Linked transactions on SDLT1: what question 13 means
Linked purchases on SDLT1
Question 13 matters where property purchases form one overall arrangement. The total paid across linked purchases can affect the SDLT calculation.
- Connected people can be involved in linked purchases.
- Separate contracts do not always prevent a link.
- HMRC’s worked figures are historic and should not be used for a current calculation.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Linked transactions on SDLT1: what question 13 means
If you buy more than one piece of land or property as part of one deal, question 13 on the SDLT1 form may matter. It asks about linked transactions. A wrong answer can make the stamp duty calculation use the wrong total.
What this rule is about
People often assume that separate contracts mean separate stamp duty calculations. That is not always right. Buyers can create linked purchases even when different people buy different parts.
The key question is whether the purchases form one overall plan, arrangement or series, and whether the parties negotiated, agreed or structured them as parts of that wider deal rather than as unrelated purchases. That matters. If the purchases do form one arrangement, the amounts paid across them can change the tax payable on each one.
That distinction sounds technical. It can make a real difference.
What the official source says
HMRC’s manual instructs taxpayers to mark question 13 “yes” when a wider arrangement links transactions, including purchases that may initially appear separate. That is the instruction. HMRC explains that transactions may form links when they belong to one scheme, arrangement or series involving the same buyer and seller, or people connected with them.
- Marriage connects a husband and wife.
- A sibling relationship connects a person with their brother or sister.
- A family relationship connects a person with their parent, grandparent, child or grandchild.
- Control of a company connects a person with that company.
- The same person’s control can connect two companies.
For linked purchases, HMRC tells taxpayers to add together the amounts paid for all the linked purchases, other than rent, before they calculate the SDLT due. HMRC then uses that total in the SDLT calculation. The legislation sets out the linked-transaction rule and the method for calculating tax when purchases form links.
HMRC’s manual gives guidance, not the law. The legislation contains the legal test. Still, the manual shows how HMRC expects taxpayers to complete question 13.
What this means in practice
Do not look only at the form of each purchase. Look at the whole deal. Parties may put a house, garden, garage, field or neighbouring plot into separate paperwork while still agreeing one bargain for all of them. Paperwork alone does not decide it.
- Tell your conveyancer about every related purchase.
- Check whether the same seller sells in each purchase.
- Check whether family members or connected companies are buying parts of the deal.
- Compare the dates, contracts and negotiations.
- Work out the total paid across all related purchases before finalising the return.
People often miss this point because they assume that different names on the transfer documents prevent a link automatically. They do not. A connection between the people involved may be enough.
How to analyse it
Start with the commercial reality. Ask whether the parties agreed the purchases as one overall deal, taking account of their negotiations, dependencies and commercial purpose, instead of asking only whether they used one contract. One contract is not decisive.
- List every property interest being bought as part of the wider deal.
- Identify each buyer and seller.
- Check whether the people or companies are connected.
- Read the contracts, emails and agreed heads of terms.
- Ask whether one purchase depended on, or was negotiated with, another.
- Add the amounts paid for the linked purchases, excluding rent for this purpose.
- Use the SDLT rules and rates that applied on the relevant transaction date.
- Complete question 13 consistently on each relevant SDLT1 return.
What actually decides the point? The evidence of the arrangement. Separate completion dates or separate titles may matter, but neither one decides the issue by itself.
Example
HMRC gives an older illustration involving Jack and Jill. Jack buys a house for £240,000. His wife, Jill, buys its garden from the same seller for £20,000. HMRC treats this as one bargain involving connected people, so both returns show £260,000 for linked purchases.
In that historic example, HMRC applied a 3% rate to the £260,000 total. HMRC shows Jack’s share of the tax as £7,200 and Jill’s as £600. The returns were also late, so the example added a £100 fixed penalty to each amount.
Do not use those figures for a new purchase. They reflect the tax system and form guidance at the time of HMRC’s example, not necessarily the rules now in force.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Linked transactions often sit in the background of a deal. The parties may describe the sale as two purchases for practical reasons, such as separate titles or separate buyers. That description does not answer whether they made one arrangement.
- Separate contracts do not always mean separate deals.
- Family members buying different parts can create a connection.
- Company ownership and control can be important.
- A side agreement may show that the purchases were conditional on each other.
- The historic tax rate in HMRC’s example is not a current rate guide.
- Rent needs separate consideration under the SDLT lease rules.
There is also a form point. The manual tells taxpayers to put the combined figure in question 13, part 2. The individual price for that return remains relevant elsewhere on the form. Do not replace one figure with the other.
Key takeaways
- Question 13 asks whether your purchase is linked to another purchase.
- Connected family members and companies can make linked treatment possible.
- Check the whole arrangement, not just each contract in isolation.
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 55 — calculating SDLT for linked property purchases
- FA 2003 section 108 — when property transactions are linked
- an Act of 2010 we do not have an identifier for section 112 — rules for deciding whether people are connected (no link: an Act of 2010 we do not have an identifier for)
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
- Whether separate purchases form one scheme, arrangement or series depends on the full facts and documents.
- The supplied manual page does not explain every connection rule or every current SDLT1 completion requirement.
- The correct SDLT result depends on the effective date and the rates and rules in force then.
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.
- All contracts, transfer documents and any side agreements
- Details of every buyer, seller and company involved
- The price or other value given for each part of the deal
- Emails, sales particulars and negotiations showing whether there was one bargain
- The completion and effective dates for every linked purchase
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 Linked transactions on SDLT1: what question 13 means [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 55 - calculating SDLT for linked property purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/55/2025-11-17 - FA 2003 section 108 - when property transactions are linked https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/14/section/108/2025-11-17 - an Act of 2010 we do not have an identifier for section 112 - rules for deciding whether people are connected HMRC's guidance page on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm62085 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 - Whether separate purchases form one scheme, arrangement or series depends on the full facts and documents. - The supplied manual page does not explain every connection rule or every current SDLT1 completion requirement. - The correct SDLT result depends on the effective date and the rates and rules in force then. 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: Linked transactions on SDLT1: what question 13 means
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