Guidance

Check if you can claim relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax in a Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site in England

Find out if you can claim relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax when buying land or buildings in a Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site in England.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
9 July 2021
Last updated
17 December 2024 — See all updates

You may be able to claim relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax if you’re buying land or buildings in a Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site in England.

If you’re buying land or buildings in a Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site in:

  • Scotland, Green Freeports Land and Buildings Transaction Tax Relief is available on qualifying transactions in designated Green Freeport tax sites
  • Wales, Senedd Cymru has approved legislation to provide Land Transaction Tax relief — this relief will be available for the Celtic Freeport on 26 November 2024 until 30 September 2029 initially

You can read more information about:

A special tax site is an area of land where businesses can claim certain tax reliefs. Special tax sites are sometimes known as Freeport tax sites or Investment Zone tax sites. A Freeport tax site is independent and separately authorised from a Freeport customs site, but they can cover the same area of land.

You cannot claim until the relevant Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site has been designated

Find out more information:

When you can claim relief

You can claim relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax when:

  • buying any land or buildings in a special tax site (if you use the land or buildings in a qualifying way)
  • buying a lease for the land or buildings, including either:
    • renewing a long lease
    • any rental payments for the lease

The relief can be claimed for expenditure incurred from the date a special tax site is designated until:

  • 30 September 2031 for English Freeport special tax sites
  • 30 September 2034 for Investment Zone special tax sites

You can still claim relief if previous owners have sold the land or buildings before the special tax site’s end date. This applies even if a previous owner has claimed relief.

Check which sites are:

When you cannot claim relief

You cannot claim relief for land or buildings which are:

  • purchased inside a special tax site before it’s designated or after:
    • 30 September 2031 for English Freeport special tax sites
    • 30 September 2034 for Investment Zone special tax sites
  • to be used as residential property
  • to be developed or redeveloped to become residential property
  • to be held as stock of the business to be resold without having been developed or redeveloped

How to qualify to claim relief

You can claim the relief if you intend to use the land or buildings in a qualifying way.

Qualifying ways are:

  • for use in a commercial trade or profession
  • for development or redevelopment for resale
  • letting the land or buildings to another person who pays you rent — as long as they are not used as residential property

How much relief you can claim

You can claim full relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax on the total purchase price if at least 90% of the purchase price is for qualifying land or buildings.

If less than 90% of the purchase price is for qualifying land or buildings, you can claim relief on the portion of the Stamp Duty Land Tax for the land or buildings which qualify, so long as the price for the qualifying land or buildings is 10% or more of the total price.

You cannot claim any relief if less than 10% of the total purchase price is for qualifying land or buildings.

How to claim relief

To claim the relief you must complete and submit a land transaction return within 14 days of the transaction. Find out how to complete your land transaction return.

All claims must be made on or before:

  • 30 September 2031 for English Freeport special tax sites
  • 30 September 2034 for Investment Zone special tax sites

Withdrawal of the relief

There is a control period of 3 years after the date of the purchase.

During the control period you must use the land or buildings in a qualifying way.

If at any time in the control period the land or buildings are not being used in a qualifying way you must be taking reasonable steps to:

  • start using the land or buildings in a qualifying way
  • sell the land or buildings

If neither of these steps are being taken, the relief is withdrawn and you must:

  • make a further Stamp Duty Land Tax return
  • pay the tax within 30 days

Find more information in the Stamp Duty Land Tax Manual.

Examples of relief calculations

An example where relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax is claimed for land fully within a special tax site

£800,000 is paid for land wholly within a special tax site but £200,000 (25%) of the amount paid relates to land that is not intended to be used in a qualifying way.

£600,000 (75%) is paid for land in a special tax site that is to be used in a qualifying way. The Stamp Duty Land Tax is reduced by 75% of the total tax due for the whole purchase.

An example where relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax is claimed for land partly within and partly outside a special tax site

£2 million is paid for land partly within and partly outside a special tax site.

All the land situated within the special tax site is to be used in a qualifying way.

£400,000 (20%) of the amount paid is for land outside the special tax site.

£1.6 million (80%) is paid for land in a special tax site that is to be used in a qualifying way. The Stamp Duty Land Tax is reduced by 80% of the total tax due for the whole purchase.

An example where relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax cannot be claimed for land partly within and partly outside a special tax site

£5 million is paid for land partly within and partly outside a special tax site.

£500,000 is for land outside the special tax site.

£4.5 million is for land inside the special tax site.

Only £400,000 is for land which is intended be used in a qualifying way.

As £400,000 is less than 10% of the total £5 million price paid, no relief from Stamp Duty Land Tax can be claimed.

Updates to this page

Published 9 July 2021
Last updated 17 December 2024 + show all updates

  1. References to Scottish Green Freeports and Welsh Freeports have been removed as this relief is exclusively related to England.

  2. The information about the reliefs available for land or buildings in a Freeport or Investment Zone special tax site in Scotland and Wales has been updated.

  3. Added translation

  4. The extension details for English Freeport special tax sites, Scottish Green Freeports Welsh Freeports and Investment Zone special tax sites have been added.

  5. This guidance has been updated to provide information about Investment Zones.

  6. Welsh translation added.

  7. You cannot claim Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you’re buying land or buildings in a Freeport tax site in Scotland and Wales.

  8. Added information about when you cannot claim relief for land or buildings which are purchased inside a Freeport tax site.

  9. The examples of how Stamp Duty Land tax is calculated in Freeport tax sites have been updated.

  10. First published.

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