Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 section Schedule 5 paragraph 9

Intermediate transactions during the interim period

Schedule 5, paragraph 9 deals with situations where a buyer purchases a property during the gap between selling their old main residence and buying their new one, and how that intermediate purchase is treated for higher rates of Land Transaction Tax.

• An intermediate transaction is one that would normally attract higher rates of LTT but would not do so if the buyer did not already own a major interest in another dwelling — essentially a purchase made during the period between selling and replacing a main residence.
• When assessing whether the intermediate transaction attracts higher rates, the test for whether the buyer owns other property can be applied either at the date of the intermediate transaction or at the end of the interim period (or both), rather than solely at the transaction date.
• The replacement of a main residence can involve a dwelling anywhere in the UK — Wales, England, Northern Ireland, or Scotland — and the relevant conditions from each jurisdiction's own legislation apply accordingly.
• The interim period runs from the date the buyer disposed of (or completed the sale of) their previous main residence to the date they acquire the replacement main residence, and any qualifying property purchase falling within that window is an intermediate transaction.