Guide to Amending Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Returns

Amending an LBTT Return After Submission

An LBTT return can usually be amended only within 12 months of the statutory filing date, not the date it was actually submitted. Most details can be corrected, but some issues need a different process, such as filing a new return, making a repayment claim, using the separate ADS repayment route, or asking Revenue Scotland to disregard the return.

• Amendments must normally be made within 12 months of the legal filing date; after that, amendment is not available.
• Most fields can be changed, but the “About the return” field cannot, so the return type cannot simply be switched later.
• If the return is still accessible online, it should usually be amended there; otherwise, changes must be requested in writing, usually by email, with full details of each correction.
• If an amendment increases the tax due, the extra tax must be paid and interest may run from the filing date; if it reduces the tax, a repayment may be due.
• A return may be disregarded only in limited cases, such as a non-notifiable transaction filed by mistake or a duplicate return, and supporting evidence is required.
• If the 12-month limit has passed, overpaid tax may still sometimes be claimed back within five years, while underpayments should be reported to Revenue Scotland.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

How to amend an LBTT return after it has been submitted

This page explains when and how a Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) return can be amended after submission. The key points are that amendments are normally only allowed within 12 months of the filing date, not every part of the return can be changed, and different routes apply depending on whether the return is still accessible online. This matters because an amendment can lead to more tax being due, a repayment being claimed, or in some cases a request for the original return to be disregarded altogether.

What this rule is about

Once an LBTT return has been filed, it is not fixed forever. Revenue Scotland allows corrections, but only within a statutory amendment window. The guidance is dealing with three separate situations:

• changing details in a return that was validly filed;
• asking Revenue Scotland to disregard a return that should not stand at all; and
• dealing with cases where the amendment window has expired.

The legal basis for the amendment time limit comes from sections 82 and 83 of the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014. The guidance also distinguishes between an amendment and a repayment claim, which are not always the same thing.

What the official source says

Revenue Scotland says an LBTT return may be amended within 12 months of the filing date. The filing date is not the date the return was actually submitted. It is the date by which the return had to be filed under the legislation. In a standard property purchase, that is 30 days beginning with the day after the effective date of the transaction, although different filing dates can apply to other land transactions.

After that 12-month period, an amendment is no longer available. If tax has been overpaid, a separate repayment claim may still be possible within five years of the filing date, subject to the rules on claims and Revenue Scotland’s power to refuse some claims. If tax has been underpaid and the amendment window has passed, the guidance says Revenue Scotland should be contacted.

The guidance also says:

• amendments are not accepted by phone;
• most fields can be amended, but the “About the return” field cannot;
• this means a return submitted as one type, such as a conveyance or transfer, cannot later be changed into a lease return, or the other way round;
• if that field needs to change, a new LBTT return must be made and Revenue Scotland must also be contacted;
• agents can no longer void a return themselves, but they can ask Revenue Scotland to disregard a return in limited cases.

The guidance identifies two situations where a disregard may be requested:

• the transaction was non-notifiable and a return was filed in error; or
• a duplicate return was submitted by mistake.

Requests for a return to be disregarded must be made in writing and must include the relevant supporting information or documents.

What this means in practice

The first question is whether what you need is really an amendment. If the return contains the wrong figures, dates, buyer details, property details, or tax calculation entries, that is usually an amendment issue. But if the wrong type of return was filed altogether, or the transaction should never have been notified, the correct route may be a new return plus contact with Revenue Scotland, or a disregard request.

If the return is still available in the online system, the normal route is to amend it there. If it was filed on paper, or if an online return can no longer be accessed, Revenue Scotland says the amendment should be requested by email, quoting the return reference and identifying each field to be changed, the current entry, and the replacement entry.

If the amendment increases the tax due, the extra tax must be paid under the normal payment rules. Interest will also run on the additional tax from the filing date until payment. The guidance makes clear that this interest should not be added into the amended “total tax due” figure on the return. Revenue Scotland deals with interest separately and issues an Interest Notice if interest is due.

If the amendment reduces the tax due, Revenue Scotland says it will repay the excess with repayment interest, subject to the applicable rules.

The guidance also warns that if the amended return contains an inaccuracy, the person on whose behalf it is made may be liable to a penalty.

There is also a specific carve-out for Additional Dwelling Supplement. If the only reason for changing the return is to claim repayment of ADS, Revenue Scotland says you should use the separate ADS repayment process rather than the general amendment route.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to approach the issue is to work through these questions in order:

• What exactly is wrong with the original return?
• Is the problem a factual error, a tax calculation issue, the wrong return type, or a return that should not have been filed at all?
• Has 12 months passed since the filing date?
• Is the return still accessible online, or must the change be requested by email?
• Will the amendment increase the tax, reduce it, or have no tax effect?
• Is this really an ADS repayment case, which has its own separate process?
• If the amendment cannot be made, is there instead a basis for a repayment claim or a disregard request?

When checking the time limit, focus on the statutory filing date, not the date the return happened to be submitted. That distinction matters. A return filed early does not get a longer amendment period. The 12 months runs from the filing date defined by law.

If the issue concerns the “About the return” field, do not assume this can simply be edited. Revenue Scotland’s guidance says it cannot. That is a sign to consider whether a fresh return is needed and whether Revenue Scotland must be contacted separately.

If you are asking Revenue Scotland to disregard a return, be ready to prove why. For a non-notifiable transaction, supporting documents are required. For a duplicate return, the duplicate reference must be identified clearly.

Example

A buyer files an LBTT return for a standard purchase. Later, the agent notices that the consideration figure was entered incorrectly, so the tax shown was too low. The filing date for the transaction has not yet passed by more than 12 months. In that case, the return can usually be amended. The extra LBTT must be paid, and interest will run from the filing date until the additional tax is paid.

By contrast, if the issue is discovered after the 12-month amendment period has ended, the return cannot simply be amended. Revenue Scotland’s guidance says they should still be contacted if tax has been underpaid.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The main difficulty is that several different correction mechanisms sit alongside each other, and they are easy to confuse.

One common source of confusion is the difference between:

• amending a return within 12 months;
• claiming repayment of overpaid tax within five years;
• requesting repayment of ADS under the separate ADS process; and
• asking for a return to be disregarded because it should not stand at all.

Another practical difficulty is identifying the filing date correctly. The guidance gives a standard purchase example, but it also says other filing dates can apply to other land transactions. That means the deadline may not always be obvious from the date of completion or the date of submission.

There is also a procedural complication where the wrong “About the return” category was used. The guidance says that field cannot be amended, but does not set out a full step-by-step process for every possible mismatch. In practice, that means the taxpayer or agent needs to recognise early that this is not a routine amendment.

Finally, the guidance notes a system error in the online process where a question asks “How are you paying” during an amendment journey. Revenue Scotland says this is an error in the system. Readers should not assume that wording changes the legal position.

Key takeaways

• An LBTT return can normally only be amended within 12 months of the statutory filing date.
• Most fields can be changed, but the “About the return” field cannot; if that is wrong, a new return and contact with Revenue Scotland may be needed.
• If tax goes up, extra tax and interest may be due; if tax goes down, a repayment may be available, and some cases require a repayment claim or disregard request rather than an amendment.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Guide to Amending Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Returns

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