When to pay Land Transaction Tax in Wales
When LTT is due
You usually have 30 days, starting on the day after completion, to submit your LTT return and ensure payment is received.
- Completion is usually the key date.
- You remain responsible if someone acts for you.
- Late payment may lead to penalties and interest.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
When to pay Land Transaction Tax in Wales
You normally pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT) within 30 days of the day after completion. LTT replaced stamp duty land tax in Wales in 2018. Missing the deadline can mean penalties and interest.
What this rule is about
LTT is a self-assessed tax. In simple terms, you or someone acting for you work out the tax, send the return and pay what is due.
You deal with those jobs together. The payment deadline is the same as the deadline for the return.
What the official source says
The Welsh Government says that, after you or your solicitor or conveyancer submits the return, you or they must pay any LTT due, and full payment must reach the Welsh Revenue Authority by the due date. Act promptly.
- You must submit an accurate LTT return.
- The return includes your own calculation of any LTT due.
- You must pay any LTT due within 30 days, counted from the day after the effective date.
- The effective date is usually the completion date.
- Late payment may lead to penalties and interest.
What this means in practice
Do not treat the day you get the keys as the day to start arranging payment. Once completion has taken place, it will usually start the clock, and the following day becomes day one of the 30-day period for submitting the return and paying LTT. Plan ahead.
Although your solicitor or conveyancer may submit the return and make payment for you, you remain responsible for ensuring that the return is accurate and that payment is made on time. Check the arrangements.
- Check who will submit the return.
- Check who will send the payment.
- Make sure they have the money in time.
- Keep confirmation showing that you or your representative submitted the return.
- Keep confirmation showing that the Welsh Revenue Authority received payment.
How to analyse it
Start with the date that matters: the effective date. Usually, that is completion. Then count 30 days beginning with the following day.
What if your sale has an unusual timetable? Do not assume the completion date answers every case. The Act can provide a different effective date in particular situations.
- Identify the effective date of your transaction.
- Usually, use the completion date.
- Start counting on the following day.
- Find the date 30 days later.
- Ensure the return and full payment reach the Welsh Revenue Authority by then.
Example
Illustration: Iwan completes his purchase on 1 May. The 30-day period begins on 2 May, not 1 May. He should file the return and ensure that the Welsh Revenue Authority receives the full LTT payment by the end of that period. Waiting until the last day creates an avoidable risk.
Why this can be difficult in practice
People often concentrate on signing papers or moving day. Neither necessarily changes the key date. Usually, completion is what matters.
Another common mistake is to assume that merely sending money by the deadline is enough, although the official source says the Welsh Revenue Authority must receive full payment by that date. Do not leave this late.
- Completion may be close to a weekend or bank holiday.
- A solicitor may need money from you before completion.
- An incomplete payment can still leave tax unpaid.
- Unusual transactions may have a different effective date.
Key takeaways
- LTT is normally due within 30 days after completion.
- The return and payment share the same deadline.
- Make sure full payment is received on time.
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 — return deadline and self-assessment requirement
- LTTA 2017 section 57 — payment deadline for tax shown on returns
- LTTA 2017 section 71 — effective date usually being completion date
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.
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 completion date and any facts that could mean a different effective date applies.
- The submitted return and confirmation that the full payment reached the Welsh Revenue Authority by the deadline.
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 When to pay Land Transaction Tax in Wales [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 - return deadline and self-assessment requirement https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/44 - LTTA 2017 section 57 - payment deadline for tax shown on returns https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/57 - LTTA 2017 section 71 - effective date usually being completion date https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/71 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/pay-land-transaction-tax#48572 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. 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: When to pay Land Transaction Tax in Wales
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