Buying flats with a relative: when LTT purchases are linked
Linked flat purchases
Two connected buyers can have linked LTT purchases even where each signs a separate contract. A shared plan and a combined price negotiation are key facts.
- Look beyond the contracts
- Check whether the buyers acted as one deal
- Keep evidence of negotiations and discounts
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Buying flats with a relative: when LTT purchases are linked
Separate flat purchases do not always produce separate Land Transaction Tax calculations.
If you and a connected person agree a joint deal, Land Transaction Tax may link the purchases. The price across the whole deal can then affect the tax on each flat.
What this rule is about
Linked purchases stop people splitting one planned property deal into smaller contracts simply to get a different tax result. What matters is the real arrangement, not just the number of contracts.
This is the part people can miss. A buyer can sign for their own flat and pay their own price while a connected person buys another flat, yet both purchases may still form one linked deal. The paperwork does not decide it.
What the official source says
The official source describes two brothers who want to build separate buy-to-let portfolios, with one seeking two flats and the other seeking three flats in the same new block. They pursue separate portfolios.
- They discuss the flats and their likely rental returns.
- They approach the same builder together.
- They negotiate one price for all five flats, or discounts because they are buying several flats.
- Each brother signs a separate contract for his own flats.
- The official example says that the brothers’ connection and their one scheme link the purchases.
What this means in practice
Separate contracts do not decide the answer. Here, the shared plan and joint price negotiation matter more. The brothers are not treated as making five unrelated purchases.
For linked purchases, the calculation starts with the total amount paid for every linked purchase. You then divide the resulting tax between them by reference to each buyer’s share of that total.
- Do not assume one contract means one stand-alone tax calculation.
- Keep records of any discount agreed for buying several properties.
- Make sure the prices assigned to the individual flats reflect the deal.
- Check the LTT rates that applied when the purchases completed.
How to analyse it
Start by asking whether this was really one deal, even though the paperwork was split. Then work through the statutory test, consider the full arrangement and apply the test.
- Identify every property purchase in the wider deal.
- Check whether the purchases involve the same seller.
- Determine whether the buyers have a connection to each other.
- Look for a shared plan, arrangement or series of steps.
- Review joint negotiations, group discounts and linked discussions.
- For linked purchases, add the amounts paid.
- Use that total to work out and allocate the LTT due.
Example
Mr E1 agrees to buy two flats. His brother, Mr E2, agrees to buy three more. Together, they negotiate with the builder for all five flats at once.
Each brother signs a separate contract for the flats he is buying. The contracts remain separate. The official example treats the purchases as linked.
The official example cannot produce a tax figure because it gives no prices or applicable rates from which anyone could calculate one. Prices matter.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Buying near the same time is not, by itself, enough. Related status alone does not establish a link. The difficult question is whether the facts show one shared arrangement.
You might think a separate contract settles it. It does not. A single negotiation for a combined price can point strongly the other way.
- Informal family discussions may be relevant.
- A discount across several flats may show a single deal.
- Separate funding does not necessarily end the link.
- The written contracts may not tell the whole story.
Key takeaways
- LTT can link separate flat contracts.
- A shared plan and joint negotiation can be decisive.
- Linked purchases use the combined amount paid for the tax calculation.
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 8 — when separate land purchases are linked
- LTTA 2017 section 28 — how tax is calculated for linked purchases
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 separate purchases form one scheme is always driven by the real facts, including discussions, negotiations and paperwork.
- The source gives no prices, completion dates or tax rates, so it cannot show the final tax due.
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 contracts for each flat and the identity of each buyer and seller.
- Messages, notes or other records of the shared plan and price negotiation.
- The price allocated to each flat and any group discount.
- The completion date and the LTT rates in force on that date.
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 Buying flats with a relative: when LTT purchases are linked [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 8 - when separate land purchases are linked https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/8 - LTTA 2017 section 28 - how tax is calculated for linked purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/28 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/land-transactions#5054 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 separate purchases form one scheme is always driven by the real facts, including discussions, negotiations and paperwork. - The source gives no prices, completion dates or tax rates, so it cannot show the final tax due. 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: Buying flats with a relative: when LTT purchases are linked
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