Scotland to introduce Land and Buildings Transaction Tax holiday to boost economy after Covid-19

Scotland is to introduce its own version of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday, in a bid to boost the economy north of the border.

The Scottish Government has said the level that Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) – the equivalent of Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland - is paid at will be raised from £145,000 to £250,000.

It added that the change will mean that 80% of house buyers in Scotland will be exempt from LBTT. For transactions where the purchase price is above £250,000, the rates and thresholds that usually apply remain unchanged, although home movers purchasing a property costing more than £250,000 will save £2,100.

Importantly, unlike in England and Northern Ireland were the stamp duty holiday was announced on Wednesday (8 July) and became effective immediately, the change in Scotland requires legislation and will come into force next week on 15 July.

"The reduction in LBTT announced by the Scottish government is, of course, a welcome stimulus to the property market after three months of almost no activity during lockdown," said Edward Douglas-Home, Head of Scotland Residential at Knight Frank.

The LBTT holiday will run until the 31 March 2021. Full details of the LBTT holiday and current residential tax bands (see below) are available on the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish property market reopened for business on 29 June as part of the administration’s four-phase roadmap to unwind lockdown restrictions.

Following the chancellor’s announcement, the threshold at which people start paying stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland has been lifted from £125,000 to £500,000. The measure, in keeping with Scotland’s, will run until 31 March next year.