Filing an LTT return yourself without a solicitor
Filing LTT yourself
WRA says that buyers who do not use a solicitor or conveyancer must request a paper LTT return and pay any tax due themselves.
- Contact WRA for the right forms.
- State if there are more than two buyers, sellers or land parcels.
- Confirm the current filing deadline with WRA.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Filing an LTT return yourself without a solicitor
Buying property in Wales without a solicitor or conveyancer may mean dealing with Land Transaction Tax (LTT) yourself. LTT replaced stamp duty land tax in Wales in 2018.
WRA’s position is that, without a solicitor, you must both submit a paper return and personally pay whatever tax is due.
What this rule is about
A tax return gives the Welsh Revenue Authority, or WRA, details of a land purchase and its tax calculation. The law requires a return for a notifiable land transaction.
Where tax is due, the return includes your own calculation of it.
Whether LTT applies does not depend on using a solicitor. A solicitor changes who deals with the paperwork.
The official source gives a clear instruction: anyone without a solicitor is to ask WRA directly for the necessary paper forms.
What the official source says
WRA says that anyone not using a solicitor or conveyancer must file a paper LTT return and pay the tax themselves. Contact WRA to request the appropriate forms.
- Email [email protected] to ask for paper forms.
- You can also use WRA’s other contact methods.
- Say if there are more than two buyers.
- Say if there are more than two sellers.
- Say if the purchase covers more than one piece of land.
- Tell WRA whether you prefer Welsh or English correspondence.
What this means in practice
The details given at the start matter because WRA needs to send forms suited to the purchase. Do not assume that a standard form will cover every arrangement.
You remain responsible for the information in the return. The statutory text supplied says that the buyer declares the return is correct and complete to the best of their knowledge.
- Ask for the forms as soon as you know you will file alone.
- Describe the people and land involved accurately.
- Keep a copy of what you send and receive.
- Work out any LTT due before completing the return.
- Pay the amount due by the applicable filing date.
How to analyse it
Begin with the practical facts. The main question is not simply whether you have a solicitor.
Instead, ask whether the purchase requires an LTT return and whether its details require a form for a more complex purchase.
- Check whether the land is in Wales.
- Check whether the transaction is one that must be notified to WRA.
- Count every buyer and seller named in the purchase.
- Check whether the deal includes separate pieces of land.
- Choose Welsh or English for correspondence.
- Confirm the current filing date directly with WRA.
Example
Asha buys two separate plots with two relatives. There are three buyers and more than one piece of land.
She is not using a solicitor. In her request for paper forms, she should tell WRA about both facts and specify a preference for Welsh or English correspondence.
After that, she alone will be responsible for completing the return, making the required declaration, and paying any LTT that is due.
Why this can be difficult in practice
This is the point people can miss: a purchase may involve more people or land than a simple house sale, even with only one agreed price. WRA needs that information before sending the forms.
For this article, the supplied statutory text refers to a 30-day period. No currency date for that text was supplied.
For that date, rely on WRA’s current position, not this article.
- More than two buyers can affect which form WRA sends.
- More than two sellers can also affect the form request.
- Separate land parcels should not be overlooked.
- A paper form does not remove the need to calculate and pay LTT.
Key takeaways
- Without a solicitor, WRA says you must use a paper LTT return.
- Tell WRA about extra buyers, sellers or land when requesting forms.
- Check the current filing deadline with WRA.
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 an LTT return
- LTTA 2017 section 53 — declaration that a return is complete
- LTTA 2017 section 57 — when LTT shown on a return is paid
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.
- Welsh Revenue Authority, Taxpayers filing without a solicitor or conveyancer
Where this is not settled
- The source does not explain which transactions need an LTT return.
- The source does not explain how WRA will issue forms after receiving a request.
- The current filing deadline and contact process should be checked with WRA because no currency notice was supplied with the statutory materials.
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 number of buyers, sellers and separate pieces of land involved.
- Your preferred language for correspondence.
- The current WRA filing deadline and paper-return instructions.
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 Filing an LTT return yourself without a solicitor [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 an LTT return https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/44 - LTTA 2017 section 53 - declaration that a return is complete https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/53 - LTTA 2017 section 57 - when LTT shown on a return is paid https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/57 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/file-land-transaction-tax 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 which transactions need an LTT return. - The source does not explain how WRA will issue forms after receiving a request. - The current filing deadline and contact process should be checked with WRA because no currency notice was supplied with the statutory materials. 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: Filing an LTT return yourself without a solicitor
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