LTT example: buying three flats in one deal
Official LTT example at a glance
For three flats bought together for £282,000, the official example divides the price by three before calculating tax.
- Average price: £94,000
- LTT on the average: £4,700
- Stated total LTT: £14,100
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT example: buying three flats in one deal
Buying several homes at once can change your Land Transaction Tax (LTT) bill. LTT is Wales’s version of stamp duty. In this official example, relief for buying more than one home cuts the calculation down to an average price first, then builds it back up.
What this rule is about
Find the average price per home first instead of calculating LTT only from the full combined price.
That sounds like a small change. LTT uses bands. A higher price may enter higher bands, so the difference can be large.
Mr A is the buyer in the official example. He buys three flats together to begin a buy-to-let portfolio. He already owns the home where he lives. Higher LTT rates apply to his purchase, according to the guide.
What the official source says
Welsh Revenue Authority guidance gives a worked example with one contract, one completion date and three separately stated prices. It says that only the first three calculation steps are needed because there are no linked purchases and no amount paid for anything other than the three flats.
- Mr A buys all three flats from B Ltd on 1 January 2025.
- The flats cost £80,000, £95,000 and £107,000.
- The total amount paid is £282,000.
- There are three homes in the purchase.
- The average price is therefore £94,000.
- The guide calculates tax of £4,700 on that average figure.
- It then multiplies £4,700 by three.
- The stated LTT bill is £14,100.
Legislation sets out this broad method. It calculates the tax attributable to the homes as a separate part of the calculation: divide the total home price by the number of homes, work out the tax on that amount, and then multiply the result by the number of homes.
What this means in practice
Do not simply add the prices and put the full total through the LTT bands if this relief is available and claimed. Using the average-price method may produce a lower result.
However, this example is historic. The guide used rates in force on 11 December 2024. For a purchase completing on another date, do not rely on the guide’s £14,100 figure.
- Keep the contract showing what each flat costs.
- Check whether all homes are in one purchase or in linked purchases.
- Identify any land, parking or other property included in the price.
- Use the LTT rates that apply on the relevant date.
- Check whether higher LTT rates apply before doing the calculation.
How to analyse it
Examine the structure of the deal before looking at the final tax figure. Contract details matter because they show both what was bought and what was paid for it.
- Is the land in Wales and is the purchase within LTT?
- Are at least two separate homes being bought?
- Does the purchase meet the conditions for the relief?
- Is the whole price for those homes, or partly for other property?
- Are there other purchases that form one scheme or series with this one?
- Do higher LTT rates apply on the facts?
- Divide the total home price by the total number of homes.
- Calculate LTT on that average using the rates for the relevant date.
- Multiply that tax figure by the number of homes.
What does “linked” mean here? In simple terms, separate deals can be linked if they are part of one plan or series between the same buyer and seller, or connected people. If that applies, the calculation has further steps.
Example
Here is the official example in numbers. Mr A pays £80,000, £95,000 and £107,000 for three flats. Together, that is £282,000. Divide £282,000 by three and the average is £94,000.
Using the rates identified by the guide, LTT on £94,000 is £4,700. Multiply £4,700 by three flats. The answer is £14,100.
In this example, the separate prices do not change the averaging sum. What matters is their total and the number of flats.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Once the correct inputs have been identified, the maths is straightforward; identifying those inputs correctly is the difficult part.
You might think separate prices in one contract settle everything. They do not. A buyer may have another related agreement, or may be buying land or property that is not a home as part of the same arrangement.
- A side deal can mean the purchases are linked.
- A mixed purchase may need the price split on a fair basis.
- Not every building sold as a flat will necessarily count as a separate home.
- The higher-rate question has its own rules and exceptions.
- Later LTT rates may differ from those in this January 2025 example.
Key takeaways
- The official example averages the £282,000 price across three flats.
- Tax of £4,700 on the average becomes £14,100 after multiplying by three.
- Linked deals, other property and different rates can produce a different answer.
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 24 — LTT bands and rates set by regulations
- LTTA 2017 section 27 — calculating tax on an unlinked property purchase
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 5 para 11 — higher LTT rates for multiple home purchases
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 5 para 13 — when purchased homes are qualifying homes
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 3 — purchases that can use multiple homes relief
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 4 — amounts assigned to homes and other property
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 5 — the two parts of the relief calculation
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 6 — averaging method for multiple homes relief
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 source does not explain how the result would change if the flats were bought under separate but linked deals.
- The source does not explain how to divide a price between homes and other property where both are included.
- The example uses rates in force on 11 December 2024 and should not be used as a current-rate calculator.
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 the price for each home
- The completion or other effective date
- Details of any related purchases from the same seller
- Details of property included that is not a home
- Evidence of homes already owned at the relevant 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 LTT example: buying three flats in one deal [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 24 - LTT bands and rates set by regulations https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/24 - LTTA 2017 section 27 - calculating tax on an unlinked property purchase https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/27 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 5 para 11 - higher LTT rates for multiple home purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/5/paragraph/11 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 5 para 13 - when purchased homes are qualifying homes https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/5/paragraph/13 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 3 - purchases that can use multiple homes relief https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/13/paragraph/3 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 4 - amounts assigned to homes and other property https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/13/paragraph/4 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 5 - the two parts of the relief calculation https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/13/paragraph/5 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 13 para 6 - averaging method for multiple homes relief https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/13/paragraph/6 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-relief-acquisitions-involving-multiple-dwellings-technical-guidance#7274 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 source does not explain how the result would change if the flats were bought under separate but linked deals. - The source does not explain how to divide a price between homes and other property where both are included. - The example uses rates in force on 11 December 2024 and should not be used as a current-rate calculator. 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 example: buying three flats in one deal
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