What HMRC’s accepted SDLT payment deferral must say
Accepted SDLT deferral notices
When HMRC accepts a request to defer tax on a later uncertain payment, its notice should explain what is due now and what happens later.
- The arrangement covers only qualifying uncertain or conditional payments.
- Known amounts are not postponed.
- Relevant facts must be complete and remain accurate.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
What HMRC’s accepted SDLT payment deferral must say
HMRC can accept a request to delay part of your stamp duty land tax payment if a later amount is unknown or conditional. Acceptance is not a blank cheque. HMRC should use its notice to tell you what to pay now, which later events matter, and how it will work out tax then.
What this rule is about
Some property deals include an extra payment that depends on later events. For example, planning permission may entitle a seller to receive more.
The law allows an application where that uncertainty affects tax. At least one future payment date must be, or may be, more than six months after the transaction’s effective date, whether the payment depends on later events or remains uncertain when you apply. That is the timing test.
This is a narrow route. It does not delay tax on money already paid. You cannot defer tax that you can calculate when you apply.
What the official source says
HMRC’s manual says that, if it approves an application, HMRC must send a notice setting out the terms of acceptance. The manual is HMRC guidance, not law. Still, the notice matters because it records how the accepted arrangement is meant to work when later events occur, payments fall due, or relevant facts change. Keep it.
- The notice should set out the terms of acceptance.
- It should state the tax due with the first SDLT return.
- It should identify the dates of relevant later events.
- It should explain how tax will be calculated on those dates.
- False information means the accepted application has no effect.
- Leaving out relevant facts has the same result.
- The application stops having effect if relevant facts later change.
What this means in practice
Read the acceptance notice as carefully as the property contract, especially where it separates tax due now, later event dates, and the method for calculating tax when those events occur. The notice should distinguish tax due now from tax tied to the later event. Acceptance does not postpone all SDLT.
A later payment may remain uncertain while another part of the price is fixed. You must pay the fixed part under the normal rules.
- Keep the acceptance notice with your SDLT papers.
- Pay the amount the notice says is due with the first return.
- Diary each event date in the notice.
- Keep documents showing what happens at each later event.
- Tell HMRC about a change in relevant facts rather than assuming the arrangement continues.
How to analyse it
Start with the deal, not the label used in the contract. Ask what extra amount might become payable. Ask why it might change and when it could be paid. Then compare those facts with the acceptance notice.
- Identify every part of the amount you pay for the property.
- Check whether a later amount depends on an uncertain future event.
- Check whether its value is uncertain because of future events.
- Work out whether a possible payment date is more than six months later.
- Separate known amounts from amounts that are genuinely uncertain.
- Read the notice for the tax due now and the events it covers.
- Check whether any fact given to HMRC has changed.
Example
Amir buys a site for £400,000, plus £100,000 if planning permission is granted. The possible extra payment may fall due ten months later.
Amir may apply to defer the tax linked to that uncertain amount. If HMRC accepts, its notice should state the tax due with his first SDLT return and how the planning decision will be dealt with later.
Suppose Amir had already agreed a new arrangement before applying, so that the extra payment became fixed under the revised terms rather than remaining dependent on the later event. That matters. That fact could be relevant to the application. He should not present the payment as uncertain.
Why this can be difficult in practice
In practice, you often need to determine what the real agreement says after reading the contract as a whole.
A payment can look conditional in one clause but be fixed elsewhere in the contract. Dates can also move. That may matter if it changes a fact that was relevant to HMRC’s decision.
- A contract heading does not settle whether a payment is uncertain.
- A payment expected later may still be capable of being worked out now.
- The manual does not define every “relevant event”.
- An acceptance notice may contain terms specific to your deal.
- Changes to the agreement can affect whether the acceptance still works.
Key takeaways
- An accepted deferral notice should say what tax is due now.
- It should also identify later events and the tax calculation method.
- False, missing, or changed relevant facts can end the arrangement.
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 51 — when a payment amount is contingent or uncertain
- FA 2003 section 90 — applying to defer tax on later uncertain payments
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 manual calls for dates of ‘relevant events’ but does not define that expression.
- The detailed regulations governing acceptance terms have not been supplied, so they should be checked before relying on a particular notice.
- The transaction date is not known. The supplied statutory text is current only to 17 November 2025.
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 contract and any side agreement setting out later payments
- A clear timeline for each possible payment and event
- The application sent to HMRC and supporting information
- HMRC’s notice accepting the application and its terms
- Records showing whether relevant facts later changed
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 What HMRC’s accepted SDLT payment deferral must say [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 51 - when a payment amount is contingent or uncertain https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/51/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 90 - applying to defer tax on later uncertain payments https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/90/2025-11-17 HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm50940 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 manual calls for dates of 'relevant events' but does not define that expression. - The detailed regulations governing acceptance terms have not been supplied, so they should be checked before relying on a particular notice. - The transaction date is not known. The supplied statutory text is current only to 17 November 2025. 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: What HMRC’s accepted SDLT payment deferral must say
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