LTT charities relief when a charity buys property with others
Partial charities relief at a glance
Where a qualifying charity buys property in Wales as a tenant in common with non-charity buyers, it may reduce the LTT due. The relief is based on the lower of the charity’s combined ownership share and its combined contribution to the price.
- Tenants in common ownership is essential.
- The charity must hold its whole share for qualifying charitable purposes.
- Historic examples do not provide current LTT figures.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT charities relief when a charity buys property with others
LTT charities relief when a charity buys property with others
A charity can get some Land Transaction Tax relief when it buys a property with people who are not charities. But it is not an automatic tax-free purchase.
When a qualifying charity buys alongside non-charities, the relief normally matches the smaller of its ownership share and its share of the money paid. The lower share controls. That difference can affect the LTT, Wales’s version of stamp duty, by a large amount.
What this rule is about
This rule covers a shared purchase where a qualifying charity and one or more other people buy land or property together. It applies only where they hold it as tenants in common. In simple terms, each person has a defined share.
The rule gives relief only for the charity element of the deal. A joint purchase is not fully relieved.
What matters most? The legal ownership split and who actually provides the money.
What the official source says
Under Schedule 18, as reflected in Welsh Revenue Authority guidance, partial relief can apply if at least two buyers purchase as tenants in common, at least one is a qualifying charity, and at least one is not. Every condition matters.
- The charity must be a qualifying charity for this part of the relief.
- It must intend to hold all of its own share for qualifying charitable purposes.
- That can include using the property for charitable work.
- It can also include holding an investment and applying its profits to the charity’s purposes.
- The buyers must hold the property as tenants in common.
- There must be at least one buyer who is not a qualifying charity.
First, work out the LTT that would be due without the relief. Then apply the relevant proportion to that tax. The relevant proportion is the lower of two figures.
- P1 is the total ownership share bought by all qualifying charities.
- P2 is the total share of the amount paid by all qualifying charities.
- The smaller percentage is used for the relief calculation.
That lower-of-two rule is the point people can miss. A charity may own more but contribute less. In that case, the lower funding share limits the relief.
What this means in practice
Partial relief cuts the tax on the whole transaction by a proportion. It does not divide the purchase into separate tax bills for each buyer. The buyers are still responsible together for the tax left to pay.
In practical terms, when LTT remains unpaid after a joint purchase, the Welsh Revenue Authority may, regardless of any private funding agreement, seek it from any one of the joint buyers. All buyers share responsibility. Private agreements cannot alter that responsibility.
- Agree the ownership percentages before completion.
- Record how the purchase price is being funded.
- Check that the ownership documents say tenants in common.
- Keep evidence of the charity’s planned use of its share.
- Claim the relief in the first LTT return or an amendment to it.
How to analyse it
Start with the transaction documents, not the label used in discussions. Labels do not settle the legal test.
- Is the land or property in Wales, so that LTT applies?
- Are there two or more buyers under the same transaction?
- Will they own as tenants in common?
- Is at least one buyer a qualifying charity?
- Is at least one other buyer not a qualifying charity?
- Will the charity hold all of its share for qualifying charitable purposes?
- What percentage of the property will all qualifying charities own?
- What percentage of the total price will all qualifying charities provide?
- Which percentage is lower?
- What LTT would be due without the relief under rates current on the transaction date?
If, after the purchase, a charity stops using or holding its share for qualifying charitable purposes, or ceases to be established only for those purposes, relief may be withdrawn. The legislation covers both changes.
Example
The official guidance gives a historical example. A qualifying charity and two non-charity buyers purchase a supermarket investment property for £10,000,000.
Each owns one third and each provides one third of the cost. The charity uses its investment income for its charitable purposes.
Here, both P1 and P2 are one third. Using LTT rates in force on 1 April 2018, the LTT before relief was £578,500.
One third of that was £192,834, so that was the relief claimed. The LTT left to pay was £385,666.
They merely illustrate the official page. They are not a calculation for a purchase today. Current rates must be checked for the actual transaction date.
Why this can be difficult in practice
You might think equal ownership always means equal relief. It does not. The funding split can reduce it.
Equally, a charity’s name alone is not enough: it must meet the statutory conditions and have the required intention for its whole share.
- Ownership shares and funding shares may be different.
- Several charities’ shares are added together when working out P1 and P2.
- Using only part of the charity’s share for non-charitable purposes may cause a later problem.
- A change within three years can lead to relief being withdrawn in whole or part.
- The withdrawal amount turns on the charity’s original-relief share and the facts of the later event.
- The source’s tax figures are tied to historic rates.
If your solicitor has said the relief applies, ask to see both percentages. They are often the figures that decide the result.
Key takeaways
- Partial relief can apply to tenants in common buying with a qualifying charity.
- Use the lower of the charity ownership share and funding share.
- All joint buyers remain responsible for LTT that is still due.
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 Schedule 18 para 2 — when a charity qualifies and permitted charitable use
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 6 — partial relief for charity and non-charity joint buyers
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 7 — when partial charities relief can later be withdrawn
- LTTA 2017 section 30 — how charities relief must be claimed in returns
- LTTA 2017 section 37 — joint buyers’ shared responsibility for land transaction tax
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 correct LTT amount before relief depends on the rates and rules in force on the transaction date.
- Whether a body is a qualifying charity, and whether its intended use is for qualifying charitable purposes, depends on its facts and records.
- The supplied statutory material does not include the requested currency notice, so its current-date coverage cannot be verified here.
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 transfer or purchase documents showing that ownership is as tenants in common
- The percentage share each buyer will own
- Records showing how much each buyer is paying
- Evidence of the charity’s status and intended charitable use of its share
- The transaction date and the LTT rates then in force
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 charities relief when a charity buys property with others [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 Schedule 18 para 2 - when a charity qualifies and permitted charitable use https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/2 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 6 - partial relief for charity and non-charity joint buyers https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/6 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 7 - when partial charities relief can later be withdrawn https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/7 - LTTA 2017 section 30 - how charities relief must be claimed in returns https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/30 - LTTA 2017 section 37 - joint buyers' shared responsibility for land transaction tax https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/37 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-charities-relief-technical-guidance#6164 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 correct LTT amount before relief depends on the rates and rules in force on the transaction date. - Whether a body is a qualifying charity, and whether its intended use is for qualifying charitable purposes, depends on its facts and records. - The supplied statutory material does not include the requested currency notice, so its current-date coverage cannot be verified here. 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 charities relief when a charity buys property with others
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