Guide to Completing ‘About the Seller’ Section in LBTT Online Return

Completing the seller details section of an LBTT return

When filling in the “About the seller” section of an online LBTT return, you must first choose the correct seller type because the form asks for different details for individuals, Companies House registered companies, and other organisations. Getting the category right helps ensure the return is complete, accurate, and easier for Revenue Scotland to process.

• You can add one or more sellers using the “add a seller” button, and each seller must be entered separately.
• For a private individual, enter their first name, last name, and address; title is optional.
• For a company registered with Companies House, enter the company number and the system will usually fill in the company name and address, which should still be checked and edited if needed.
• Use “another organisation” for bodies such as partnerships, trusts, charities, clubs, unregistered companies, and similar entities; you may also need to state the organisation type, charity number, name, address, and the country of governing law or registration.
• If the seller has an overseas address, do not put a non-UK postcode in the postcode box; use manual address entry and put the international postcode in the address lines instead.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

How to complete the seller details section of an LBTT return

This page explains what information Revenue Scotland asks for in the “About the seller” section of an online LBTT return. The main point is that the details you must enter depend on what kind of seller is involved. Getting that choice right matters because the system asks for different information for an individual, a Companies House registered company, and other kinds of organisation.

What this rule is about

When an LBTT return is completed, the return must identify the seller. Revenue Scotland’s online form does this by asking first what type of seller you are dealing with. The form then tailors the questions to that choice.

This is mainly an administrative requirement, but it matters in practice. If the seller is entered under the wrong category, the return may be incomplete, inconsistent with the transaction documents, or harder to process.

What the official source says

The online return allows you to add a seller by using the “add a seller” button in the “About the seller” section. You can add more than one seller if needed.

You must then choose the seller type most relevant to that seller. The source distinguishes between three broad categories:

• Private individual
• Organisation registered with Companies House
• Another organisation

For these purposes, “another organisation” includes a partnership, trust, charity, club, other body, and a company that is not registered with Companies House.

If the seller is a private individual, the form asks for:

• Title
• First name
• Last name
• Address

All of those fields are mandatory except title.

If the seller is an organisation registered with Companies House, you enter the registered company number. The system then populates the company name and address, although those details can be edited if necessary.

If the seller is another organisation, you must first choose the type of organisation. If “other” is selected, the form asks you to explain what type of organisation it is. If “charity” is selected, the form asks for the charity number. You must then provide:

• The organisation’s name
• The organisation’s address
• The country whose law governs the organisation, meaning where the organisation is registered

The source also explains how to deal with international postcodes. They should not be entered in the postcode box. Instead, you should choose the option to enter the address manually and then place the international postcode in the building and street text boxes.

What this means in practice

The practical task is to match the seller to the correct legal or organisational category before you start entering details.

If the seller is a person selling in their own name, the “private individual” route is normally the correct one. If the seller is a UK company registered at Companies House, the company number is the key identifier and will usually save time because the form can pull through the registered details automatically.

If the seller is not a Companies House registered company, you should not force it into that category. The “another organisation” option is intended to capture bodies such as partnerships, trusts, charities and unregistered companies. In those cases, the form needs enough information to identify the seller properly, including the governing law or place of registration.

Where there is more than one seller, each seller should be added separately using the add button.

The point about international postcodes is purely about how the online system works. The source is saying that the postcode field is not designed for non-UK formats, so using manual address entry avoids validation errors.

How to analyse it

A sensible way to complete this section is to work through these questions:

• How many sellers are there?
• Is each seller an individual or some form of organisation?
• If it is an organisation, is it registered with Companies House?
• If not, what kind of organisation is it: for example a partnership, trust, charity, club or other body?
• If it is a charity, do you have the charity number?
• What is the seller’s correct address?
• If the address is outside the UK, have you used manual address entry rather than the postcode box?
• If the seller is an organisation, what country’s law governs it or where is it registered?

It is also worth checking that the seller details entered on the return match the transaction documents as closely as possible. The source does not set out a separate legal test for this, but in practice consistency helps avoid confusion.

Example

Illustration: A Scottish property is being sold by two joint owners. One is an individual and the other is a charitable trust. In the LBTT return, you would add two sellers. For the individual, you would enter the person’s name and address under the private individual category. For the trust, you would use the “another organisation” route, select the appropriate organisation type, provide the trust’s name and address, and enter any additional information the form asks for, such as the charity number if the trust is entered as a charity.

Illustration: A seller is an overseas organisation with a non-UK postcode. The source indicates that you should not put that postcode into the postcode field. Instead, enter the address manually and place the international postcode in the building and street fields.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The main difficulty is classification. Some sellers do not fit neatly into an everyday label, especially where trusts, partnerships, overseas entities, clubs, or unregistered bodies are involved. The source gives the form categories, but it does not provide a full legal analysis of every possible entity type.

Another practical issue is that a Companies House record may populate automatically but still need checking. The source says the populated company name and address can be edited if necessary, which suggests users should not assume the pre-filled details always reflect what needs to appear on the return without review.

International addresses can also cause avoidable problems if the postcode is entered in the wrong field. This is not a legal issue, but it can stop the form from working properly.

Key takeaways

• The seller information required depends on whether the seller is an individual, a Companies House registered company, or another kind of organisation.
• If there is more than one seller, each seller should be added separately in the online return.
• For international addresses, use manual address entry and do not put a non-UK postcode in the postcode box.

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 ‘About the Seller’ Section in LBTT Online Return

View all LBTT Guidance Pages Here