Tax Planning for UK Investments – Stamp Duty

S.42 of Finance Act 2003. 
You must pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) if you buy a property or land
over a certain price in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• ·        
  The current SDLT threshold is £125,000
  for residential properties and £150,000 for non-residential land and
  properties.
• ·        
  SDLT no longer applies in Scotland. Instead
  you pay Land
  and Buildings Transaction Tax when you buy a property.

You pay the tax when you:

• ·        
  buy a freehold property
• ·        
  buy a new or existing leasehold
• ·        
  buy a property through a shared
  ownership scheme
• ·        
  are transferred
  land or property in exchange for payment, eg you take on a mortgage or
  buy a share in a house

Rates – How much you pay depends on whether the land or
property is:

• ·        
  residential
• ·        
  non-residential
  or mixed-use
• ·        
  You can use HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Stamp Duty Land
  Tax calculator to work out how much tax you’ll pay. (There’s a
  differentcalculator for
  leases.)
•        You may be able to reduce the amount of tax you
  pay by claiming
  relief, eg if you buy more than one property (‘multiple dwellings’).
•        The value you pay SDLT on (the ‘consideration’)
•        The total value you pay SDLT on (sometimes called the ‘consideration’) is usually the price you pay for the property or land.
•         Sometimes it might include another type of payment like:

o  
Goods

o  
works or services

o  
release from a debt

o  
transfer of a debt, including the value of any
outstanding mortgage

o  
Find out how
to work out the consideration if your situation is complicated.

·

How and when to pay

• ·        
  You must send an SDLT return
  to HMRC and pay the tax within 30 days of completion.
• ·        
  If you have a solicitor, agent or conveyancer,
  they’ll usually file your return and pay the tax on your behalf on the day of
  completion and add the amount to their fees.
• ·        
  If they don’t do this for you, you can file a return and pay the tax yourself.
• ·        
  There are certain situations where you don’t
  need to send a return.