Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 section 31

Return where contingency ceases or consideration ascertained

Section 31 requires buyers to submit a further LBTT return to Revenue Scotland when previously uncertain or contingent consideration in a land transaction is finally resolved, and the outcome results in a tax liability or an increased tax liability.

• When the consideration for a land transaction was originally contingent, uncertain or unascertained, and the contingency is resolved or an amount becomes known, the buyer must file a further return if this triggers a new or additional tax charge.
• The further return must be submitted within 30 days of the day after the triggering event — that is, the day the contingency occurred (or became clearly impossible), or the day an uncertain amount was finally ascertained.
• The return must include a self-assessment of the tax due, but importantly, the tax is calculated using the rates and bands that were in force at the original effective date of the transaction, not the rates in force at the time of the further return.
• This requirement does not apply to the extent that the consideration consists of rent under a lease (which is dealt with separately under Schedule 19), unless the resolution of the contingency or uncertainty makes the transaction notifiable for the first time.

---