Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced UK Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in Scotland from 1 April 2015. LBTT is a tax applied to residential and commercial land and buildings transactions (including commercial properties and commercial leases) where a chargeable interest is acquired. 

A set threshold is set and a percentage rate for each band in LBTT is applied only to the part of the price over the relevant threshold and up to the next threshold.

If you buy a property for less than the threshold, there’s no LBTT to pay.

LBTT Rates for residential property  

The rate of what LBTT fee you will pay for a residential property is dependent on two things:

• When you bought the property

• How much you paid for it

As of 1st April 2021 LBTT rates and bands are set at the following thresholds:

LBTT Rates for First Time Buyers 

For first time buyers a new relief has been introduced that which increases the residential nil rate band of LBTT to £175,000.