LTT return declarations where the Official Solicitor acts
Official Solicitor declarations
A disabled buyer represented by the Official Solicitor can meet the LTT return declaration requirement through the Official Solicitor’s confirmation.
- The Official Solicitor must act for the buyer.
- An agent confirms only the relevant date when acting for the Official Solicitor.
- A written power of attorney is required for the separate authorised-person route.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT return declarations where the Official Solicitor acts
When the Official Solicitor acts for a disabled buyer, they can make the declaration on a Welsh land transaction tax return. This means the return can go ahead without the buyer signing it in person. It does not remove the buyer’s responsibility for Land Transaction Tax in Wales, known as LTT.
What this rule is about
An LTT return normally needs a statement that the information is correct and complete, to the best of the buyer’s knowledge. This checks the information sent with the return.
Some buyers cannot make that statement themselves. Under section 54, the Official Solicitor to the Senior Courts may act for a buyer who is disabled under the Equality Act 2010.
This rule has a narrow purpose. It says who can make the declaration. It is not a tax relief or an exemption.
What the official source says
The Welsh Revenue Authority’s technical guidance says that the Official Solicitor may make the required statement for a disabled buyer they act for. In the statement, the Official Solicitor must say that the return is correct and complete, to the best of their knowledge.
- For this rule to apply, the buyer must meet the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability.
- The Official Solicitor must act for the buyer.
- The Official Solicitor must make a statement for the return. It must say that the return is correct and complete, to the best of their knowledge.
- This statement meets the usual need for the buyer’s declaration.
Different rules apply when an agent acts for the Official Solicitor. In this case, the Official Solicitor confirms all return details except the relevant date. The agent confirms that date is correct to the best of the agent’s knowledge.
The responsibilities are split.
- For most of the return, the Official Solicitor gives the statement.
- The agent confirms only the relevant date.
- Which date is relevant depends on the type of return involved.
What this means in practice
Do not assume that an agent can sign every part of the return for the Official Solicitor. Each statement has its own role. That split matters.
Even if someone else makes the statement, the buyer is still responsible under tax law. The Official Solicitor’s signature does not pass that responsibility from the buyer to anyone else.
- Before you prepare the return, check who formally acts for the buyer.
- When an agent is involved, ensure that the Official Solicitor covers all return details in their statement apart from the relevant date.
- Make sure the agent gives a separate statement for the relevant date.
- Keep documents that show why that person may act.
How to analyse it
Start by checking the role of the person who will make the statement. Do not decide this just by asking who helped with the property purchase.
- Does the buyer meet the Equality Act definition of a disabled person?
- Is the Official Solicitor acting for that buyer?
- Will the Official Solicitor make the full declaration themselves?
- If an agent is involved, what will the Official Solicitor confirm?
- Has the agent confirmed the relevant date separately?
- Would a written power of attorney be the route being used instead?
Individual buyers also have a general rule. Someone may make the statement for them if the buyer has signed a written power of attorney that allows that person to act. This is a separate rule from the Official Solicitor rule.
Example
Ruth is buying a home in Wales and the Official Solicitor acts for her. The Official Solicitor completes the LTT return and says it is correct and complete to the best of their knowledge. This meets the declaration requirement in section 54.
Now change one fact. An agent prepares the return for the Official Solicitor. The Official Solicitor must confirm all return details except the relevant date. The agent confirms that date. The agent does not replace the Official Solicitor’s wider statement.
Why this can be difficult in practice
People often confuse the power to help with a purchase with the power to make an LTT declaration. Those powers are not always the same.
Where an agent acts, the wording splits the work in a practical way. If a statement is missing, or the wording is wrong, the return may not be able to use the statutory route claimed for it under the rules.
This can matter.
- Being disabled does not by itself show that the Official Solicitor acts for the buyer.
- In this case, an agent’s statement cannot take the full place of the Official Solicitor’s statement.
- For section 55, general authority to act is not enough. The buyer must sign a written power of attorney.
- The guidance does not decide whether someone has a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Key takeaways
- An Official Solicitor may make an LTT statement for a disabled buyer they act for.
- If an agent acts for the Official Solicitor, the two people confirm different parts of the return.
- A signed written power of attorney is needed for the separate authorised-person route.
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
- LTTA 2017 section 53 — declarations required in land transaction tax returns
- LTTA 2017 section 54 — official solicitor declarations for disabled buyers
- LTTA 2017 section 55 — written powers of attorney for individual buyers
Official guidance
The pages below are the Welsh Revenue Authority’s guidance. Guidance is not law. It sets out how the Welsh Revenue Authority 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. the Welsh Revenue Authority can also change or withdraw guidance, and it may not cover your facts.
Where this is not settled
- Whether a person meets the Equality Act 2010 meaning of disability depends on their circumstances and is not decided by this guidance.
- The official source does not explain how the Official Solicitor’s role is arranged in a particular case.
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.
- Confirmation that the Official Solicitor is acting for the disabled buyer
- The declaration made by the Official Solicitor, where applicable
- The agent’s confirmation of the relevant date, where an agent acts
- A written power of attorney signed by the buyer, where section 55 is used
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 Land Transaction Tax (LTT), the tax on property in Wales. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales on 1 April 2018, and SDLT does not apply in Wales. MY QUESTION LTT return declarations where the Official Solicitor acts [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 - LTTA 2017 section 53 - declarations required in land transaction tax returns https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/53 - LTTA 2017 section 54 - official solicitor declarations for disabled buyers https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/54 - LTTA 2017 section 55 - written powers of attorney for individual buyers https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/55 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-returns-and-payments-technical-guidance#5571 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. Guidance from the Welsh Revenue Authority is its 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 a person meets the Equality Act 2010 meaning of disability depends on their circumstances and is not decided by this guidance. - The official source does not explain how the Official Solicitor's role is arranged in a particular case. Do not give me a conclusion you cannot support from the provisions above.
Legislation links show the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 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 3 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: LTT return declarations where the Official Solicitor acts
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