LTT information notices: what the WRA can ask for
LTT information notices at a glance
WRA may require documents or information to check an LTT tax position, but its request must be needed and reasonable.
- There are four main information-notice types.
- A notice may name documents or describe them by category.
- Some notices need tribunal approval and some requests face restrictions.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT information notices: what the WRA can ask for
If the Welsh Revenue Authority, or WRA, sends an information notice, it can require information or documents to check your Land Transaction Tax position. LTT is the Welsh tax sometimes compared with stamp duty. A notice is not simply a request you can ignore: the recipient must comply.
What this rule is about
WRA uses information notices when it needs material to check the handling of the right amount of tax, interest or penalty. This can include an LTT return, a claim, or another issue linked to tax.
For WRA, the central limit matters: it must need the material to check a person’s tax position, and it must be reasonable to require it. Those are not empty words. They help define what WRA may ask for.
Your tax position is wider than one bill for LTT. According to official guidance, it can cover past, present and possible future amounts, as well as related sums WRA may need to pay back to you.
What the official source says
WRA technical guidance describes four main types of information notice. Who receives it, and what WRA needs to find out, determines the type.
- A taxpayer notice asks the person whose tax position is being checked.
- A third-party notice asks someone else for material about that person.
- An unidentified third-party notice concerns people who have not yet been named.
- An identification notice can require information that helps identify a person.
- A debtor contact notice is different and has its own requirements and procedures.
An information notice may name one document. It may describe document groups. It may seek transaction or period records.
For example, WRA could ask for a particular contract. It could also ask for documents containing information about a stated land deal. Its description should show what material is being sought.
What this means in practice
Notices can arrive beyond return checks. WRA may make a tax assessment or decision about a claim.
Future tax can seem surprising. The source says this will probably be rare, but it may matter where a land deal happens in stages over a long time and a return is made before every tax amount has arisen.
- Read exactly what the notice asks for before gathering papers.
- Match each request to the transaction, claim or time period named.
- Keep the notice with the documents you provide.
- Check whether the request names a document or describes a category of material.
- Notice whether WRA has referred to tribunal approval.
This is the part people can get wrong: a broad description does not mean WRA can ask for anything at all. WRA needs material and must act reasonably.
How to analyse it
Start with the notice itself. A good review separates the question WRA is checking from the documents it has requested.
- Who received the notice: you, another person, or an unnamed group?
- Which type of information notice does it appear to be?
- Whose tax position is WRA checking?
- Does the notice identify a return, claim, land deal or period?
- What information or documents does it specify or describe?
- How does each item appear to help check the stated tax position?
- Does the notice indicate that tribunal approval was needed?
Then look for limits. The official source says there are restrictions on what WRA can require in particular cases. The source does not set out those restrictions. This overview cannot safely answer that question.
Example
Imagine that Nia completed a land purchase in stages. WRA received a return before all parts of the deal were complete. It sends a notice asking for documents containing information about the later stages. In this unusual kind of case, WRA may use an information notice to check a possible future tax amount if it needs the request and can reasonably make it.
Now change one detail. If the notice asks for documents with no clear link to Nia’s tax position, the overview does not show that the request meets the stated test. The full notice and the relevant legal restrictions would matter.
Why this can be difficult in practice
WRA can write notices broadly by describing documents instead of listing them one by one. That can make it hard to decide which records fall within the request.
Your notice differs from someone else’s. The official source names different notice types, but this overview does not give all their separate conditions.
- A request for “documents relating to” a deal may cover more than the signed contract.
- A later stage of a land deal may matter even after an earlier return was made.
- Tribunal approval may be relevant, but the source does not say when.
- Restrictions may apply, but this overview does not identify them.
- A debtor contact notice should not be treated as the same kind of notice.
Key takeaways
- WRA can use information notices to check an LTT tax position.
- The request must be needed for that purpose and be reasonable.
- Read the notice closely: its type and wording both matter.
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
- TCMA 2016 section 95 — complying with an information notice
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
- This source does not set out which notices need tribunal approval.
- This source does not list the restrictions on information notices or explain how they apply.
- Whether a particular request is reasonable depends on its wording, purpose and facts.
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 full information notice and any documents attached to it.
- The tax return, claim, transaction or period identified in the notice.
- The documents requested and records showing whether they are held.
- Any reason given for the request or for tribunal approval.
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 information notices: what the WRA can ask for [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 - TCMA 2016 section 95 - complying with an information notice https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/6/section/95 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/tax-collection-and-management-wales-act-2016-investigative-powers-technical-guidance#6681 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 - This source does not set out which notices need tribunal approval. - This source does not list the restrictions on information notices or explain how they apply. - Whether a particular request is reasonable depends on its wording, purpose and facts. 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 information notices: what the WRA can ask for
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