LTT relief when a charity jointly buys land for mostly charitable use
Joint charity purchases and LTT
A charity may receive partial LTT relief when it jointly buys Welsh land and will use the greater part of its own share for charitable purposes.
- The owners must hold as tenants in common.
- The relief uses the lower of the charity’s ownership share and payment share.
- Later non-charitable use, transfers or certain leases can lead to relief being withdrawn.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT relief when a charity jointly buys land for mostly charitable use
LTT relief when a charity jointly buys land for mostly charitable use
Where a charity buys Welsh land with someone else, and not all of its share will serve its charitable work, it may still get some Land Transaction Tax (LTT) relief. This is not stamp duty.
For relief, the charity must plan to use more than half of its own share for qualifying charitable purposes.
What this rule is about
Joint ownership can make charities relief less straightforward. Although a charity may need part of its share for a non-charitable use, most of that share may still support its work.
In that position, the law provides a special partial-relief rule. It applies only where the owners hold as tenants in common. Put simply, each buyer has a separate stated share of the land.
That is the starting point.
What the official source says
Welsh Revenue Authority’s technical guidance explains the statutory rule. When its conditions are met, it treats the charity as a qualifying charity for the joint-purchase partial-relief rules.
This does not give relief for the other buyer’s share. Instead, it can reduce the LTT that would otherwise be due by the charity’s relevant proportion.
- There must be two or more buyers.
- They must buy as tenants in common.
- If it will not use all its share for qualifying charitable purposes, the charity must not be a qualifying charity.
- If treated as qualifying, the charity must meet the normal joint-purchase partial-relief conditions.
- For qualifying charitable purposes, the charity must intend to hold the greater part of its own undivided share.
Qualifying charitable purposes include using land to further the charity’s purposes. They also include holding it as an investment where the profits go to the charity’s purposes.
What this means in practice
Legal ownership matters, but when the charity’s payment share is lower than its land share, relief follows that lower proportion rather than the ownership proportion. Payment matters too.
Relief uses the lower of those two proportions.
Whichever figure is smaller wins.
- Where a charity has a 60% land share but pays only 55% of the price, it may not receive 60% relief.
- Even if a charity pays 70%, it may receive only 60% relief where its land share is 60%.
- Charitable use must cover the greater part of the charity’s own share, not simply the greater part of the whole site.
- Make the claim in the first LTT return for the transaction, or in an amendment to that return.
If your solicitor says no full charities relief is available, this may be the point to check. No full relief does not always mean no relief.
How to analyse it
Begin with the ownership documents and the plan for the land. Then compare those facts with the partial-relief test. Do this before the LTT return is submitted.
- Check that the land is in Wales and that LTT applies.
- Confirm that the buyers will hold as tenants in common.
- Identify the charity’s stated share of the land.
- Identify the share of the total amount paid by the charity.
- Work out whether more than half of the charity’s own share will be held for qualifying charitable purposes.
- Check whether the normal joint-purchase relief rules would apply if the charity were qualifying.
- Keep documents that support the intended use and the figures used in the claim.
What actually decides it? Intended use of the charity’s share does, not a broad label placed on the project.
Example
Suppose a charity and a commercial partner buy a Welsh site for £500,000 as tenants in common, with the charity owning 60% and paying £275,000, or 55% of the price. Its plan is to use 60% of its own share for its charitable work and the rest for another purpose.
That meets the greater-part test. Subject to the other conditions, its relief is 55% of the LTT otherwise due, because 55% is lower than its 60% ownership share.
Why this can be difficult in practice
People often focus on the whole site. As a result, they can miss the real question: how will the charity hold and use its own undivided share?
A later change can also matter. Within three years of the effective date, or under arrangements made within that period, a disqualifying event may result in relief being withdrawn in whole or part.
- Using or holding relieved land for a non-charitable purpose can trigger withdrawal in the statutory circumstances.
- Ceasing to exist only for charitable purposes can also trigger withdrawal for a charity.
- A non-charitable transfer of a major interest is an additional risk under this special rule.
- Another additional risk is a non-charitable lease granted for a premium with annual rent below £1,000.
- When working out withdrawal, the special rules treat those transfer and lease events differently.
That can be costly. Record clearly why the charity expected the greater part of its share to support its charitable purposes.
Key takeaways
- A charity can receive partial LTT relief when it uses most, not all, of its share for charitable purposes.
- Buyers must hold the land as tenants in common.
- Relief is based on the lower of the charity’s land share and payment share.
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 section 30 — when a land tax relief claim must be made
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 2 — qualifying charity status and charitable purposes
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 6 — partial relief for charity joint purchases
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 7 — when joint-purchase charities relief can be withdrawn
- LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 8 — partial relief where charity uses most of share
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 planned use is for qualifying charitable purposes depends on the charity’s purposes, the intended use of the land and the facts at the time of purchase.
- Working out the relevant proportion of relief can require evidence of both the charity’s ownership share and its share of the amount paid.
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 document showing that the buyers hold as tenants in common and their respective shares.
- Records showing how much each buyer pays.
- Trustee minutes, project plans or other records showing the intended charitable use of the greater part of the charity’s share.
- Details of any later sale, transfer or lease of the land.
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 relief when a charity jointly buys land for mostly charitable use [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 section 30 - when a land tax relief claim must be made https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/30 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 2 - qualifying charity status and charitable purposes https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/2 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 6 - partial relief for charity joint purchases https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/6 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 7 - when joint-purchase charities relief can be withdrawn https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/7 - LTTA 2017 Schedule 18 para 8 - partial relief where charity uses most of share https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/schedule/18/paragraph/8 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-charities-relief-technical-guidance#6174 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 planned use is for qualifying charitable purposes depends on the charity's purposes, the intended use of the land and the facts at the time of purchase. - Working out the relevant proportion of relief can require evidence of both the charity's ownership share and its share of the amount paid. 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 relief when a charity jointly buys land for mostly charitable use
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