Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes 2023/24

View Annual Summary of Trends in the Devolved Taxes. 


This is our seventh annual statistics publication summarising trends in the devolved taxes, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT), published on 1 November 2024.

The data in the publication covers the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2024.

Executive Summary

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax  

  • £804 million in LBTT revenues were declared due during 2023/24. This is the third highest annual total, behind 2022/23 (£838 million) and 2021/22 (£813 million). The total LBTT revenue includes £189 million net Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) payments, some of which is likely to be reclaimed at a later date. 
  • In 2023/24, residential conveyances accounted for about three-quarters (76% or £607 million) of total LBTT declared due, non-residential conveyances accounted for 20% (£162 million) and leases accounted for 4% (£34 million). Reviews of a lease accounted for less than 1% (<£1 million). 
  • The total number of LBTT returns (110,830) received in 2023/24 was 7% lower than in the previous year. There were 8,530 fewer residential conveyance returns, and 530 non-residential conveyance returns received. 

Residential Transactions  

  • £422 million in LBTT revenues from residential conveyances was recorded in 2023/24, excluding ADS. This is 9% lower than in 2022/23 (£466 million) but is the second highest annual total since the introduction of LBTT in 2015/16. However, the number of residential LBTT returns received (94,050) was down 8% from 2022/23 and was the lowest annual total on record. 
  • Residential LBTT revenue excluding ADS is dominated by transactions in the £325,000 to £750,000 band, which made up 60% of residential revenue in 2023/24 while making up 16% of residential returns.  
  • 36% (34,200) of residential returns received in 2023/24 were in the nil rate (£0 to £145,000) tax band, the lowest proportion on record, and continuing the year-on-year decrease from 53% in 2015/16. 

Additional Dwelling Supplement  

  • £234 million gross ADS was declared due in 2023/24, a 14% increase on the previous year. However, the number of returns with ADS declared due decreased from 24,650 in 2022/23 to 21,090 in 2023/24, a drop of 14%. ADS was declared due for 22% of all residential conveyances in 2023/24, down from 24% in the previous year. 
  • The ADS rate increased from 4% to 6% on the 16th of December 2022. This increased rate is partially responsible for the increase in gross ADS declared for 2023/24 compared to 2022/23, as the rate was 6% for all of 2023/24 but only part of 2022/23. 
  • In 81% of residential ADS returns submitted in 2023/24, the taxpayer stated they did not intend to reclaim the ADS declared due, down from 84% in the previous year. 
  • 85% of ADS reclaims are made within one year of the original transaction. 

Non-Residential Transactions  

  • £158 million LBTT was declared due for non-residential conveyances in 2023/24, excluding ADS. This is a 16% decrease from 2022/23. The number of non-residential conveyance returns dropped by 8% from the previous year to 6,520. 
  • Almost half (47% or 3,080) of non-residential conveyances in 2023/24 were in the bottom (0%) tax band of £0-£150,000. The top 5% (326) of residential conveyances by total consideration (purchase price) accounted for 75% of non-residential LBTT for conveyances in 2023/24. 

Leases

  • Leases contributed £34 million LBTT revenue in 2023/24, the highest annual total so far. 
  • Reviews of a lease accounted for approximately £0.6m of LBTT declared due in 2023/24. This makes up roughly 0.1% of total LBTT for the year.  

Sub-Scotland 

  • The City of Edinburgh accounted for £116 million in residential LBTT revenues (excluding ADS) in 2023/24, 27% of the total. The second largest contributor, Glasgow City, accounted for £34 million (8%), although Glasgow had a higher number of residential returns (10,560) than Edinburgh (10,420).  
  • The proportion of residential conveyance returns in which the taxpayer declared ADS due, but did not intend to reclaim it, was highest in Na h-Eileanan Siar (31%) and lowest in Midlothian (11%). These figures can be used as a proxy for the percentage of returns which were for second home or rental property purchases. 

Reliefs 

  • £184 millions of LBTT revenue was foregone to reliefs in 2023/24, with around 17,660 returns receiving relief.  
  • Non-residential transactions accounted for the 80% of revenue forgone to reliefs in 2023/24. 

Scottish Landfill Tax  

  • £69 million of Net SLfT was declared due in 2023/24, a decrease of 38% from 2022/23. 
  • Standard rate disposals account for 97% of SLfT declared due in 2023/24. 
  • Standard rate disposals were down from 1,179,200 tonnes in 2022/23 to 693,100 tonnes in 2023/24, a decrease of 41%. Lower rate disposals decreased 11% from 684,600 tonnes in 2022/23 to 607,000 tonnes in 2023/24.