A WRA tax opinion does not extend your LTT deadline
The short answer
A request for a Welsh Revenue Authority tax opinion does not extend an LTT filing or payment deadline.
- File and pay on time while waiting for WRA.
- Consider an amendment after WRA replies.
- Check the normal amendment limit before changing the return.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
A WRA tax opinion does not extend your LTT deadline
Waiting for a Welsh Revenue Authority opinion does not stop the clock. For Land Transaction Tax (LTT), which replaced stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales in 2018, you must still file and pay on time.
What this rule is about
You may ask the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) for its view on a tax question where the facts are unclear, but that request does not pause your return or payment. The deadline remains.
This matters because a late return or late payment may lead to interest and penalties. WRA’s reply may arrive after your deadline.
What the official source says
WRA says that asking for a tax opinion does not alter the normal time limits, so you must still send your return by the due date while waiting for its answer. Do not wait.
- File your LTT return on time.
- Pay the LTT due on time.
- Do not assume that an unanswered request gives you extra time.
- If WRA replies later, you can amend the return only if the normal amendment time limit has not ended.
What this means in practice
The safe approach is simple: use the best information available to make the return by the deadline. Consider WRA’s response when it arrives.
The law sets the usual filing date at 30 days beginning with the day after the effective date, and any tax due on the return is also due by that filing date. Both dates are the same.
- Keep a record of the question you sent to WRA.
- Keep the documents that support the figures in your return.
- Check whether WRA’s response changes an answer in the return.
- Amend promptly if it does and time remains.
How to analyse it
Begin with the deadline rather than the expected date of WRA’s reply. Ask: what must you do before the filing date?
- Work out the transaction’s effective date.
- Calculate the return filing date from that date.
- Work out the tax due from the information available.
- File the return and pay by the deadline.
- Read any later WRA response carefully.
- Check whether the normal amendment period is still open.
Example
Ravi sends WRA a question before his LTT deadline. When the deadline arrives, WRA has not replied. Ravi must still file his return and pay the amount shown on it. If WRA later responds and the normal amendment period remains open, he can amend the return where the response shows that a change is needed.
Why this can be difficult in practice
People often treat a request for an opinion as though it puts the process on hold. According to WRA’s published guidance, it does not.
Filing can be difficult when an answer depends on facts that are still being checked, yet that uncertainty does not remove the deadline or reduce the need for good records. The deadline still applies.
- A request for an opinion is not an extension request.
- An opinion may arrive after the return deadline.
- The source does not give the normal amendment deadline.
- The source does not state the interest rate or penalty amounts.
Key takeaways
- Do not wait for a WRA opinion before filing your LTT return.
- Pay the tax due by the normal filing date.
- Amend later only if the normal time limit still allows it.
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 44 — deadline for filing a land transaction tax return
- LTTA 2017 section 57 — deadline for paying tax shown on a return
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 give the amendment deadline, interest rate or penalty rules. Those points need checking against the current applicable legislation and WRA guidance.
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 effective date of the land transaction.
- The date the LTT return and payment are due.
- A copy of the submitted return and the question sent to WRA.
- WRA’s written response and the date it was received.
- The facts and documents needed to support any amendment.
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 A WRA tax opinion does not extend your LTT deadline [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 44 - deadline for filing a land transaction tax return https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/44 - LTTA 2017 section 57 - deadline for paying tax shown on a return https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2017/1/section/57 Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/welsh-revenue-authority-tax-opinion-service#50044 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 give the amendment deadline, interest rate or penalty rules. Those points need checking against the current applicable legislation and WRA guidance. 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 4 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: A WRA tax opinion does not extend your LTT deadline
Search Land Tax Advice with Google
