation
- Check the land location first
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
This archived lease page does not answer your stamp duty question
This archived lease page does not answer your stamp duty question
This archived HMRC page gives no answer on stamp duty where a lease ends and a longer or more expensive lease replaces it. Its only message concerns Scotland: from April 2015, SDLT no longer applied to Scottish land transactions, and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applied instead.
What this rule is about
Although the title refers to surrendering a lease and replacing it, the supplied text contains only an archive notice. Readers cannot find an explanation of how SDLT applies when the term or rent changes.
That distinction matters. An answer can seem to appear from a page title even when the page itself gives none.
What the official source says
HMRC marks the manual page as archived. Rather than setting out a rule for a new lease, the manual gives three limited points about Scotland.
- HMRC archives the page.
- Its content refers to Scottish land transactions.
- From April 2015, SDLT stopped applying there.
- Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applied instead.
What this means in practice
If the land is in Scotland, do not use this page to work out tax on your lease. No calculation, rate, or test appears on the page for ending and replacing a lease.
- Check the land’s location.
- Read the page as an archive notice only.
- Do not treat its title as a tax answer.
How to analyse it
Start with the basic facts. Since the page does not answer the real lease questions, review the documents and the location before considering any tax result.
- Confirm whether the land is in Scotland.
- Record when the old lease ends.
- Read the proposed new lease carefully.
- Check the new term and the new rent.
Example
Imagine that Maya finds this page after being offered a replacement lease with a longer term and higher rent. At first, its title appears relevant. However, the supplied text does not say whether stamp duty applies, or how to calculate any amount.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Archived material can mislead when search results show a detailed title. In this case, the page offers no substantive guidance to support its useful-looking title.
- No analysis of a longer term appears in the supplied text.
- No analysis of a rent increase appears in the supplied text.
- England and Northern Ireland are not covered by the page.
Key takeaways
- This page is an archive notice.
- Only a Scottish SDLT scope message is given by the page.
- A lease tax calculation question is not answered by the page.
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 supplied content does not explain the SDLT result when an existing lease ends and a new lease has a longer term or higher rent.
- The supplied content does not explain the current Scottish tax treatment of a 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 location of the land
- The date of the transaction
- The existing and proposed lease documents
- The rent, term and any payment for the new arrangement
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 This archived lease page does not answer your stamp duty question [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.] HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm18780 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 supplied content does not explain the SDLT result when an existing lease ends and a new lease has a longer term or higher rent. - The supplied content does not explain the current Scottish tax treatment of a 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: This archived lease page does not answer your stamp duty question
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