Disagreeing with a Welsh LTT tax opinion
Disagreeing with an LTT opinion
If WRA missed important facts in its opinion, explain the gap. You can file on your own view, but must tell WRA or note it on the return.
- Check the facts in your request
- Keep a clear record of the gap
- Make your different filing position clear
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Disagreeing with a Welsh LTT tax opinion
If you think a Welsh Revenue Authority opinion missed key facts, tell it what was overlooked. You may still file your Land Transaction Tax return using your own view. LTT is Wales’s version of stamp duty tax.
What this rule is about
An opinion is WRA’s response to the facts you gave in your request when it considers the information on which you asked it to comment. It responds to your request. This official page deals with a narrow problem: important facts were included in that request, but were not considered in the answer.
The page is WRA guidance, not legislation. It does not explain what happens if you simply dislike the result.
What the official source says
WRA gives two clear options where you think its opinion missed important facts:
- Contact WRA and explain the facts you believe it overlooked.
- You can file the LTT return using your own understanding.
- When you file using your own understanding, contact WRA or say so on the return.
What this means in practice
Your return includes your own tax calculation based on the information in it, even if you have sought an opinion from WRA and think important facts were missed. The responsibility remains yours. You must declare that it is correct and complete to the best of your knowledge. An opinion does not remove that duty.
- Keep the request and WRA’s reply together.
- Identify the missing fact clearly.
- Explain why that fact matters to your view.
- Tell WRA if your return takes a different approach.
How to analyse it
Start with the facts, not the conclusion. What did you tell WRA, and what does its opinion appear not to address?
- Read your original request carefully.
- List each important fact you gave.
- Compare that list with the opinion.
- Decide whether your return will follow the opinion.
- If it will not, contact WRA or add a note to the return.
Example
Ellie asks WRA for an opinion and, after giving it all the facts of her purchase, expects the reply to deal with every fact she included. It does not. Ellie contacts WRA to explain the gap. Should she file using her own understanding, Ellie tells WRA or notes that choice on her return. No tax figure changes merely because she disagrees.
Why this can be difficult in practice
The hard part is often showing that a fact was both given and important. A fact mentioned only vaguely may be easy to miss. The source also gives no stated outcome after you raise the issue.
- Do not assume WRA will revise its opinion.
- Do not assume a different view needs no explanation.
- Do not confuse an overlooked fact with a general disagreement.
Key takeaways
- Tell WRA about important facts it missed.
- You may file on your own understanding.
- If you do, contact WRA or note it on the return.
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 44 — duty to file a land transaction tax return
- LTTA 2017 section 53 — requirement for a correct and complete return declaration
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 supplied page does not explain what response, if any, WRA will give after being told that an important fact was missed.
- It does not say whether an opinion has any binding effect.
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.
- A copy of the request for the opinion.
- The opinion received from WRA.
- The important facts that you say were overlooked.
- A copy of the return and any note added to it.
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 Disagreeing with a Welsh LTT tax opinion [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 44 - duty to file a land transaction tax return https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/44 - LTTA 2017 section 53 - requirement for a correct and complete return declaration https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/53 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/welsh-revenue-authority-tax-opinion-service#50048 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 supplied page does not explain what response, if any, WRA will give after being told that an important fact was missed. - It does not say whether an opinion has any binding effect. 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: Disagreeing with a Welsh LTT tax opinion
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