From 1 April 2018, homebuyers in Wales will be subject to land transaction tax (LTT) which is dealt with by the Welsh Revenue Authority.

Like SDLT, LTT is payable when individuals buy or lease a building or land over a certain price. The Welsh government says the legislation is broadly consistent with SDLT, preserving the underlying structure and mirroring key elements such as partnerships, trusts and reliefs, to provide stability and reassurance to businesses and the property market.

Mark Drakeford, cabinet secretary for finance has announced that the starting threshold for LTT residential rates will be set at £180,000 from 1 April 2018. Drakeford said this new threshold is £55,000 higher than the starting threshold for SDLT.

Drakeford also said that in Wales, the average first-time buyer pays around £135,000, so are in a comparable situation to those offered additional SDLT relief for first time buyers set out by Chancellor Philip Hammond in the Autumn Budget.

‘If Wales had adopted a similar approach to that taken by the UK government, first-time buyers in Wales would benefit from that tax reduction but this would do nothing to help equally hard-pressed families. My focus has been to help everyone looking to buy a home in this part of the market by increasing the progressivity of the tax overall,’ Drakeford said.

Welsh government analysis suggests the average homebuyer in Wales will now pay more than £500 less tax than under SDLT; around 90% of homebuyers in Wales will either pay the same or less tax than under SDLT; around 80% of first-time buyers in Wales will pay no tax, the same proportion achieved for English first-time buyers by the Chancellor’s commitment.

HMRC Guidance Stamp Duty Land Tax: online returns is here.

LTT rates and bands information is here.