LTT refund claims: keeping records when you pay people back
LTT reimbursement records
When an LTT refund claim involves paying others back, you need records that prove each payment.
- Keep names, addresses, amounts, interest details and dates.
- Obtain dated receipts from people who receive money.
- WRA may ask for the records before or after a refund.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT refund claims: keeping records when you pay people back
If your Land Transaction Tax (LTT) refund claim involves paying money back to other people, keep clear proof of every payment. LTT is Wales’s stamp duty tax. Missing records can put a repayment at risk and may lead to a penalty.
What this rule is about
This guidance deals with reimbursement arrangements. These arrangements pay people back. A refund claim is connected with them.
WRA needs payment details. It needs to see who received money, how much they received and when. A figure in a spreadsheet alone may not prove that a payment happened.
This is not a rule about every LTT refund claim. It applies where the claim relates to reimbursement arrangements.
What the official source says
WRA’s technical guidance says that you must keep records for each person repaid, or due to be repaid. It also says you must keep proof of the payments and separate out any interest included.
- Keep the name and address of every person paid, or intended to be paid.
- Record the total amount paid to each person.
- Keep a receipt from each person that confirms the amount and payment date.
- Show how much of each payment was interest.
Although the basic period is 12 months from the date of the claim, keep the records longer if WRA opens an enquiry or if an amendment remains open to enquiry. The later point controls.
- Keep them for 12 months from the date of the claim.
- If WRA opens an enquiry, keep them until that enquiry ends.
- If you amend the claim without an enquiry, keep them until WRA can no longer enquire into that amendment.
What this means in practice
Build the evidence as payments are made. Do not wait until WRA asks for it. Receipts get harder to chase later. If months have passed, if a person has moved, or if their records have been lost by the time WRA asks, getting a receipt can be difficult. Act early.
A receipt should make the payment easy to match to your file. It should show who received it, the amount and the date.
- Use a separate entry for each person who is paid.
- Keep the receipt with proof of payment, such as a bank record.
- Record interest separately from the rest of the payment.
- Keep copies in a form you can find and produce later.
- Keep any letter or email from WRA about the claim.
Whether WRA asks to see the records before it repays the claim, after it repays the claim, or at both stages, its written notice will state where, when and how the records must be produced. Follow the notice.
How to analyse it
Start with the payment trail, not the refund total. Trace every payment from arrangement to dated receipt.
- Does the claim involve an arrangement to pay people back?
- Have you listed everyone already paid and everyone due to be paid?
- Does each entry show the full amount, interest and date?
- Do you have a receipt from each person that confirms the payment?
- Has WRA opened an enquiry into the claim or an amendment?
- What is the latest date until which the records must be kept?
Example
Rhodri’s LTT refund claim includes an arrangement to pay back £1,050 to Sofia. Of that sum, £50 is interest. His file must identify Sofia and the payment. It should show her address, the £1,050 total, the £50 interest element and the payment date. He should also keep Sofia’s dated receipt confirming that she received £1,050.
It would not be enough to keep only a note saying “Sofia paid £1,050”. The guidance specifically calls for a receipt from the person repaid.
Why this can be difficult in practice
The hard part is often not making the payment. If interest is missed, arrangements are informal, or paperwork is limited, showing exactly what the payment covered later can be difficult when WRA checks the claim. Keep proof.
You might think repayment ends the record-keeping job. It does not. An enquiry or claim amendment can extend the time for keeping the documents.
- A bank transfer may not show why the money was paid.
- A receipt without a date does not meet the guidance’s stated record.
- A total paid figure may hide an interest amount that must be shown separately.
- Records must cover people you intend to repay as well as people already repaid.
- A request from WRA may arrive after the refund has been paid.
Key takeaways
- Keep a full, dated record for every person paid or due to be paid.
- Keep receipts that confirm the amount and date of each payment.
- Do not destroy records after 12 months if an enquiry or amendment keeps the period open.
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
- TCMA 2016 section 69 — keeping records for reimbursement arrangements
- TCMA 2016 section 70 — WRA requests for reimbursement records
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 supplied material does not set out when a refund claim is affected by unjustified enrichment or when reimbursement arrangements are needed.
- The supplied material does not state the amount of any penalty for failing to keep or produce records.
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.
- Names and addresses of each person paid or due to be paid
- Dated receipts confirming the amount each person received
- A breakdown showing any interest included in each payment
- A record of the date of every payment
- Any written notice from WRA asking to see the records
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 refund claims: keeping records when you pay people back [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 - TCMA 2016 section 69 - keeping records for reimbursement arrangements https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/6/section/69 - TCMA 2016 section 70 - WRA requests for reimbursement records https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2016/6/section/70 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/tax-collection-and-management-wales-act-2016-claiming-refund-technical-guidance#6507 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 supplied material does not set out when a refund claim is affected by unjustified enrichment or when reimbursement arrangements are needed. - The supplied material does not state the amount of any penalty for failing to keep or produce records. 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 refund claims: keeping records when you pay people back
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