Revenue Scotland has revised its view on the application of Schedule 13 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 (‘LBTTA’) to cases where a charity is one of a number of buyers who are or will become common owners. We now accept that Charities relief from LBTT may be claimed for the charity’s (or charities’) pro indiviso share(s) of the relevant land transaction.
Following the close of the SLfT consultation on waste fines, we have now published an analysis of the responses and the new ‘waste fines’ section of legislative guidance. This new section of guidance will implement the conditions set out by The Scottish Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 2016, and will come into force from 1 October 2016.
Revenue Scotland has collected £572m in its first full year of operation.
Scotland’s devolved tax authority, which is responsible for the administration and collection of Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) and Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT), revealed the total revenue raised when it published its 2015-2016 annual report and financial statements today. The revenue collected is transferred to the Scottish Consolidated Fund to support the delivery of public services in Scotland.
Revenue Scotland would like to remind agents of their responsibilities in respect to Arrangements Satisfactory for LBTT. Transactions for residential properties with a chargeable consideration of £40,000 and over will require an LBTT return to be made, even if no tax is due. Full details on which land transactions are notifiable for LBTT purposes and which are not can be found at LBTT4003”
On 4 August 2016, the Bank of England announced a 0.25% decrease in the base interest rate. With effect from 10 August 2016, we have amended our rates accordingly. Please visit our penalties and interest pages for more information.
Terminology used in SLfT and information on exemptions
This publication is part of a monthly series of Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) statistics, started in April 2015, which provides data on the number and value of notifiable transactions reported to Revenue Scotland.
These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Revenue Scotland statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
Residential LBTT, excluding Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), was £29.3 million in February 2025. This is a 1% increase compared to January 2025.
Figure 1: Line chart displaying residential LBTT, excluding ADS, by month, April 2015 – February 2025.
Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was 1% higher in February 2025 (£29.3m) than in the previous month (£29.0m). January and February are typically a low point in the year for both residential LBTT revenue and residential LBTT returns submitted.
Residential LBTT, excluding Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), was the highest yet for the month of February (£29.3 million).
Figure 2: Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, declared in February of each year, 2016-2025.
Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was 27% higher in February 2025 (£29.3m) than in February 2024 (£23.1m). The number of residential LBTT returns submitted in the month of February has been relatively consistent over the years (high of 7,640 in 2021; low of 5,600 in 2018), so the general trend of increasing LBTT revenue is due to rising average property prices.
6,300 Residential LBTT returns were submitted in February 2025.
Figure 3: Residential LBTT returns submitted in February each year, 2016-2025.
Non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was £15.0 million in February 2025. This is an 11% decrease compared to January 2025.
Figure 4: Line chart displaying non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, by month, April 2015 – February 2025.
Non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was 11% lower in February 2025 (£15.0m) compared to the previous month (£16.8m). This is consistent with the general trend of non-residential LBTT being high in December and dropping from January onwards.
The number of non-residential conveyance returns submitted in February 2025 (520) increased 24% compared to January 2025 (420). Leases increased slightly and lease reviews decreased compared to the previous month.
Figure 5: Line chart displaying the number of non-residential LBTT returns submitted, by type of return, by month, February 2024 – February 2025.
Non-residential conveyance returns increased by 24% in February 2025 compared to the previous month. The number of new leases increased slightly on the previous month, while lease review returns dropped by 9% (lease review returns includes 3-year, 6-year and 9-year lease reviews, as well as assignation and termination returns).
The number of LBTT returns received which declared ADS due was 1,370 in February 2025. This is slightly lower than February 2024 and is the joint second lowest for any month of February on record, though not by a large margin.
Figure 6: Bar chart displaying the number of LBTT returns received which declared ADS due, for each month of February, 2017-2025.
The number of LBTT returns received with ADS declared due was 5% lower in February 2025 (1,370) compared to January 2025 (1,440). This is the joint second lowest so far for the month of February and is 27% lower than the high for the month of February (1,860) received in 2021.
Gross ADS declared in February 2025 was £19.0 million. This is the highest for any month of February.
Figure 7: Bar chart displaying gross ADS declared due in each month of February, 2017-2025.
Gross ADS (ADS before reclaims are deducted) was £19.0m in February 2025. This is the highest figure for any month of February. The increase in gross ADS compared to February 2024, despite fewer returns with ADS due, is largely due to the ADS rate increasing from 6% to 8% in December 2024.
We are always interested to hear from our users about how our statistics are used, and how they can be improved.
For enquiries about this publication please contact:
This publication is part of a quarterly series of Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT) statistics, started in April 2015, which provides data on the total number of returns; total number of sites; total tax payable; total contributions to the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund; standard and lower rate waste tonnages, as reported to Revenue Scotland.
These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Revenue Scotland statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
SLfT was £11.2 million during the last quarter, 22% lower than the previous quarter (£14.4m).
Figure 1: Column chart showing SLfT declared by quarter. An additional line shows the 4 quarter moving average for SLfT declared due.
SLfT in Q3 of 2024/25 was the lowest for any quarter on record (£11.2m). In seven of the nine previous financial years, Q3 has been the lowest or second lowest quarter for SLfT declared due; 2024/25 is also following this pattern.
Total SLfT for the first three quarters of 2024/25 is £41.7m, which is 26% (£15m) lower than the first three quarters of the previous financial year. This is less than half of the SLfT declared due for the first three quarters of any year prior to 2023/24, with the exception of 2020/21, which was still only just short of being twice as high (£80.8m).
Standard rate tonnage was 25% lower than the previous quarter and lower rate tonnage was 14% lower.
Figure 2: Line chart showing standard and lower rate tonnages by quarter.
Standard rate tonnage in Q3 of 2024/25 was 109,200, which is the lowest of any quarter on record. Lower rate tonnage was 129,800, which is tied with Q3 of 2023/24 as the lowest for any Q3, and is also tied as the fourth lowest for any quarter on record.
Total waste tonnage in the first three quarters of 2024/25 is 851,200, which is 19% lower than in the first three quarters of the previous year (1,051,900). This is also less than half of the total tonnage of the first three quarters of every financial year from 2018/19 (1,886,800) back to 2015/16 (2,186,300).
We are always interested to hear from our users about how our statistics are used, and how they can be improved.
For enquiries about this publication please contact:
The Minister for Public Finance, Mr McKee, has announced the reappointment of Jean Lindsay, Ken Macintosh, Robert MacIntosh and Idong Usoro as Members of the Revenue Scotland Board.
This publication is part of a monthly series of Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) statistics, started in April 2015, which provides data on the number and value of notifiable transactions reported to Revenue Scotland.
These statistics are official statistics. Official statistics are statistics that are produced by crown bodies, those acting on behalf of crown bodies, or those specified in statutory orders, as defined in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
Revenue Scotland statistics are regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
Figure 1: Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, by month, April 2015 – January 2025.
Residential LBTT, excluding Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), was £29.0 million in January 2025. This is a 35% decrease compared to December 2024.
Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was 35% lower in January 2025 (£29.0m) than in the previous month (£44.6m). Every year since 2015 has seen a decrease in residential LBTT, excluding ADS, between the months of December and January. Fewer houses are purchased in January than in December, with both January and February typically being a low point in the year for both residential LBTT revenue and residential LBTT returns submitted.
Figure 2: Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, declared in January of each year, 2016-2025.
Residential LBTT, excluding Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), was the highest yet for the month of January (£29.0 million).
Residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was 10% higher in January 2025 (£29.0m) than in January 2024 (£26.4m). The number of residential LBTT returns submitted in the month of January has been relatively consistent over the years (high of 7,040 in 2021; low of 5,710 in 2023), so the general trend of increasing LBTT revenue is due to rising property prices.
Figure 3: Residential LBTT returns submitted in January each year, 2016-2025.
6,380 Residential LBTT returns were submitted in January 2025.
Figure 4: Non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, by month, April 2015 – January 2025.
Line chart displaying non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was £16.8 million in January 2025. This is a 36% decrease compared to December 2024.
Non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was 36% lower in January 2025 (£16.8m) compared to the previous month (£26.3m). This drop between December and January is normal, as non-residential LBTT is typically high in December each year.
Figure 5: Number of non-residential LBTT returns submitted, by type of return, by month, January 2024 – January 2025.
The number of non-residential conveyance returns submitted in January 2025 was the lowest since January 2024. Lease reviews and lease returns increased slightly on the previous month.
Non-residential conveyance returns decreased by 41% in January 2025 compared to the previous month. This drop is expected and follows the usual pattern seen between December and January each year. The number of new leases increased slightly on the previous month, as did the number of lease review returns (which includes 3-year, 6-year and 9-year lease reviews, as well as assignation and termination returns).
Figure 6: Number of LBTT returns received which declared ADS due, for each month of January, 2017-2025.
The number of LBTT returns received which declared ADS due was 1,330 in January 2025. This is slightly lower than January 2024 and is the lowest for any month of January on record, though not by a large margin.
The number of LBTT returns received with ADS declared due was 2% lower in January 2025 (1,330) compared to January 2024 (1,360). This is the lowest so far for the month of January and is 36% lower than the high for the month of January (2,080) received in 2019.
Figure 7: Gross ADS declared due in each month of January, 2017-2025.
Gross ADS declared in January 2025 was £17.8 million. This is the highest for any month of January.
Gross ADS (ADS before reclaims are deducted) was £17.8m in January 2025. This is the highest figure for any month of January. The increase in gross ADS compared to January 2024, despite fewer returns with ADS due, is largely due to the ADS rate increasing from 6% to 8% in December 2024.
We are always interested to hear from our users about how our statistics are used, and how they can be improved.
For enquiries about this publication please contact:
Revenue Scotland Statistics & Management Information Team: statistics@revenue.scot