Land Transaction Tax update: autumn 2022

Cheque payments

From 2 February 2023, we’ll no longer accept cheques.

You can instead pay us by bank transfer. 

See pay Land Transaction Tax for details.

We’ve made this change because bank transfers:

• can be made and processed quickly, giving greater certainty they’ve been received
• are more secure by reducing the chances of loss or theft
• provide greater value for money by reducing administration costs

If you have any queries about how to pay or need help, please contact us.

Buyer and agent contact details

We’re making changes to the ‘About the buyer’ section of the LTT return:

• a new field for the buyer’s email address
• buyer’s email address and phone number will be mandatory
• optional fields for agent contact details (name, phone, and email) for return queries

We’ve recently undertaken work to understand how people get into debt.

When we receive an LTT return, it’s not always clear who we need to speak to.

Having this information ensures:

• our data is correct so we can contact the right person
• we can resolve queries quickly and avoid escalation, such as penalties and interest charges to the taxpayer

Changes to main residential rates

On 27 September 2022, the Welsh Government announced changes to the main residential rates and bands of LTT.

The new rates and bands apply from 10 October 2022.

Transitional rules are in place. If the buyer completes on buying a property:

• before 10 October you pay the previous rates of tax
• on or after 10 October you pay the new rates of tax

In most cases, the previous rates can be used where contracts are exchanged before 10 October, but the purchase is not completed until on or after this date.

If a return was drafted before 10 October, you’ll need to check that the correct rates have been used before it is submitted.

Read more about the changes to the main residential rates and bands for LTT in our announcement, including guidance on how to file a return using the transitional rules.

Calculate LTT with multiple dwellings relief (MDR)

We’ve updated our MDR calculator to include purchases of dwellings with other land properties.

Following this, we’ve removed the temporary MDR spreadsheet calculator from our website.

To find out when MDR could apply to a transaction:

• use our MDR quick guide 
• watch our short MDR explainer videos

For more complex cases, including linked transactions, or if you’re uncertain how the tax or relief applies you can contact us.

Registering your organisation to file online

When registering to file it’s important to know and understand your responsibilities.

You cannot register an organisation more than once. First check if your organisation is already registered to file online.

If you’re unsure if an account already exists, please contact us.

We’ll need:

• a key contact within your organisation
• a named online administrator to manage user accounts

Email addresses should be an individual email address, not a shared mailbox such as ‘info@’.

When there are tax return queries, we need to be able to speak to the direct contact to avoid processing delays.

When registered

Account details and passwords should not be shared. If others in your organisation need access, they can create a new user account.

It’s your responsibility to inform us if any of those contacts change or leave your organisation.

We need your help

We’re looking for volunteers to help us with our user research.

Your feedback and experience using our guidance and services would help shape future development.

Sign up to join our user feedback group by emailing haveyoursay@wra.gov.wales

Volunteering to help gives you an opportunity to have your say about how these services look and feel.

All research activities are optional. We’ll use the information you provide during sessions to:

• improve our existing guidance and services
• develop new services