LBTT in Scotland: rates, first-time buyers, ADS, 30 days

The residential rates

Revenue Scotland gives these rates, effective from 1 April 2021:

Revenue Scotland’s updates page lists no later rate change; its most recent entry is the ADS change of 5 December 2024. The rates are marginal: only the part of the price within a band is taxed at that band’s rate.

Our calculation, same rates.

These assume a single home, no relief and no supplement.

First-time buyer relief

Revenue Scotland says the relief increases the residential nil rate band to £175,000, which reduces the tax by up to £600. The conditions are that the buyer has never owned a residential property anywhere in the world, intends to occupy the home as their only or main residence, the transaction is not linked to others (with limited exceptions), and ADS does not apply. With joint buyers, every buyer must meet all the criteria. See first-time buyer relief.

Worked example from Revenue Scotland. On £250,000: £0 on the first £145,000, £2,100 on the rest, less the relief capped at £600, gives £1,500.

The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS)

ADS is a charge on top of LBTT when you buy a residential property in Scotland and already own one or more residential properties, and you are not replacing or selling your only or main residence.

• Rate: 8% of the purchase price where the contract was entered into on or after 5 December 2024. It was 6% for contracts entered into on or before 4 December 2024, even if the effective date is later.
• Threshold: the price must be £40,000 or more. Since 1 April 2024, a jointly owned share counts only if its own value is £40,000 or more.
• Replacing your main home: no ADS if you disposed of your only or main residence within the replacement window, 36 months for effective dates from 1 April 2024.
• Refund: if you paid ADS and sell your previous home within 36 months, you can reclaim it, provided that home was your only or main residence at some point in the 36 months before, and you live in the new one as your main residence.
• Companies and trusts: most purchases by non-individuals are subject to ADS even with no other property.

Our calculation, £300,000, additional home. ADS is 8% of £300,000 = £24,000, on top of the LBTT of £4,600. See higher rates for additional properties.

Return and payment: 30 days

The buyer must make an LBTT return within 30 days of the day after the effective date (Revenue Scotland, LBTT4003). The effective date is normally the completion date. In practice, your solicitor files the return and handles the payment, and LBTT appears among the “outlays” they list on top of their fees, along with Registers of Scotland fees and search fees (mygov.scot). Ask your solicitor to confirm the date and the amount before settlement.

Scotland compared with the rest of the UK

SDLT does not apply in Scotland. Wales has Land Transaction Tax with other rates, and there is no first-time buyer relief there. See Stamp Duty Land Tax and Land Transaction Tax in Wales. For the process around the tax, see buying a home in Scotland.

Which professional to consult

In Scotland, a solicitor handles the purchase and the LBTT return. A mortgage adviser can include the tax in your budget. See the conveyancer and the mortgage adviser. To compare nations, use the stamp duty calculator and the Scotland page.