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The Scottish Government has commenced a Consultation on a proposed first time buyer’s relief from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which was announced in the draft Scottish Budget 2018/19. The proposed first time buyer’s relief would raise the current LBTT threshold of £145,000 to £175,000 to first time buyers.
The Scottish Government have proposed that the relief would be available where:
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The buyer is a natural person
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A single dwelling is purchased for more than £145,000
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The buyer is a first time buyer who has never had any “major interest” in a dwelling in Scotland or anywhere else in the world.
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That the buyer intends to occupy the property as their main residence.
Under the current LBTT rules, anybody (first time buyers or otherwise) pays a proportion of LBTT on any purchases over £145,000. The Scottish Government have estimated that around 12,000 first time buyers would benefit from the proposed relief. Further, they estimate that approximately 80% of first time buyers would pay no LBTT whatsoever, taking into account the average purchase price of a first time buyer in Scotland.
In terms of the consultation the Scottish Government are seeking views on their proposals, which they would propose to introduce in June 2018. The consultation is open until 23 March, 2018 and can be found at the following link: https://consult.gov.scot/fiscal-responsibility/first-time-buyers-relief/
