Guidance on Completing SDLT Forms; Scottish Details Archived

Archived SDLT1 Guidance on Scottish Local Authority Numbers

This HMRC material is an old, archived note about question 29 on the SDLT1 form and Scottish local authority numbers. It is not current guidance, and the source itself says the Scottish details are no longer relevant, so it should only be treated as historical background.

• The page relates to an old form-filling point for SDLT1, specifically question 29 and Scottish local authority numbers.
• HMRC expressly states that the page has been archived and that the Scottish details are no longer relevant.
• It should not be relied on for current Scottish property transactions or current return completion.
• Older HMRC pages can still look official, so it is important to check whether the guidance is current before using it.
• For a live transaction, you should check the current tax regime and the up-to-date filing rules and forms that apply.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

Question 29 on SDLT1: Scottish local authority numbers

This page concerns an old administrative point about how to complete question 29 on the SDLT1 return where Scottish property was involved. The official source makes clear that the page has been archived and that the Scottish details are no longer relevant. In practice, that means it should not be relied on as current guidance for Scottish transactions.

What this rule is about

The source relates to form-filling for Stamp Duty Land Tax returns, specifically question 29 on form SDLT1. It appears to have dealt with Scottish local authority numbers used when notifying a land transaction. This was part of HMRC’s processing guidance for completing SDLT forms.

The important point now is not the detail of the numbering system, but the status of the guidance. The page has been archived, and the source expressly says the Scottish details are no longer relevant.

What the official source says

The source title identifies the topic as further guidance for completing forms SDLT1, SDLT3 and SDLT4, with specific reference to question 29 on SDLT1 and Scottish local authority numbers.

However, the substantive message on the page is very short: it states that the page is archived and that the Scottish details are no longer relevant.

What this means in practice

If you are dealing with a current transaction, this archived page does not provide operative guidance for Scottish property details on an SDLT return.

That matters because Scottish land transactions are no longer dealt with under SDLT in the same way as transactions in England and Northern Ireland. A reader should therefore be cautious about using older HMRC SDLT form guidance for Scottish transactions, especially where the source itself says the Scottish content is no longer relevant.

In practical terms:

• do not rely on this page for current completion of SDLT forms for Scottish property matters;
• treat it as historical material only;
• check the current tax regime and current return requirements that apply to the transaction in question.

How to analyse it

If you come across archived SDLT guidance referring to Scotland, the sensible approach is to ask:

• Is this page current, or has it been archived?
• Does the source itself say the Scottish content is no longer relevant?
• Is the transaction actually within SDLT, or does another land transaction tax regime apply?
• Is the point about substantive tax liability, or only about old form-completion mechanics?

These questions matter because old administrative guidance can survive online long after the underlying process has changed.

Example

Illustration: a conveyancer finds an HMRC manual page about question 29 on SDLT1 and Scottish local authority numbers while checking how to complete a return for a Scottish property transaction. Because the page is archived and says the Scottish details are no longer relevant, it should not be used as current filing guidance. The conveyancer should instead identify the current regime and current official forms or online filing requirements that apply.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Older HMRC manual pages can look authoritative even when they no longer reflect the current position. That is especially true where the page title is specific and technical, as it may appear to answer a narrow filing question. Here, though, the source gives almost no substantive content beyond the warning that the page is archived and outdated for Scottish details.

The difficulty is therefore not interpreting a complex legal rule. It is recognising that this is historical administrative material and should not be treated as live guidance.

Key takeaways

• This source is an archived HMRC page about question 29 on SDLT1 and Scottish local authority numbers.
• The page itself says the Scottish details are no longer relevant.
• It should be treated as historical only, not as current guidance for Scottish land transaction reporting.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Guidance on Completing SDLT Forms; Scottish Details Archived

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