With the recent announcement about LBTT made by the SNP to change the thresholds of property tax yet again, people are left a little confused. Let’s simplify what has been announced…

What is LBTT?

In October 2014 the Scottish Government proposed a new alternative to stamp duty called Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which on the 21st January 2015 was updated and will take effect from 1 April 2015.
The New Proposed Tax bands for Scottish Properties…
The following tax bands are proposed to take effect from 1st April 2015…

 

Property Price Band Tax Rate
£0 to £145,000 No Tax
£145,001 to £250,000 2%
£250,001 to £325,000 5%
£325,001 to £750,000 10%
Over £750,000 12%

 

Tax is only paid on the portion over each threshold meaning that if you bought a property for £165,000, you would pay 2% of 20,000 (as the first £135,000 is not taxed).

Who wins and who loses?

People buying a property less than £333,000 will be paying less tax than before
People buying a property over £333,000 will be paying more tax than before
People buying a property for £145,000 or less will pay no tax at all (raised from £135,000)

LBTT Calculator

Please download our excel tax calculator to show how much tax you would pay for your property.