A tax on transactions involving acquisitions of interests in land in England or Northern Ireland. An acquisition includes the creation, surrender, release or variation of a land interest (section 43, Finance Act 2003). SDLT is chargeable irrespective of:

It is payable, by the person acquiring the interest, on the due date, which for effective dates on or after 1 March 2019 is 14 days (previously it was 30 days, and the 30 day period continues to apply in certain situations, see Practice note, SDLT: land transaction returns and administration: 30-day pay and file deadline preserved in certain cases).

For further information, see SDLT toolkit.

Land in Scotland ceased to be within the scope of SDLT for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 April 2015 (subject to transitional provisions) and is instead subject to Scottish land and buildings transaction tax (see Practice note, Scottish Land and Buildings Transaction Tax).

Land in Wales ceased to be within the scope of SDLT for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 April 2018 (subject to transitional provisions) and will instead by subject to Welsh land transaction tax (see Practice note, Welsh land transaction tax (LTT): overview).