What to take into your next appraisal
- Use Revenue Scotland for LBTT assumptions.
- Read the project’s Section 75 instrument and conditions.
- Separate an indexed obligation from its nominal starting value.
Identify the Scottish documents
Section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 provides for planning obligations relating to land. The instrument may contain conditions and timing provisions; the model needs the operative agreement, not a contribution copied from an English appraisal.
Record the planning authority, permission, obligation references, triggers and indexation. At acquisition, separately confirm whether the transaction falls within residential or non-residential LBTT and whether linked transactions, leases or reliefs change the result.
Sources: UK legislation: Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, section 75; Revenue Scotland: Non-residential Property
Calculate a fictional non-residential purchase
Revenue Scotland’s published non-residential bands accessed on 18 September 2026 are 0% up to £150,000, 1% on £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000. On assumed £1m chargeable consideration, LBTT is £38,500.
| Slice | Rate | LBTT |
|---|---|---|
| First £150,000 | 0% | £0 |
| Next £100,000 | 1% | £1,000 |
| Remaining £750,000 | 5% | £37,500 |
| Total | Marginal bands | £38,500 |
Link a contribution to its trigger
Assume a fictional Section 75 contribution of £300,000 becomes payable before a specified occupation milestone in month 18. If the agreement applies a 1.06 index factor at that point, budget £318,000. The £18,000 increase belongs in the contribution line, not a second general inflation allowance.
An indexation formula may have a floor, base date or prescribed publication. Store those terms rather than replacing them with a rounded annual escalation rate.
Stress occupation without losing the obligation
Moving the trigger from month 18 to month 12 advances the £318,000 payment by six months under a constant-index timing test. At an assumed 8% simple annual borrowing rate, the timing cost is £12,720. A separate index scenario can then change the amount.
If occupation is slower, payment may move later but financing and holding costs may increase. Show those effects together; postponing one contribution is not necessarily a benefit to overall feasibility.
Make the local source trail reviewable
The appraisal handover should include the title and acquisition advice, Revenue Scotland calculation, planning instrument and contribution schedule. Identify which values are agreed and which remain provisional.
Before exchange and financial close, refresh the tax and planning assumptions against the transaction and current documents. The worked example demonstrates mechanics, not the obligations or tax classification of an actual Scottish site.
Sources and further reading
- Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, section 75 UK legislation
- Non-residential Property Revenue Scotland
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