Land Transaction Tax: All you need to know

Understanding the process and fees of buying a property or land can be quite overwhelming and over the last 10 months you may have seen heightened commentary on Land Transaction Tax (LTT), or Stamp Duty as it was known until 2018.

LTT is a fee that is payable to the Welsh Revenue Authority when you buy a property or land to support public services in Wales such as Health Care & Education. The amount that you are required to pay depends on how much the property or land you buy is valued, and whether it is residential or not.

In an attempt to rebuild the nations economy and help get first time buyers onto the property ladder, the Welsh government introduced a LTT holiday in June 2020, where they increased the threshold from £180,000 to £250,000 and this was to run until the 31^st March 2021. However, last week it was announced that this LLT holiday would be extended until the 30^th June 2021. Any transactions made from the 1^st July 2021, will see the threshold returned to £180,000. The transaction date (also known as the effective date) is the day the property completes. You must file a return and pay the LLT within 30 days of this date, typically your solicitor will take care of this process but its always worth checking.

It is important to note that the LTT holiday does not apply to anyone who is looking to buy a second home or buy-to-let. In December 2020, it was announced that there would be a 1% increase to the second home LTT in Wales, bringing it to 4% on properties valued up to £180,000, rising up to 16% for transactions over £1.5m.

Further information on rates can be found on the Gov website -  https://gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-rates-and-bands