Guidance

Completing form SDLT4 for Stamp Duty Land Tax

Updated 9 June 2022

Find out about Stamp Duty Land Tax online and paper returns to make sure you need to complete an SDLT4 form before reading this guidance.

The SDLT4 form is in 2 sections:

• ‘About the transaction’ covers questions 1 to 7
• ‘About leases’ covers questions 8 to 25

Depending on what you have bought or leased, you may not need to complete the ‘About leases’ sections.

How to complete the ‘About the transaction’ section

Question 1 — ‘If this transaction is part of the sale of a business, what does the sale include?’

First part

Select assets that are not chargeable to SDLT by entering ‘X’ in each appropriate box.

Second part

Enter the total amount of consideration apportioned to assets not chargeable to SDLT.

You can find out more about non-chargeable assets in SDLTM62780 of the HMRC SDLT Manual.

Question 2 — ‘If the property is for commercial use, what is it?’

If the property has any commercial use, enter an ‘X’ in the appropriate box.

You can make more than one entry, if appropriate.

Question 3 — ‘Have you applied for a ruling under CAP1 or non-statutory business clearance (NSBC) in relation to this transaction?’

First part

You must answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ by entering ‘X’ in the appropriate box.

Second part

If you answered ‘Yes’ to the first part of this question you must answer either:

• ‘Yes’
• ‘No’
• ‘Ruling not received’ if you have not received a response yet

Question 4 — ‘Is any part of the consideration contingent or dependent on uncertain future events?’

You must answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Uncertain future events may include:

• the granting of planning permission
• the final amount payable may not be known until a future date

If you answer ‘Yes’, you must also complete question 5.

Answer ‘No’ if it is only the rent that depends on a future event.

You can find more detailed information about contingent, uncertain or unascertained consideration in SDLTM05010 of the HMRC SDLT Manual.

Question 5 — ‘Are you applying for deferment?’

You must answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ by entering ‘X’ in the appropriate box.

Apply to defer payment by writing to HMRC. Use ‘SDLT Deferment Application’ as the title of your letter.

HMRC must receive the application within 30 days of the effective date of the transaction.

Question 6 — ‘Are there any minerals or mineral rights reserved or excluded?’

Show any historic or new mineral rights which are excluded from this sale.

Enter the appropriate code from the following table:

Mineral	Code
More than one type shown below	01
Anhydrite	02
Barytes	03
Brickearth	04
Calcite	05
Chalk	06
Chert	07
Clay - ball	08
Clay - brick	09
Clay - cement	10
Clay - china	11
Clay - silica	12
Coal	13
Feldspar	14
Fireclay	15
Flint	16
Fluorspar	17
Fuller’s Earth	18
Granite	19
Gypsum	20
Ironstone	21
Lead	22
Limestone	23
Marl	24
Oil	25
Peat	26
Potash	27
Salt	28
Sand	29
Sand and gravel	30
Sandstone	31
Shale	32
Slate	33
Tin	34
Vein minerals	35
Other	36

Question 7 — ‘Give a description of the purchasers’

Enter the appropriate codes from the following table:

Description of the purchaser	Code
Unincorporated builder	01
Unincorporated sole trader other than a builder	02
Individual other than sole trader	03
Partnership	04
Local authority	05
Central government	06
Public corporation	07
Property company	08
Bank	09
Building society	10
Insurance or assurance company	11
Superannuation or pension fund	12
Other financial institution	13
Other company	14
Other, including charity	15

How to complete the ‘About leases’ section

The questions you need to answer depend on the type of transaction you are reporting:

• a transaction where there is a lease involved (code A on SDLT1 return question 2) with multiple properties — complete questions 8 to 14 for each additional property not shown on the SDLT1
• a grant of lease (code L on SDLT1 return question 2) with multiple properties — complete questions 8 to 14 for each additional property not shown on the SDLT1
• an assignment of lease (code A) or lease (code L) of single non-residential or mixed property — you do not need to complete questions 8 to 25 of the form, as lease details will have been entered on the SDLT1 return — complete questions 1 to 7 only
• a surrender of lease (code A) of single non-residential or mixed property, (chargeable consideration received from landlord) — complete questions 1 to 7 only
• a lease linked to lease entered on SDLT1 return, code A at question 2 — complete questions 8 to 21, you’ll also need to complete question 14 of the SDLT1 return, to show total tax payable for all leases on the forms SDLT1 and SDLT4s
• a lease linked to lease entered on SDLT1 return, code L at question 2 — complete questions 8 to 25, you’ll also need to complete question 14 of the SDLT1 return, to show total tax payable for all leases on the forms SDLT1 and SDLT4s

Question 8 — ‘Type of property’

You must enter the appropriate code from the following table:

Type of property	Description	Code
Residential (not including additional residential properties)	A building used or suitable for the use of a dwelling, or is in the process of being constructed to use as a dwelling. The garden or grounds of such building, including structures on the garden or grounds. An interest or right in or over land that benefits a dwelling, for example a right of way to access the dwelling.	01
Mixed use	Only part of the property is residential.	02
Non-residential	Is where the whole property is not residential.	03
Residential — additional properties	Is where the purchase of a residential property results in you owning more than one residential property. If the new property is a replacement for your main residence which has not yet been sold, you must still use this code but you may be able to claim a refund when your main residence is sold. This code must be used if you’re a company or non-individual purchasing any residential property, even if it is the only residential property owned. Residential property is defined as in the first box in this table.	04

Further guidance on types of property or lease is available in SDLTM62040 of the HMRC SDLT Manual.

Question 9 — ‘Address or situation of land’

If the transaction involves a single property or title described in questions 16 to 33 of the SDLT1 return you do not need to answer this or any further questions.

If you are completing form SDLT4 because there is more than one property and the transaction type is A or L, enter the details for property not entered on the SDLT1 return.

Question 10 — ‘Local authority number’

You must enter the appropriate local authority number.

A list of the codes is in SDLTM62320 of the HMRC SDLT Manual.

Question 11 — ‘Title number, if any’

If the property is registered give the title number.

For Northern Ireland enter the folio number.

Question 12 — National Land and Property Gazetteer Unique Property Reference Number (NLPG UPRN)

Leave this blank if you do not know the reference number.

Question 13 — ‘If the transaction is for land, what is the unit and area of measurement?’

Show square metres in whole numbers and hectares to 3 decimal places. Do not use commas.

Question 14 — ‘Is a plan attached?’

You must answer this question ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

If there is no postal address you should attach a plan. You can send a copy of the plan with your SDLT return, or for transactions in England, email the plan to: sdlt@voa.gov.uk.

Include:

• details of the Unique Tax Reference Number
• the address or description of the land
• full contact details for any enquiries

Question 15 — ‘Interest transferred or created’

You must answer this question using one of the following codes:

Code	When to use the code
FG	Freehold (in Scotland ownership) subject to one or more leases each reserving a ground or nominal rent
FP	Freehold with vacant possession In Scotland owners interest with vacant possession
FT	Freehold subject to a lease or tenancy In Scotland owner’s interest subject to tenancy
LG	Long leasehold at a ground or nominal rent with vacant possession
LP	A lease to an occupier or with vacant possession and not a ground rent or nominal rent In Scotland tenant’s interest
LT	Leasehold subject to leases to an occupier
OT	For anything else, use code OT

Question 16 — ‘Type of lease’

Enter the code relevant to the lease:

• residential R
• non-residential N
• mixed M

The code you enter must match the code you selected for question 16 on the SDLT1 return.

More information about types of lease is in SDLTM62040 of the HMRC SDLT Manual.

Question 17 — ‘Start date as specified in lease’

Enter the start date as shown in the lease. If the date is in the future, use that.

The date must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy, for example 30/08/2012.

If the date is any earlier than 01/01/1500, enter 01/01/1500 as the start date. Earlier dates will not be accepted.

Question 18 — ‘End date as specified in lease’

Enter the end date shown in the lease. Do not enter the break point or review date.

For periodic tenancy, enter the date the first period ends.

Date must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy, for example 30/08/2012.

If the lease ends after 9999, enter 31/12/9999 as the end date.

Question 19 — ‘Rent-free period’

Enter the number of months for any period where the tenant will not have to pay rent starting from the effective date at question 4 of the SDLT1 return or, if later, the term commencement date.

If the rent-free period is more than 99 months, enter 99. Round up to a whole number of months.

If there is no rent-free period leave the answer blank.

Question 20 — ‘Annual starting rent inclusive of VAT actually payable’

There are 3 parts to this question:

First part

‘New and existing leases’: enter the rent payable at either the effective date at question 4, or the rent start date, whichever is later. If the rent is a peppercorn or no rent is payable, enter ‘O’.

‘Bringing a lease to an end’: enter the final rent immediately before the effective date.

Second part

‘Enter the date that the starting rent will end’: the date must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy, for example 30/08/201. If the year is after 9999, enter 9999. If a lease has been surrendered this will normally be the same as the effective date at question 4 of the SDLT1 return.

Third part

‘Is the later rent known?’: If the amount of rent is payable after the date in part 2 answer ‘Yes’, if it is not known answer ‘No’.

Question 21 — ‘What is the amount of VAT, if any?’

Enter the amount of VAT charged included in the starting rent at question 20, plus any VAT included in the total premium payable shown at question 22.

If there is no VAT leave the box blank.

Questions 22 to 25

Only answer these questions if you are notifying more than one lease (code ‘L’).

Question 22 — ‘Total premium payable’

If the tenant has paid a capital sum (any form of chargeable consideration other than rent) to the landlord or any other person for the grant of a new lease, enter the amount including any VAT payable.

If this transaction is linked to the grant of any other lease, only enter the premium for this lease.

If there is no premium, enter ‘0’.

Show the VAT-inclusive amount if the total premium payable includes VAT.

Enter values in whole pounds sterling.

Question 23 — ‘Net present value upon which tax is calculated’

Enter the net present value in respect of this lease only.

Enter values in whole pounds sterling.

You can read more information about how to work out the net present value of the rent in SDLT on Leasehold sales.

Question 24 — ‘Total amount of tax due — premium’

If there is no tax due on the premium enter ‘0’.

Tax on a premium is worked out from the total at question 22.

If there is no premium or if a full relief from tax is claimed, enter ‘0’.

Question 25 — ‘Total amount of tax due — net present value’

Enter the tax due on the net present value.

If there is no net present value or there is no tax due on the net present value enter ‘0’.

After you’ve completed the form

Send your completed paper SDLT1 return and SDLT4 form together to HMRC. The address to send them to is shown on the SDLT1.

Get help or support

Contact HMRC if you have a question about completing the SDLT4 form that is not covered by this guidance.