What is the crofting community right to buy relief under LBTT?

Under Schedule 9 paragraph 1 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013, when a crofting community exercises its statutory right to buy crofting land and the transaction involves the purchase of two or more crofts, the transaction is entirely exempt from LBTT. No tax is payable on the purchase price regardless of the land's value.

What conditions must be met for the crofting community right to buy LBTT exemption to apply?

Two conditions must both be satisfied. First, the transaction must be carried out in pursuance of the crofting community right to buy, a specific legal right allowing crofting communities in Scotland to acquire croft land. Second, the purchase must cover two or more crofts within the same transaction. A single croft purchase does not qualify.

Does the crofting community right to buy exemption apply to the purchase of a single croft?

No. The exemption requires the purchase of two or more crofts in the same transaction. If a crofting community purchases only one croft under the crofting community right to buy, this particular LBTT exemption does not apply because the requirement for two or more crofts is not met.

When was the crofting community right to buy LBTT relief introduced?

This provision was introduced by the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Addition and Modification of Reliefs) (Scotland) Order 2015. It added the crofting community right to buy relief to Schedule 9 of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013, exempting qualifying multi-croft purchases from LBTT entirely.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 Schedule 9 paragraph 1

The relief

Paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 provides an LBTT exemption for certain land transactions carried out under the crofting community right to buy.

This relief applies to land transactions made under the crofting community right to buy in Scotland.
The transaction must involve the purchase of two or more crofts to qualify for the exemption.
Where both conditions are met, the transaction is completely exempt from LBTT — no tax is chargeable.
This provision was introduced by the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Addition and Modification of Reliefs) (Scotland) Order 2015.

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