Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 section 8

Contract and conveyance

Section 8 establishes the basic rule that entering into a contract for a land transaction does not, by itself, trigger a liability to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax — it is the completion of the transaction by conveyance that matters.

• This section applies where a contract is entered into for a land transaction that is to be completed by a conveyance (i.e. the formal transfer of legal title).
• Simply entering into the contract does not count as entering into a land transaction for LBTT purposes.
• The tax charge arises on the conveyance (the completion of the transaction), not at the contract stage.
• Exceptions to this general rule exist under sections 9 and 10, which deal with substantial performance of a contract before formal conveyance and contracts providing for conveyance to a third party.