LTT tax opinion requests: information WRA needs
What to include
WRA wants enough information to understand an LTT tax opinion request and reply to the right person.
- Give names, addresses and a short outline.
- Agents need a signed client mandate.
- Include facts, documents, your proposed tax answer, date and value.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT tax opinion requests: information WRA needs
If you ask the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) for an opinion on Land Transaction Tax (LTT), often called Land Transaction Tax in Wales, give it the full picture, because missing facts or proof can stop WRA from dealing with the right person or understanding the question.
Details matter here.
What this rule is about
A tax opinion request asks WRA to consider a tax question arising from a planned activity, a completed deal, or another set of circumstances, and its checklist shows who is asking, what happened, and what answer they think applies.
It is not just form filling. Facts, dates and value may change the answer.
What the official source says
WRA asks the person making the request for basic details, clear information about the tax issue, and documents that support the account they give.
It needs the full account.
- Give your name and address.
- Give a brief outline of what you want WRA to consider.
- State which taxes the request concerns.
- Explain why you are carrying out the activity or why you need an opinion.
- Set out the relevant facts and include supporting documents.
- Say what tax result you think applies and which points you want WRA to examine.
- Give the proposed date of the activity or deal.
- Give its monetary value.
What this means in practice
If an agent writes for you, WRA wants proof that you allowed them to act, and the official source says WRA cannot correspond with that agent until it has a mandate signed by the client.
Send the mandate first.
- An agent should include the client’s name and address.
- The client should sign a mandate confirming the agent’s authority.
- Keep the outline short, but make the actual question clear.
- Send copies of documents that support the facts you give.
Do not assume WRA can fill gaps from a brief description: tell it what you think the LTT answer should be, even if that is the point you want checked.
Make your view clear.
How to analyse it
Start with the story of the deal, then turn it into a request that someone who was not involved can follow from the papers.
Build it step by step.
- Who is making the request: you or an agent?
- If it is an agent, is there a signed mandate?
- Which tax question needs an answer?
- What happened, or what is planned to happen?
- Why does that activity matter for the tax question?
- What documents prove the important facts?
- What date and value should WRA use?
- What answer do you think follows?
Example
Amir plans a property deal worth £250,000 and wants an LTT opinion before it goes ahead, so his agent sends Amir’s name and address, the signed mandate, the planned date and the deal value.
The request explains the facts.
It attaches the relevant papers and states the LTT result Amir thinks applies. It does not assume that WRA will reach that result.
Why this can be difficult in practice
People often send only the question, “How much tax will I pay?”, but that may not be enough because WRA’s checklist asks for the reasons for the activity, the facts, documents, date and value, and each can matter.
The question alone may fail.
- A signed mandate is needed where an agent represents the taxpayer.
- A summary should not leave out facts that may affect the answer.
- The source does not list every document needed for every request.
- The checklist gives no promised response time.
Key takeaways
- Name the person making the request and give their address.
- An agent needs the client’s signed authority before WRA will correspond.
- Explain the facts, your view, the date, value and supporting evidence.
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.
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
- The checklist does not say which supporting documents will be needed for every type of LTT question.
- It does not explain whether WRA will ask for further information after receiving a request.
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.
- Your name and address
- Your client’s name and address, if you act for them
- A signed mandate from the client
- A short description of the request
- Documents supporting the facts
- The planned date and monetary value
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 LTT tax opinion requests: information WRA needs [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.] Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/welsh-revenue-authority-tax-opinion-information-checklist 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 - The checklist does not say which supporting documents will be needed for every type of LTT question. - It does not explain whether WRA will ask for further information after receiving a request. 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: LTT tax opinion requests: information WRA needs
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