Finance Act 2025

52 Contracts substantially performed before relevant rate change U.K.

(1) The Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Act 2020 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 1 (reduced rates of SDLT in relation to land transactions the effective date of which falls in the period beginning with 8 July 2020 and ending with 30 June 2021)—

(a) in subsection (6) (which provides an exception from section 44(8) of FA 2003 where the contract is completed after 30 June 2021), for the words from “that the modifications” to the end substitute “the reason given by subsection (6A)”, and

(b) after subsection (6) insert—

“(6A) For this purpose, the sole reason is either—

(a) that the modifications made by this section have no effect in relation to that conveyance, or

(b) that both paragraph (a) applies and the increased rates provided for by section 50 or 51 of the Finance Act 2025 would have had effect in relation to that conveyance.”

(3) In section 1A (reduced rates of SDLT in relation to land transactions the effective date of which falls in the period beginning with 1 July 2021 and ending with 30 September 2021)—

(a) in subsection (5) (which provides an exception from section 44(8) of FA 2003 where the contract is completed after 30 September 2021), for the words from “that the modifications” to the end substitute “the reason given by subsection (5A)”, and

(b) after subsection (5) insert—

“(5A) For this purpose, the sole reason is either—

(a) that the modifications made by this section have no effect in relation to that conveyance, or

(b) that both paragraph (a) applies and the increased rates provided for by section 50 or 51 of the Finance Act 2025 would have had effect in relation to that conveyance.”

(4) In section 1 of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Act 2023 (reduced rates of SDLT in relation to land transactions the effective date of which falls in the period beginning with 23 September 2022 and ending with 31 March 2025)—

(a) in subsection (6) (which provides an exception from section 44(8) of FA 2003 where the contract is completed after 31 March 2025), for the words from “that the modifications” to the end substitute “the reason given by subsection (6A)”, and

(b) after subsection (6) insert—

“(6A) For this purpose, the sole reason is either—

(a) that the modifications made by subsections (2) to (5) have no effect in relation to that conveyance, or

(b) that both paragraph (a) applies and the increased rates provided for by section 51 of the Finance Act 2025 would have had effect in relation to that conveyance.”

(5) In a case where—

(a) as a result of section 44(4) of FA 2003 the effective date of a land transaction is before 31 October 2024, and

(b) the contract concerned is completed by a conveyance on or after that date,

section 44(8) of that Act is not to apply in relation to that conveyance if the sole reason that (but for this subsection) it would have applied is that the increased rates provided for by section 50 or 51 of this Act would have had effect in relation to that conveyance.

(6) Section 44(10) of FA 2003 applies for the purposes of subsection (5).