Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Scotland) Act 2013 section 5

Deemed ownership: beneficiaries under certain trusts

Section 5 explains how beneficiaries of certain types of trust are treated as owners of a dwelling for the purposes of determining first-time buyer status.

• A beneficiary under a bare trust that holds a major interest in a dwelling is treated as though they are (or were) the buyer of that dwelling.
• A beneficiary under a settlement who has a life right to occupy the dwelling, or who is entitled to income from it, is also treated as the buyer.
• This deemed ownership applies both to current and past interests, so a person who was previously a beneficiary with such rights cannot claim first-time buyer status on the basis that the dwelling was held through a trust.
• The two types of trust covered are bare trusts (where the trustee holds property purely on behalf of the beneficiary) and settlements (trusts with more complex terms governing who benefits and how).