Guide to Completing the ‘About the Transaction’ Section of LBTT Return

Completing the ‘About the transaction’ section of an LBTT return

This section of an LBTT return asks for key facts about the property deal, including the property type, important dates, linked transactions, business sale details and the amount of chargeable consideration. These answers are important because they can affect how the transaction is treated for LBTT and how much tax is due.

• You must enter the property type, effective date, relevant date, and the contract date or conclusion of missives; for a conditional but binding contract, the original signing date will usually still be the contract date.
• The return asks about linked transactions, option agreements, exchanges or part exchanges, and related transactions elsewhere in the UK, as these may affect how consideration is grouped and taxed.
• If the property is sold as part of a business sale, you must identify non-land items such as goodwill, moveables, stock and other assets, as these may be non-chargeable for LBTT.
• If any part of the price depends on a future event, such as planning permission, this must be disclosed; if payment on a deferred basis has been approved, the deferral reference must be entered.
• The conveyance figures should clearly separate total consideration, VAT, non-chargeable consideration and the remaining chargeable consideration, because these figures feed into the LBTT calculation.
• Care is needed where dates are unclear, contracts are conditional, transactions may be linked, or the price must be allocated between land and other assets, as mistakes can affect both filing and tax.

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How to complete the ‘About the transaction’ section of an LBTT return

This page explains what Revenue Scotland is asking for in the ‘About the transaction’ part of an online LBTT return, and why those questions matter. Although the official guidance is framed as form-filling help, the answers can affect how the transaction is treated for LBTT, including the relevant dates, whether transactions are linked, and how much consideration is chargeable.

What this rule is about

The ‘About the transaction’ section is where you identify the basic legal and commercial features of the land transaction. This includes the property type, the key dates, whether the deal is linked to other transactions, whether there is an exchange element, whether it forms part of a business sale, and whether any of the price depends on future events.

These are not just administrative questions. They help determine how the transaction should be analysed for LBTT purposes and what figures feed into the tax calculation.

What the official source says

The official guidance says that, in the online return, you add the transaction details using the ‘add’ button in the ‘About the transaction’ section.

You are then asked to provide:

• the property type for the transaction
• the effective date of the transaction
• the relevant date
• the date of contract or conclusion of missives, or if that is unavailable, the effective date

The guidance also deals specifically with conditional contracts. It says that if the contract is conditional, meaning it is subject to suspensive conditions, the contract date will usually still be the date the conditional contract was entered into or signed. The reason given is that a binding contract has been entered into at that point. Revenue Scotland adds that if it believes this rule has been abused, it may contact the relevant parties to check whether the return should be amended and whether additional tax is due.

The return then asks whether:

• the transaction is linked to a previous option agreement
• the transaction includes any element of exchange or part exchange
• the transaction is part of a number of other transactions elsewhere in the UK but outside Scotland
• there are any linked transactions

If there are linked transactions, further fields appear for the return reference, if known, and the return consideration for each linked transaction. Additional rows can be added if there is more than one linked transaction.

The return also asks whether the transaction is part of the sale of a business. If the answer is yes, you are asked whether the sale includes goodwill, moveables, other items, or stock.

It then asks whether any part of the consideration depends on future events, such as planning permission. The guidance points to separate material on contingent, uncertain and unascertained consideration. If the answer is yes, the return asks whether an application has been made to pay on a deferred basis. If so, you must enter the Revenue Scotland deferral reference.

In the ‘About the conveyance’ part, you are asked to enter:

• total consideration
• VAT amount included in the consideration
• non-chargeable consideration
• total consideration remaining, being the chargeable consideration after deducting any non-chargeable amount

The guidance says these figures are then carried into the ‘About the calculation’ section, which can be edited if necessary.

What this means in practice

The practical point is that the return is gathering the facts needed to decide how LBTT applies. A wrong answer can affect the tax calculation, the filing position, or both.

The dates matter because LBTT often turns on when the transaction becomes effective and what date is treated as the contract date. In missives-based Scottish conveyancing, the date of conclusion of missives can be important. The guidance makes clear that a conditional contract does not automatically mean there is no contract date until the condition is satisfied. If the contract is already binding, the original signing date will usually still be the relevant contract date for this part of the return.

The linked transaction questions matter because linked transactions can affect the way consideration is aggregated. The official page does not restate the legal test, but it points users to separate guidance on linked transactions. In practice, if several land transactions are sufficiently connected under the legislation, they may need to be treated together rather than in isolation.

The question about transactions elsewhere in the UK but outside Scotland matters because the overall arrangement may extend beyond Scotland. That may be relevant when analysing the wider transaction pattern, especially where linked transaction rules are in point.

The exchange or part-exchange question matters because not all consideration is cash. If property, rights or other value is given as part of the bargain, that can affect the consideration analysis.

The sale of a business question matters because a business sale may include items that are not all chargeable in the same way. The guidance specifically flags goodwill, moveables, stock and other items. This is relevant because the return requires you to identify any non-chargeable consideration, so the land element is not confused with other assets sold as part of the same deal.

The future events question matters because some consideration is contingent, uncertain or not yet fully ascertainable when the return is filed. The guidance recognises that payment may in some cases be made on a deferred basis, but only where an application has been made and a deferral reference exists.

The figures in the ‘About the conveyance’ section matter because they feed directly into the tax calculation. If total consideration includes VAT, non-land assets or other amounts that are not chargeable, those amounts need to be identified properly so that the chargeable consideration is not overstated or understated.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to work through this section is to ask the following questions.

• What exactly is being acquired, and what is the correct property type?
• What is the effective date of the transaction?
• What is the relevant date for LBTT purposes?
• When were the missives concluded, or when was the contract entered into?
• If the contract was conditional, was it still legally binding when signed?
• Is there an option agreement connected with this transaction?
• Is any part of the bargain an exchange or part exchange rather than cash only?
• Are there other transactions that may be linked, whether in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK?
• Is the land being sold as part of a wider business sale?
• If so, what part of the overall price relates to goodwill, moveables, stock or other non-land items?
• Does any part of the price depend on a future event or remain uncertain at the filing date?
• Has a deferral application been made, and if so, what is the deferral reference?
• Of the total consideration, what amount is actually chargeable to LBTT?

When entering the figures, it is important to separate the total amount paid under the deal from the amount on which LBTT is chargeable. The return is designed to let you show the full consideration, identify VAT included in it, identify any non-chargeable element, and then arrive at the chargeable balance.

Example

A company buys a Scottish property as part of the purchase of a trading business. The overall deal includes the land, stock, moveable equipment and goodwill. Part of the price for the land will only become payable if planning permission is later obtained.

In the LBTT return, the buyer would need to identify that the transaction is part of the sale of a business and indicate which non-land elements are included. It would also need to answer yes to the question about consideration depending on a future event. In the consideration figures, it would need to distinguish between the total amount payable under the whole deal and the amount that is actually chargeable for LBTT purposes, taking account of any non-chargeable elements.

If there were related land transactions that were linked, those would also need to be disclosed in the linked transactions fields.

Why this can be difficult in practice

Several parts of this section are fact-sensitive.

First, dates can be difficult where there is a sequence of missives, variations, conditions or staged completion arrangements. The guidance gives a general rule for conditional contracts, but whether a contract is already binding can depend on the legal effect of the conditions and the drafting.

Second, linked transactions are often not obvious from the face of a single contract. A transaction may appear standalone but still be linked with another transaction involving the same or connected parties, or as part of a wider arrangement. The official page points to separate guidance because this is a substantive legal question, not just a data-entry point.

Third, in a business sale, allocating consideration between land and non-land assets can be contentious. The return requires a non-chargeable consideration figure, but the correct amount may depend on the actual terms of the deal and the underlying asset allocation.

Fourth, contingent or deferred consideration can be difficult because the amount may not be fixed when the return is filed. The official page does not set out the full legal treatment, only that separate guidance exists and that a deferral reference is needed if payment on a deferred basis has been approved.

Finally, the return allows the figures to flow through into the calculation section and then be edited. That is helpful administratively, but it does not remove the need to get the underlying legal analysis right.

Key takeaways

• The ‘About the transaction’ section is not just formality; it captures facts that can affect the LBTT treatment.
• Conditional contracts, linked transactions, business sales and future-dependent consideration all need careful analysis before the return is completed.
• The consideration figures should distinguish between the total deal value and the amount that is actually chargeable to LBTT.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Guide to Completing the ‘About the Transaction’ Section of LBTT Return

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