Transitional leases - First-tier Tribunal decision - update

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT)

Revenue Scotland previously provided an update following a recent decision of The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Tax Chamber. As our previous update noted, this decision raises complex questions in relation to the relevant legislation. 

Revenue Scotland can now confirm that it has received permission to appeal the Tribunal’s decision.

Monthly Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) statistics: July 2025

Key points

  • Residential LBTT, excluding Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), was £52.3m in July 2025. This was 15% higher than in June 2025 (£45.5m) and 1% higher than in July 2024 (£52.0m). This was the highest ever amount of residential LBTT for a single month (July 2024 being second highest).
  • Non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was £30.7m in July 2025. This was 72% higher than June 2025 (£17.9m) and 57% higher than July 2024 (£19.6m). Non-residential revenues are highly variable between months, due to the effect of small numbers of high value transactions.

Johanna Boyd to join Revenue Scotland as our new CEO later this year

Revenue Scotland is pleased to announce that Johanna Boyd will be joining Revenue Scotland as our new CEO later this year.

Currently the CEO of Planning Aid Scotland, Johanna brings a wealth of experience as a dual-qualified (non-practising) English barrister and Scottish solicitor, along with a proven track record in executive leadership.  

Her experience includes leading high-performing organisations, driving innovation, and providing strategic direction.

Monthly Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) statistics: June 2025

Key points

  • Residential LBTT, excluding Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS), was £45.5m in June 2025. This was 24% higher than in May 2025 (£36.7m) and 17% higher than in June 2024 (£38.8m).
  • Non-residential LBTT, excluding ADS, was £17.8m in June 2025. This was 11% higher than May 2025 (£16m) and 23% higher than June 2024 (£14.5m). Non-residential revenues are highly variable between months, due to the effect of small numbers of high value transactions.

Public appointment: Members appointed to the Revenue Scotland Board

The Minister for Public Finance announced the appointments of two new members to the Board of Revenue Scotland, Alison Macdonald and Gillian Wheeler.

Members

Alison Macdonald is a Chartered Banker with a financial services background. She has held senior leadership roles in Lloyds Banking Group, most recently as Chief Controls Officer - Insurance, Pensions & Investments. 

LBTT7006 Property investment partnerships (PIP)

Property investment partnerships (PIPs) are partnerships whose sole or main activity is investing or dealing in chargeable interests (including but is not restricted to carrying out construction operations on the land in question).

Chargeable interests include any interest which would be chargeable if it were in Scotland, but relates to land outwith Scotland. Partnerships holding such interests can fall within the definition of property investment partnership.

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