Land Transaction Tax: can ordinary email expose or alter my tax information?
Email risks at a glance
WRA warns that ordinary email may not be secure for tax correspondence.
- Emails may be intercepted.
- Messages may be altered in transit.
- Attachments may contain harmful code.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Land Transaction Tax: can ordinary email expose or alter my tax information?
Land Transaction Tax: can ordinary email expose or alter my tax information?
Email can be quick when you need to contact the Welsh Revenue Authority about Land Transaction Tax (LTT), but someone may intercept it, change it or use it to carry harmful files, putting private tax information at risk. Take care.
What this rule is about
The Welsh Revenue Authority, or WRA, warns that ordinary email has limits because messages travel over the internet, where the route is not always secure. That route can expose information.
This matters when messages contain personal details, tax information or documents. Once you send a message, you may have little control over who sees it.
What the official source says
WRA identifies three main risks for people who correspond about tax by email, especially when they send information, receive messages through insecure networks or open attachments. These risks concern security, not a guarantee that every email will cause a problem.
- Someone may intercept an email sent over the internet.
- Someone may change an email that you receive through an insecure network while it travels.
- A file attachment may contain a virus or other harmful code.
What this means in practice
Before you attach documents or include private details in an email, think about who might receive the message, whether they need the information and how you would protect it. Pause before sending.
Someone can read or alter a message that looks normal, or use it to deliver harmful software.
- Check that you are sending the email to the right address.
- Review attachments before you open or send them.
- Be careful with information that could expose your identity or tax affairs.
How to analyse it
Ask what is in the message, who needs it and what could happen if it reaches the wrong person. Then consider whether email is suitable for that information.
- Identify any personal details in the message.
- Decide whether you need an attachment.
- Consider whether someone could change the message without you noticing.
Example
Sam receives an email asking for a copy of a tax document. Before replying, Sam checks the address, looks closely at the attachment and considers the risk of sending private information by ordinary email.
Why this can be difficult in practice
People often focus on sending a message quickly, so they may overlook a changed email address or an unsafe attachment even when those warning signs appear. That can happen.
You might assume that the person who sent an email left it unchanged when you receive it. WRA says someone can change an email through an insecure network before you receive it, so receiving it gives no such guarantee.
- An email can look genuine but still be unsafe.
- An attachment can carry harmful code.
- Privacy risks can arise before WRA receives the message.
Key takeaways
- Email may expose private information.
- Someone can alter messages in transit.
- Check attachments and addresses carefully.
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.
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 say which types of information should not be sent by email.
- The source does not set out an alternative secure method for each type of document.
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 information and files you plan to send
- Whether an attachment contains personal or tax information
- Whether the email address and request are genuine
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 Risks of emailing the Welsh Revenue Authority [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.] Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/welsh-revenue-authority-using-email-correspond-about-tax#63767 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 say which types of information should not be sent by email. - The source does not set out an alternative secure method for each type of document. 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 4 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Land Transaction Tax: can ordinary email expose or alter my tax information?
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