LTT: when fees and non-cash items count as part of the price
The short answer
For Welsh LTT, look at everything you give to secure the property. That can include a seller’s required fees and valuable non-cash items, not only the stated price.
- Seller-required payments may be included
- VAT on those payments may be included
- Buyer-only auction and finder’s fees are unlikely to be included
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT: when fees and non-cash items count as part of the price
LTT: when fees and non-cash items count as part of the price
For Land Transaction Tax in Wales, often called stamp duty, the figure is not always just the price on the contract. If you pay a cost that the seller should pay, or give something valuable instead of cash, it can increase the amount used for LTT.
What this rule is about
Most home sales are simple: you pay cash and the stated price is the starting point. Matters become more complicated when money goes to somebody other than the seller.
The key question is why you made that payment. Was it part of the deal to get the property, or was it your own separate cost?
That distinction sounds small. It can change the LTT figure.
The legal term is chargeable consideration. It means everything of value given for the property, whether directly or indirectly.
What the official source says
The legislation includes money or something with a money value that the buyer gives for the property. Welsh Revenue Authority guidance explains that, where the seller directs the buyer to make a payment to another person as part of the sale, that payment can fall within this rule. Such payments can count.
- Cash paid by cheque or bank transfer can count.
- A payment made straight to the seller can count.
- A payment to another person can count if the seller requires it as part of the sale.
- A buyer paying the seller’s estate agent fee can count.
- A buyer paying the seller’s legal, tender or introductory fee can count.
- A buyer paying an auction house commission owed by the seller can count.
- VAT on a fee that counts is included too.
- Gold, jewellery, art, cars, shares and similar assets can count as non-cash payment.
People often call non-cash payment money’s worth. In plain terms, it means something other than cash whose value people can turn into money.
The legislation says that a non-cash item is normally valued at its market value on the effective date of the transaction. That is usually the date which fixes the LTT position.
What this means in practice
Do not assume that an invoice tells you the answer. Even where you pay a fee yourself, it can remain part of the property deal when the seller was the person who should have paid it.
Look beyond who sent the money. The reason for the payment matters more.
- Check whether the seller was legally or contractually due to pay the fee.
- Check whether the seller made your payment a condition of the sale.
- Add VAT where the relevant fee includes it.
- Keep the invoice and the written terms of the deal.
- Record any asset given instead of money and its value.
Conversely, the guidance treats some buyer costs as unlikely to form part of the amount paid for the property. The guidance gives a finder’s fee as an example because it is normally the buyer’s own bill.
The same applies, in the guidance’s view, to an auction entry or registration fee that only lets you take part in the auction. It buys access to the bidding process, not the property itself.
How to analyse it
Start with the full deal, not simply the headline price. Then work through each payment and each item of value separately.
- List the cash price and every extra payment connected with the sale.
- Ask who was originally responsible for each fee.
- Ask whether the seller required you to pay it.
- Ask whether the sale would have gone ahead without that payment.
- Identify VAT shown on any fee that forms part of the deal.
- Identify anything valuable given instead of cash.
- Find evidence of the market value of each non-cash item.
- Use the total figure when working out LTT.
What actually decides it? The link between the payment and the property deal. Merely labelling a payment a separate fee does not settle the point if the documents show that it was required to secure the sale.
Example
Ravi agrees to buy a Welsh property for £300,000. The seller says the sale will only proceed if Ravi also pays the seller’s estate agent bill of £4,000, plus £800 VAT. On the official guidance’s approach, the amount used for LTT is likely to be £304,800: £300,000 plus the seller’s required fee and its VAT.
Now change one fact. Ravi pays £250 to register for an auction, which lets him bid but is not required by the seller as part of the sale. The guidance is unlikely to treat that type of registration cost as included.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Side letters, informal emails and several invoices can all feature in property deals. They can reveal that a payment formed part of the bargain even when the contract price remains unchanged.
You might think paying an invoice makes it your cost. It does not necessarily.
- A fee may be described vaguely in the contract or auction pack.
- The seller may ask for money to be paid directly to an agent or auction house.
- A payment can be linked to the sale without being paid to the seller.
- VAT can be missed when a seller’s fee is added.
- Valuing art, shares or another non-cash item may need reliable evidence.
- A buyer-only cost can look similar to a seller-required cost at first glance.
The Welsh Revenue Authority page is guidance, not legislation. Its examples are useful, but the statutory wording and the actual agreement remain central.
Key takeaways
- The LTT figure can be more than the cash price.
- A seller’s required fee, including its VAT, can count.
- Valuable items given instead of cash can count at market value.
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 18 — introduces the rules for taxable payment
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 1 — includes money and valuable non-cash payment
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 2 — includes VAT charged on the transaction
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 7 — values non-cash payment at market value
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
- The line between a seller-required payment and a buyer’s separate cost can be fact-sensitive.
- The supplied statutory material does not record its currency date, so its current status should be checked before relying on it for a live transaction.
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.
- The sale contract and any side agreement
- The auction terms, where relevant
- Invoices showing who owed each fee
- Written instructions requiring the buyer to make a payment
- A valuation for any non-cash item given
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: when fees and non-cash items count as part of the price [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 18 - introduces the rules for taxable payment https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/18 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 1 - includes money and valuable non-cash payment https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/4/paragraph/1 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 2 - includes VAT charged on the transaction https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/4/paragraph/2 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 7 - values non-cash payment at market value https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/4/paragraph/7 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/chargeable-consideration-technical-guidance#5113 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 - The line between a seller-required payment and a buyer's separate cost can be fact-sensitive. - The supplied statutory material does not record its currency date, so its current status should be checked before relying on it for a live transaction. 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: when fees and non-cash items count as part of the price
Search Land Tax Advice with Google
