Archived lease variation page: no SDLT example is shown
In short
The supplied HMRC page is an archive notice, not a worked lease variation example.
- It contains no facts or calculation for a lease extension.
- It says Scottish land transactions moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- More evidence is needed to assess any lease change.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Archived lease variation page: no SDLT example is shown
Despite its title, this HMRC page contains no promised lease example and carries only an archive notice. The page cannot tell you whether changing or extending your lease affects stamp duty.
What this rule is about
The title concerns a minute of extension and variation, which usually means a document that changes a lease. However, the supplied page provides no facts, calculation or answer about that kind of document.
That gap matters. A change to a lease may need a separate legal review. This page cannot provide one.
What the official source says
HMRC’s manual says that the page is archived. The manual also says that, from April 2015, SDLT no longer applied to land transactions in Scotland, where Land and Buildings Transaction Tax applied instead. LBTT applied there instead.
- The notice concerns Scotland.
- It gives April 2015 as the change point.
- It contains no Example 1 text.
What this means in practice
If your lease concerns land in England or Northern Ireland, this notice does not answer your SDLT question. If it concerns Scotland, do not use an SDLT manual page as your answer.
- Check where the property is.
- Check when the lease change took effect.
- Find the actual wording of the lease change.
How to analyse it
Start with the document, not its label. A document described as a minute of variation may make a small change to one term, or it may alter several important lease terms with much wider consequences. The missing example gives no way to draw that line.
- Read the original lease.
- Compare every changed term.
- Record any money paid under the change.
- Identify the land jurisdiction and date.
Example
Sam finds this page after agreeing to extend a shop lease. The page shows only the archive notice. Sam cannot use it to work out a tax result, because it gives no lease term, payment, location or details of the change.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Although the title may suggest that an example is available, the archived page provides no example, calculation or explanation that could supply one. No example is available. Nor does the notice explain the rules for England or Northern Ireland, even though SDLT applies there and readers might therefore expect relevant guidance. The notice does not provide that guidance.
- An archived page may no longer show its former content.
- A lease document’s name may hide what it really changes.
Key takeaways
- This source has no usable lease example.
- It says Scotland moved from SDLT to LBTT from April 2015.
- Use the lease documents and correct tax jurisdiction instead.
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 missing example may have appeared in an earlier version of the HMRC manual, but it is not in the supplied source.
- The source does not say whether the lease or variation in question concerns England, Northern Ireland or Scotland.
- The legal effect of a lease variation cannot be worked out from this archived notice alone.
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 full lease and the document changing it
- The date the variation took effect
- The country where the land is located
- Any earlier version of the missing HMRC example
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 lease variation page: no SDLT example is shown [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/sdltm19035 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 missing example may have appeared in an earlier version of the HMRC manual, but it is not in the supplied source. - The source does not say whether the lease or variation in question concerns England, Northern Ireland or Scotland. - The legal effect of a lease variation cannot be worked out from this archived notice alone. 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 lease variation page: no SDLT example is shown
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