Land Transaction Tax (LTT): how to check WRA emails are genuine
Checking LTT emails from the WRA
The WRA gives clear signs to help you check whether an email about Land Transaction Tax is genuine.
- Check the sender address ending.
- Expect only necessary information in an email.
- Ask the WRA to verify unfamiliar contact.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Land Transaction Tax (LTT): how to check WRA emails are genuine
Land Transaction Tax (LTT): how to check WRA emails are genuine
Before sharing information with the Welsh Revenue Authority, check who sent an email about Land Transaction Tax (LTT). A genuine address should end in @wra.gov.wales or @acc.llyw.cymru. This simple check can help protect your tax details from scams.
What this rule is about
This is WRA guidance on email safety, rather than a rule that changes the LTT you must pay.
It explains how the WRA says it handles email when discussing a tax position with you, including the information it says it will include in an email. That is its purpose.
Email can be useful, but scammers can also copy or fake it. Check the sender’s full address, not just the name displayed in your inbox.
A displayed name may appear familiar, especially when the email concerns a matter you recognise, even though the message did not come from the WRA at all. Check the address.
What the official source says
The WRA says it will put only the information needed into an email about your tax situation. It may encrypt an email when sensitive information is included.
- The WRA may use email to discuss your tax situation.
- It says it will include only necessary information.
- It may encrypt messages about sensitive information.
- It is willing to discuss how you can send information securely.
The WRA gives two email endings that you should expect on its messages. Before deciding whether contact is genuine, compare the full address.
The endings are below.
- Check for an address ending in @wra.gov.wales.
- Check for an address ending in @acc.llyw.cymru.
- Be cautious if the ending is different.
- Do not rely only on the display name beside the email.
What this means in practice
Do not treat an unexpected email about LTT as genuine merely because it looks official or appears to match your circumstances when you first read it. Check the full address first.
If you do not recognise the address, the WRA says you can verify it.
- Pause before replying to an unexpected message.
- Check the full sender address carefully.
- Consider whether you gave the WRA that email address.
- Ask about secure or encrypted email if sensitive details are needed.
How to analyse it
Start with the sender, then consider whether the message fits your dealings with the WRA.
Before providing personal or tax information, check any request from an unfamiliar address, particularly when its contents do not fit your dealings with the WRA. Check first.
- Read the address after the @ symbol.
- Compare it with the two WRA email endings.
- Check whether the sender is known from details you gave the WRA.
- If unsure, contact [email protected] to verify the message.
Example
Sam receives an email about an LTT matter from an address he does not recognise, and the message uses the WRA name although its source remains unclear. He should not send documents straight away.
He should wait. He can check the full address and contact [email protected] if he remains unsure.
Why this can be difficult in practice
Scam emails can look convincing, with a familiar name, logo or urgent wording beside an official-looking request that appears to fit your circumstances closely. None of these proves that a message came from the WRA.
The full email address matters.
- An address can look similar while using a different ending.
- You may not recognise an address used by a WRA staff member.
- The source does not list every situation in which the WRA will use encryption.
- The WRA says it will verify an unrecognised sender before replying.
Key takeaways
- Check for @wra.gov.wales or @acc.llyw.cymru.
- Do not share sensitive details until you are satisfied the email is genuine.
- Use [email protected] if you need to verify WRA contact.
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 explain which types of information the WRA treats as sensitive.
- The source does not set out a technical method for sending encrypted email to the WRA.
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.
- Keep the full sender address and the email message if you need to check whether contact is genuine.
- Check whether the email address used matches details you previously gave the WRA.
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 Land Transaction Tax (LTT): how to check WRA emails are genuine [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#63769 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 types of information the WRA treats as sensitive. - The source does not set out a technical method for sending encrypted email to the WRA. 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 (LTT): how to check WRA emails are genuine
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