Page Archived: Crofting Community Right to Buy Example Removed

Archived HMRC Example on Crofting Community Right to Buy and SDLT

This HMRC page is only an archived example about SDLT relief for a crofting community right to buy, and HMRC says it is no longer relevant. It should not be used as current guidance on whether relief applies, how the law works, or how an SDLT return should be completed.

• The page does not explain the current legal conditions, scope of the relief, or the operative SDLT rules.
• HMRC’s statement that the example is archived does not necessarily mean the relief no longer exists; it means the example itself is outdated.
• You should not rely on the old example to decide whether a transaction qualifies for relief or to interpret current law.
• The correct approach is to check the legislation in force on the transaction date and any current HMRC guidance.
• Archived tax material can be misleading because it may still appear official, even though it no longer reflects the current legal position.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

Crofting community right to buy: archived SDLT example

This page relates to an archived HMRC manual example about relief for a crofting community right to buy. The source itself states that the example is no longer relevant. That matters because it means the page should not be relied on as a current statement of how the relief applies.

What this rule is about

The underlying topic is SDLT relief connected with a crofting community right to buy. In broad terms, this area concerns special rules for certain land transactions involving crofting communities. Relief provisions of this kind are designed to alter the normal SDLT result where a transaction falls within a specific statutory framework.

However, the source provided here does not set out the legal conditions, the scope of the relief, or the operative tax rules. It only identifies an example page and says that the example has been archived and is no longer relevant.

What the official source says

The official source says only this: the page is archived, and the example is no longer relevant.

That is not the same as saying the underlying relief has ceased to exist. It means the example itself should not be used as current guidance.

What this means in practice

If you were looking at this page to understand whether SDLT relief applies to a crofting community acquisition, this page does not answer that question.

In practice, the main consequence is that you should not use the archived example to:

• work out whether a transaction qualifies for relief,
• interpret the current statutory conditions,
• assume HMRC still applies the same reasoning shown in the old example, or
• draw conclusions about how a present-day return should be completed.

Archived examples can become irrelevant for several reasons. The law may have changed. Related legislation may have been amended or repealed. HMRC’s manuals may have been reorganised. Or the example may simply no longer reflect the current legislative framework.

How to analyse it

Where an official manual page says an example is archived and no longer relevant, a sensible approach is:

• Identify the actual statutory relief you are dealing with, rather than relying on the old example.
• Check the current legislation governing crofting community right to buy transactions.
• Check whether there is a current HMRC manual page explaining the relief and its conditions.
• Ask whether the transaction facts match the current legal requirements, not the facts of an outdated example.
• Be careful to distinguish between an example in guidance and the legislation itself. An example illustrates HMRC’s view at a point in time; it does not replace the statutory test.

If you are reviewing an older transaction, the position may be different. An archived example may still have historical interest if it reflects the law and HMRC practice in force at the relevant time. Even then, the key question remains what the legislation said at the effective date of the transaction.

Example

Illustration: a reader finds this archived page while researching SDLT on a proposed land acquisition by a crofting community body. The page does not provide a usable example or current rule. The reader should not assume the transaction qualifies or fails by analogy with the old material. Instead, the correct approach is to locate the current legislation and any current HMRC guidance that applies on the transaction date.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Archived tax material can be misleading because it still appears in search results and may look official. Readers may assume that, because it comes from HMRC, it remains current. That assumption is unsafe where the page expressly says the example is no longer relevant.

This is especially important in SDLT, where reliefs are often tightly defined and fact-sensitive. Small changes in legislation or in the structure of the transaction can change the tax result. An outdated example may therefore be worse than no example at all if it encourages the wrong comparison.

Key takeaways

• This HMRC page does not give current substantive guidance; it only says the example is archived and no longer relevant.
• You should not rely on the archived example to determine current SDLT treatment.
• The correct starting point is the legislation in force for the transaction date, supported by any current official guidance.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Page Archived: Crofting Community Right to Buy Example Removed

View all HMRC SDLT Guidance Pages Here