Date of submission versus effective date
The purpose of this appendix is to explain the basis on which Revenue Scotland’s LBTT statistics are produced, and to demonstrate that data based on the date of submission is similar in value and trend to data on an effective date18 basis, except at the ends of time series and near policy changes.
Revenue Scotland’s monthly LBTT statistics and the data in this publication are based on the date the LBTT return is submitted. Generally this is different from the effective date as taxpayers have 30 days from the effective date to submit their LBTT return. It can take up to eight weeks from the effective date for the majority (99 per cent) of LBTT returns to be submitted, whereas no such time lag exists for data produced by date of submission. Revenue Scotland is aware of interest in data by effective date but there are good reasons to publish statistics by the date the LBTT return is submitted.
- Publishing data based on the date of submission rather than the effective date allows Revenue Scotland to publish monthly LBTT statistics in a timely manner (within approximately 2-3 weeks of the month end).
- The data will be subject to revision only as a result of changes to the LBTT returns submitted (e.g. a claim for repayment of ADS) and not as a result of the submission of LBTT returns relating to an earlier period (which would be the case for statistics produced by effective date).
- Published statistics include actual values rather than estimates for the most recent months.
- Trends observed in the published data will be broadly the same as those on an effective date basis with the largest deviations occurring at the ends of the series and near policy changes.
Figure 30: Proportion of LBTT returns received by the number of weeks between submission and effective date
Figure 30 shows the proportion of LBTT returns received by the number of weeks between the date of submission and the effective date. The first category (<1 week) represents 0 to 6 days (inclusive), the second category (1-2 weeks) represents 7 to 13 days (inclusive), and so on.
Figure 30 shows that 74 per cent of LBTT returns are submitted within one week of the effective date, 97 per cent are received within four weeks of the effective date and 99 per cent are received within six to eight weeks of the effective date. This data is for LBTT returns (excluding reviews of a lease) received between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2021. This pattern has been very similar from year to year, hence 2020-21 is not shown separately.
If Revenue Scotland was to publish data by effective date, to minimise revisions (due to receipt of LBTT returns relating to property transactions that took place in the specified month), it would seem reasonable that around two months would need to be allowed to pass from the month end before statistics relating to that month could be published. This would ensure that around 99 per cent of LBTT returns with an effective date relating to that month had been received.
For example, Revenue Scotland could be reasonably confident that 99 per cent of LBTT returns with an effective date in March 2021 had been received by 31 May 2021. A small number of LBTT returns with an effective date in March 2021 would be expected to be submitted in June 2021 or later which would result in revisions to the data for March 2021 (if the data was extracted from the tax system and included in a publication by effective date after 31 May 2021).
Figure 31: Number of LBTT returns received by month of submission and effective date
Figure 31 shows the number of LBTT returns (excluding reviews of a lease) received, both by month of submission and by month of effective date. There are some significant differences between the two series for specific months but overall they are similar in terms of value and trend, with no obvious time lag. Where large differences occur, these can in some cases be explained in terms of the introduction of a policy change which relates to specific effective dates.
For example, there are large differences between the two series in March and April 2016. This is likely to have been due to forestalling ahead of the introduction of ADS in April 2016. The number of LBTT returns with an effective date in March 2016 is approximately 2,100 higher than the number of LBTT returns submitted in March 2016, and the number with an effective date in April 2016 is approximately 1,600 lower than the number submitted in April 2016. This reflects the fact that there was a financial incentive for taxpayers to conclude property transactions in March 2016 (before the introduction of ADS). Many transactions were concluded at the very end of that month, with LBTT returns for some of these transactions then being submitted in early April.
In the first month of the series, namely April 2015, the number of returns on an effective date basis is higher than the number of returns based on the date of submission. This reflects the introduction of LBTT in April 2015. There were no LBTT returns submitted in April 2015 with an effective date in March 2015 as these property transactions were subject to UK Stamp Duty Land Tax. However some of the transactions with an effective date in April 2015 will have been submitted the following month, hence reducing the number submitted in April (when compared to those with an effective date in April).
It is worth noting that the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) typically requests data by effective date, which it uses to produce and evaluate forecasts of LBTT revenue. The data provided allows the SFC to more accurately examine the impact of significant events, e.g. policy changes. The data includes LBTT returns with an effective date up to and including the month two months prior to the date on which the data was extracted from the tax system. Revenue Scotland subsequently publishes the data provided to the SFC on the LBTT data requests section of its website.
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Statistics | Revenue Scotland
18 Typically the effective date of a land transaction is the date that the land transaction is completed. For further information on the effective date see the guidance published by Revenue Scotland. https://www.revenue.scot/land-buildings-transaction-tax/guidance/lbtt-legislation-guidance/how-taxworks/lbtt1004