Gifting Welsh property: when no LTT is due
Gifted property and LTT
A gift of Welsh land or property can be exempt from LTT where the buyer gives nothing of value in return. A mortgage changes the position if the buyer takes on the debt.
- No cash price is not enough on its own.
- Debt assumed by the buyer can count as payment.
- Market value rules can apply to some company transfers.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
Gifting Welsh property: when no LTT is due
If you are given land or a home in Wales for nothing, the transfer can be exempt from Land Transaction Tax (LTT), Wales’s stamp duty tax. The key question is simple: have you given anything of value in return? Taking over a mortgage can change the answer.
What this rule is about
A gift is not always a tax-free transfer. The law looks beyond the price written on the paperwork. It asks what the buyer gives, directly or indirectly, to receive the property.
Where a family member transfers a home while a loan remains secured on it, and the recipient assumes responsibility for that borrowing, the transfer may involve real financial value despite no cash changing hands. The buyer may carry a real financial burden.
What the official source says
The official Welsh Government page says a transfer is exempt where there is no chargeable consideration. This legal phrase means no money, no money’s worth, and no other thing with a financial value is given for the property.
- A genuine gift, with nothing given back, can be exempt from LTT.
- Cash paid by the buyer counts as payment.
- Something else given in return can also count if it has a value.
- A buyer taking over existing debt can count as payment.
- This includes debt such as a mortgage.
- The no-payment exemption does not apply if the deemed market value rule applies.
What this means in practice
Do not stop at the words “gift” or “no price.” Ask who will be responsible for any borrowing after the transfer. Mortgage debt can count as payment.
That does not automatically tell you the final LTT bill. It does mean the transfer is not dealt with as a simple no-payment gift.
- Check whether there is a mortgage, secured loan or other existing debt.
- Check whether you become responsible for all or part of it.
- Keep the lender’s consent and loan documents.
- Record any cash or other value passing between the parties.
- No cash does not guarantee exemption.
How to analyse it
Start with the real arrangements, not the label on the transfer form. What are you giving to get the property?
- Is the land or property in Wales?
- Is it a gift, or is any money being paid?
- Are you giving goods, services or another asset in return?
- Will you take over an existing debt?
- Does a company buy the property from a connected person?
- Does the deal involve shares in a company connected with the seller?
- If so, could the market value rule apply instead?
Example
Ruth gives her son, Daniel, a Welsh house worth £200,000. Daniel gives Ruth no cash, yet he assumes responsibility for the £85,000 mortgage already secured on the house. This is not a no-payment gift for this exemption. The £85,000 debt taken on counts as value given for the transfer. The source does not provide enough information to calculate any LTT due.
Why this can be difficult in practice
This is the part people get wrong: a mortgage need not be paid off for it to matter. The question is whether the buyer has assumed the debt. Lender paperwork, the transfer deed and the parties’ actual responsibilities may all matter.
There is another trap for company transfers. In defined cases, the law applies the property’s market value, even where little or nothing is paid. A gift label does not settle the issue.
- A family relationship does not, by itself, decide the result.
- No cash price does not always mean no value was given.
- Being added to a mortgage may matter even on a part share transfer.
- A company connection can bring in a different valuation rule.
Key takeaways
- A genuine gift with nothing given in return can be exempt from LTT.
- Taking over a mortgage can count as payment for the property.
- Company transfers may instead be tested using market value.
Technical analysis
For advisers, and for anyone who wants to check the law behind this page. You do not need this section to understand the guidance above.
Legislation
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 3 para 1 — exempts transfers with no chargeable consideration
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 1 — defines money or money’s worth given
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 8 — treats assumed debt as payment for land
- LTTA 2017 section 22 — uses market value in certain company transfers
- LTTA 2017 section 23 — sets exceptions to the company market value rule
Official guidance
The pages below are the Welsh Revenue Authority’s guidance. Guidance is not law. It sets out how the Welsh Revenue Authority reads the legislation, and it is not binding on you, on a tribunal or on a court. Where guidance and the legislation differ, the legislation wins. the Welsh Revenue Authority can also change or withdraw guidance, and it may not cover your facts.
Where this is not settled
- Whether a buyer has assumed a debt depends on the legal arrangements and the facts, not simply on how the transfer is described.
- The supplied statutory bundle does not include the required currency notice. Current-law status should be checked before relying on the analysis for a later transaction.
Evidence you would need
This kind of case is decided on the facts of the individual property. These are the records that usually settle it, and the ones an adviser would ask you for.
- The transfer deed and any agreement between the parties
- Mortgage statements and lender documents showing who remained responsible for the debt
- Evidence of any cash payment, services, assets or other value given
- Company and ownership records where a company is involved
- A current valuation if the deemed market value rule may apply
Explore this with an AI
Readers often want to test their own situation. Copy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It hands the model the actual legislation for this page rather than letting it answer from memory, and tells it to be explicit about what is uncertain. What comes back is information, not advice – check it against the links above.
I am researching Land Transaction Tax (LTT), the tax on property in Wales. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales on 1 April 2018, and SDLT does not apply in Wales. MY QUESTION Gifting Welsh property: when no LTT is due [Replace this with your own situation: what you are buying, the price, the dates, who the buyer is, and what you plan to do with the property.] THE LAW THIS TURNS ON - LTTA 2017 Schedule 3 para 1 - exempts transfers with no chargeable consideration https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/3/paragraph/1 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 1 - defines money or money's worth given https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/4/paragraph/1 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 4 para 8 - treats assumed debt as payment for land https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/4/paragraph/8 - LTTA 2017 section 22 - uses market value in certain company transfers https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/22 - LTTA 2017 section 23 - sets exceptions to the company market value rule https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/23 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/land-transactions#5065 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. Guidance from the Welsh Revenue Authority is its view of the law, not the law, and does not bind a tribunal or a court. 2. Tell me what the rule actually requires, in plain English. 3. Tell me which facts decide the answer, and which facts would change it. 4. Tell me what evidence I would need to support the position. 5. Be explicit about anything unsettled or fact-sensitive. Do not guess. 6. Your training data has a cutoff and SDLT rates and reliefs change at fiscal events. Say so if you are not sure the law is current. POINTS ALREADY KNOWN TO BE UNCERTAIN ON THIS TOPIC - Whether a buyer has assumed a debt depends on the legal arrangements and the facts, not simply on how the transfer is described. - The supplied statutory bundle does not include the required currency notice. Current-law status should be checked before relying on the analysis for a later transaction. Do not give me a conclusion you cannot support from the provisions above.
Legislation links show the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 as it stood on 2025-11-17. The law may have changed since, and the rules that apply are those in force on the date of your transaction. The official guidance this page is based on is here.
This page was last updated on 3 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Gifting Welsh property: when no LTT is due
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